Cooks every meal for the guests and crew of a private or charter yacht, often planning restaurant-level menus from a small galley at sea. BLS does not publish separate figures for cooks, private household; it counts them within cook, private household (SOC 35-2013), whose median pay is $47,940 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Typical entry-level education: Postsecondary nondegree award.
- SOC 35-2013
- Food Preparation and Serving Related
- Last updated October 9, 2026
At a glance
Yacht Chef in four numbers
- Median pay
- $47,940a year, or $23.05/hrBLS OEWS, May 2025Lowest 10% $36KTop 10% $91K
US median, all jobs: $50,980
- Projected growth
- +5.1%Faster than averageBLS EP, 2025–2035This career+5.1%All jobs+3.5%
Projected employment change, 2025–2035 Item Value This career +5.1% All jobs +3.5% - Openings a year
- 5,00035,400 jobs todayBLS EP, 2025–2035
- Jobs in 202535.4K
- Projected 203537.2K
Employment, 2025–2035 Item Value Jobs in 2025 35.4K Projected 2035 37.2K - Typical education
- Certificateneeded to enterBLS EP, 2025–2035; mix: O*NET
- Less than high school15.4%
- High school30.8%
- Certificate38.5%
- Some college3.9%
- Associate's11.5%
Highest education held by cooks, private household Segment Value Less than high school 15.4% High school 30.8% Certificate 38.5% Some college 3.9% Associate's 11.5%
Also advertised as: Superyacht Chef, Head Yacht Chef, Crew Chef, Sous Chef (Yacht), Ship's Cook.
Pay
How much do Cooks, Private Household make?
Every yacht chef in the US, by percentile of annual wage
Median
$47,940
Middle half earn $40,630 to $55,450
- 10th
- $36,090
- 25th
- $40,630
- 75th
- $55,450
- 90th
- $91,130
All US occupations: $50,980
| Percentile | Value |
|---|---|
| 10th | $36,090 |
| 25th | $40,630 |
| Median | $47,940 |
| 75th | $55,450 |
| 90th | $91,130 |
| All US occupations | $50,980 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
- Median annual wage
- $47,940
- Median hourly wage
- $23.05/hr
- Mean annual wage
- $53,680
- People employed
- 1,100
Versus all US occupations
At $47,940, Cooks, Private Household earn 6% below the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $3,040 a year.
Versus food preparation and serving related occupations
Inside the Food Preparation and Serving Related group, where the middle occupation pays $35,360, this is 36% above the group median.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $91,130 or more while the bottom 10% earn $36,090, a gap of 2.5×. That is a typical spread for a US occupation.
Rank in the bank
This median pays more than 18% of the 1,741 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Highest-paying state
New York pays the most at $37,440, and still leads at $34,692 once local prices are taken into account.
Pay by state
Which states pay Cooks, Private Household the most?
State medians come from the same OEWS release as the national figures. The cost-of-living column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, restating pay in national-average dollars so a high-cost state and a low-cost one can be compared directly.
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1New York | $37,440 | $34,692 | 140 |
Job outlook
Is Yacht Chef a growing career?
Employment change over 2025–2035, against every US occupation
Faster than average. +5.1% projected growth vs 3.5% for all occupations.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Cooks, Private Household | +5.1% |
| All US occupations | +3.5% |
Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035
Faster than average
BLS projects employment of Cooks, Private Household to change 5.1% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% projected for all occupations. That is 1,800 more jobs.
Annual openings
About 5,000 openings are projected each year, 14.1% of the 35,400 jobs that existed in 2025. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.
Getting in
How to become a Yacht Chef
Most yacht chefs are trained chefs with restaurant or private chef experience before they go to sea. Crew on commercial yachts need STCW basic safety training and a seafarer medical certificate such as the UK ENG1. Chefs on larger commercial yachts also need a Ship's Cook Certificate of Competency under the Maritime Labour Convention, issued through the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency for vessels on that flag, which requires approved training and sea service.
Newcomers usually register with crew agencies in yachting hubs such as Fort Lauderdale or Antibes, take day work or crew chef jobs on smaller boats, and build references and a sample menu portfolio before applying for head chef roles.
- 1
Typical entry-level education
Postsecondary nondegree award
- 2
Work experience in a related occupation
Less than 5 years
- 3
Typical on-the-job training
None
- 4
Preparation needed (O*NET job zone)
Some preparation
BLS Employment Projections, 2025–2035; job zone from O*NET 31.0 Database.
What education people in the job have
O*NET incumbent survey: the highest level of education reported by people already working as cooks, private household.
- Post-Secondary Certificate38.5%
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)30.8%
- Less than a High School Diploma15.4%
- Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree11.5%
- Some College Courses3.9%
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 38.5% |
| High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 30.8% |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 15.4% |
| Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree | 11.5% |
| Some College Courses | 3.9% |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
The work
What does a Yacht Chef do?
A yacht chef runs the galley on a private or charter superyacht. Guests expect restaurant-quality food at any hour, tailored to their preferences and dietary needs, so the chef plans menus around a preference sheet and adapts on the fly. The chef also feeds the crew, which on larger yachts means a separate menu and sometimes a dedicated crew chef.
