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Food and drink service and personal assistance workers

How to become a Restaurant Chain Crew Member

Serves customers and cooks in the kitchen at restaurant chains.

Main tasks

Workers in this job say high school is common. From job tag's survey of people in each job, who could give several answers. It shows what workers see as common, not how many workers hold each level.

How to become one

No particular education or qualification is required to start. The restaurant industry relies very heavily on part-time and casual staff, so new people are hired almost every month. You can start as a part-time or casual worker and have the chance to become a permanent employee. Even part-time or casual staff may become shift leaders, organising other part-timers and supporting the manager. People hired as restaurant managers may need qualifications such as fire prevention manager and food hygiene supervisor. People who join as regular employees can also use company incentive schemes to gain these qualifications and become managers. After joining, all staff, including new and casual staff, learn the basics of workplace rules and customer service as part of on-the-job training. Some also attend group training when they start. Important qualities are understanding food hygiene and the manual and putting them into practice, the customer service skills to communicate smoothly with customers, and being able to work as part of a team.

Ways in

Pay · Job openings · AI and this job

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Restaurant Chain Crew Member?

No particular education or qualification is required to start. The restaurant industry relies very heavily on part-time and casual staff, so new people are hired almost every month. You can start as a part-time or casual worker and have the chance to become a permanent employee. Even part-time or casual staff may become shift leaders, organising other part-timers and supporting the manager. People hired as restaurant managers may need qualifications such as fire prevention manager and food hygiene supervisor. People who join as regular employees can also use company incentive schemes to gain these qualifications and become managers. After joining, all staff, including new and casual staff, learn the basics of workplace rules and customer service as part of on-the-job training. Some also attend group training when they start. Important qualities are understanding food hygiene and the manual and putting them into practice, the customer service skills to communicate smoothly with customers, and being able to work as part of a team.

How much does a Restaurant Chain Crew Member earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥3,709,800 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Food and drink servers, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become a Restaurant Chain Crew Member?

Usually not. In this job's census occupation group, only 15% of workers are university graduates.

Will AI change the work of a Restaurant Chain Crew Member?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 解説系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_description_7_01.xlsx）ver.7.01 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 簡易版数値系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_numeric_7_00.xlsx）ver.7.00 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

Sources: JILPT Occupational Information Database download data via job tag (解説系 ver.7.01 and 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00, downloaded 4 October 2026), processed by Peernovo; MHLW, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025; Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2020 Population Census; MEXT, School Basic Survey 2025; MHLW, Employment Referrals for General Workers (Hello Work statistics). Figures processed by Peernovo. English job names, translations and the matching of jobs to statistical groups, schools and degree fields by Peernovo.

Updated 4 October 2026