Dishwashers
Clean dishes, kitchen, food preparation equipment, or utensils.
Most important skills
- Operation and Control
- Coordination
- Active Listening
- Time Management
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Social Perceptiveness
Key knowledge
- English Language
- Food Production
- Education and Training
- Customer and Personal Service
- Public Safety and Security
- Administration and Management
- Communications and Media
- Transportation
What the work involves
- Wash dishes, glassware, flatware, pots, or pans, using dishwashers or by hand.
- Place clean dishes, utensils, or cooking equipment in storage areas.
- 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.
- Sweep or scrub floors.
- Clean garbage cans with water or steam.
- Sort and remove trash, placing it in designated pickup areas.
- Clean or prepare various foods for cooking or serving.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Social.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (55.9% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (43.5%)
- On-the-job training
- Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (40.8%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Dishwashers is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very low | Lower on contact with others than 83% of occupations compared | 43% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 87% of occupations compared | 65% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Teamwork | Very low | Lower on teamwork than 82% of occupations compared | 36% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 99% of occupations compared | 32% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very low | Lower on time pressure than 84% of occupations compared | 47% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Very low | Lower on conflict situations than 92% of occupations compared | 41% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 99% of occupations compared | 65% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Consequence of error | Very low | Lower on consequence of error than 96% of occupations compared | — |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very low
- Conflict situations: very low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very low
- Consequence of error: very low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 2.28%
- Occasional contact with others: 17.4%
- Contact with others about half the time: 17.04%
- Contact with others most of the time: 19.97%
- Constant contact with others: 43.31%
n = 24, Incumbent 08/2025
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 64.53%
- Fairly important: 1.76%
- Important: 2.94%
- Very important: 0.73%
- Extremely important: 30.04%
n = 23, Incumbent 08/2025
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 10.44%
- Fairly important: 0.42%
- Important: 22.18%
- Very important: 35.69%
- Extremely important: 31.26%
n = 24, Incumbent 08/2025
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 31.92%
- Very little freedom: 3.4%
- Limited freedom: 30.39%
- Some freedom: 31.94%
- A lot of freedom: 2.35%
n = 24, Incumbent 08/2025
Time pressure
- Never: 21.23%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 16.99%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 14.42%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 0%
- Every day: 47.36%
n = 24, Incumbent 08/2025
Conflict situations
- Never: 37.21%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 19.66%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 41.28%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 0.97%
- Every day: 0.88%
n = 24, Incumbent 08/2025
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 65.12%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 20.39%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 11.58%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 1.12%
- Every day: 1.79%
n = 24, Incumbent 08/2025
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Fairly serious: 33.81%
- Serious: 13.07%
- Very serious: 1.31%
- Extremely serious: 4.39%
n = 23, Incumbent 08/2025
Is this career right for me? Find jobs with conditions you prefer
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O*NET-SOC 35-9021.00 · SOC 35-9021 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8