Dishwashers
Clean dishes, kitchen, food preparation equipment, or utensils.
Also Known As:
Dish Machine Operator (DMO)
Dish Room Worker
Dish Technician
Dishwasher
Kitchen Helper
Kitchen Steward
Pots and Pans Person
Steward
Utility Aide
Utility Worker
Wages
Annual wages for Dishwashers in United States
Job Outlook
Below Average
New job opportunities are less likely in the future
United States
2033 Projected Employment
481,900
1% Change From 2023
Explore Dishwashers video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Maintain kitchen work areas, equipment, or utensils in clean and orderly condition.
- Stock supplies, such as food or utensils, in serving stations, cupboards, refrigerators, or salad bars.
- Set up banquet tables.
- Prepare and package individual place settings.
- Wash dishes, glassware, flatware, pots, or pans, using dishwashers or by hand.
- Load or unload trucks that deliver or pick up food or supplies.
- Place clean dishes, utensils, or cooking equipment in storage areas.
- Stock supplies, such as food or utensils, in serving stations, cupboards, refrigerators, or salad bars.
- Clean or prepare various foods for cooking or serving.
- Sweep or scrub floors.
- Sort and remove trash, placing it in designated pickup areas.
- Transfer supplies or equipment between storage and work areas, by hand or using hand trucks.
- Clean garbage cans with water or steam.
- Receive and store supplies.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")