Provisioning is a big part of the job. Chefs source ingredients in each port, store and rotate food carefully because the next market may be days away, and keep the galley spotless to food safety standards. On bigger boats the head chef manages a sous chef and crew cook and keeps a budget for each charter.
Day-to-day tasks
- Plan daily guest menus around preference sheets and dietary needs
- Cook breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks for guests and crew
- Provision food and supplies in each port within a charter budget
- Store, label, and rotate food to last between ports
- Maintain galley hygiene to maritime food safety standards
- Supervise a sous chef or crew cook on larger yachts
- Adapt menus quickly when guest plans or weather change
Typical tasks, researched by NueCareer from the sources below.
Working conditions and hours
Yacht chefs live aboard and work in compact galleys that move with the sea. Days on charter can stretch from early breakfast to late dinner with little time off, followed by quieter periods in port or the shipyard. Rotation contracts are common on large yachts. The life involves travel between seasonal cruising grounds and long stretches away from home.
Where the work happens
Indoors, climate-controlled
NeverEvery dayOutdoors in all weather
NeverEvery day
Physical demands
Sitting
NeverAlmost all the timeStanding
NeverAlmost all the timeOn their feet more than half the working day.
Bending or twisting
NeverAlmost all the time
Working with people
Contact with other people
NoneConstantFace-to-face discussions
NeverEvery dayDealing with the public
Not importantExtremely important
Pressure and stakes
Strict deadlines
NeverEvery dayMeeting strict deadlines at least weekly.
Conflict situations
NeverEvery dayCost of a mistake
Not seriousExtremely serious
Autonomy
Freedom to decide
NoneA lotA lot of freedom to make decisions without checking first.
Conditions: O*NET Work Context survey. Each item has its own scale, so each dot is read against the two answers that end its own line.
Core skills
O*NET importance, 1 to 5
- Critical Thinking3.3
- Reading Comprehension3.0
- Active Listening3.0
- Speaking3.0
- Monitoring3.0
- Writing2.9
- Active Learning2.9
- Learning Strategies2.8
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Critical Thinking | 3.3 |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.0 |
| Active Listening | 3.0 |
| Speaking | 3.0 |
| Monitoring | 3.0 |
| Writing | 2.9 |
| Active Learning | 2.9 |
| Learning Strategies | 2.8 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
Transferable skills
O*NET importance, 1 to 5
- Service Orientation3.1
- Social Perceptiveness3.0
- Complex Problem Solving3.0
- Judgment and Decision Making3.0
- Time Management3.0
- Coordination2.9
- Management of Material Resources2.9
- Persuasion2.8
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Service Orientation | 3.1 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.0 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.0 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.0 |
| Time Management | 3.0 |
| Coordination | 2.9 |
| Management of Material Resources | 2.9 |
| Persuasion | 2.8 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
Tools and software
- Accounting software · in demand
- Web page creation and editing software · in demand
- Calendar and scheduling software
- Data base user interface and query software
- Electronic mail software
- Internet browser software
- Inventory management software
- Video creation and editing software
“In demand” marks an O*NET Employer-Based Hot Technology, software named in real job postings for this occupation.
Personality fit
What personality type suits a Yacht Chef?
NueCareer estimate (Holland code RAE) built on O*NET's Cook, Private Household profile, scored 1 to 7
| Axis | Yacht Chef |
|---|---|
| Realistic | 5 |
| Investigative | 1 |
| Artistic | 4 |
| Social | 4 |
| Enterprising | 4 |
| Conventional | 4 |
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database
What the work is built around
Day to day this is work built around hands-on, practical work with tools, machines or the outdoors, combined with creating, designing and working without a fixed set of rules.
- Realistic5.3
- Artistic4.3
- Enterprising3.9
- Social3.8
- Conventional3.7
- Investigative1.4
Closest MBTI types
NueCareer fit scores: cosine similarity between each MBTI type's interest vector and this occupation's O*NET interest profile. Not a BLS or O*NET figure; the method is documented on our methodology page.
Explore further
Careers related to Yacht Chef
O*NET related occupations
- Food Preparation and Serving Related
- Food Preparation and Serving Related
- Food Preparation and Serving Related
- Food Preparation and Serving Related
- Food Preparation and Serving Related
- Food Preparation and Serving Related
More food preparation and serving related careers
Median annual pay, with cooks, private household highlighted
- Chef$62,470
- Yacht Chef$47,940
- Food Preparation Worker$35,320
- Server$35,230
- Bartender$34,340
- Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendant and Bartender Helper$33,980
- Barista$31,200
- Fast Food and Counter Worker$31,200
- Host and Hostess, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop$31,200
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Chef | $62,470 |
| Yacht Chef | $47,940 |
| Food Preparation Worker | $35,320 |
| Server | $35,230 |
| Bartender | $34,340 |
| Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendant and Bartender Helper | $33,980 |
| Barista | $31,200 |
| Fast Food and Counter Worker | $31,200 |
| Host and Hostess, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop | $31,200 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lists Yacht Chef appears on
Questions
Yacht Chef: frequently asked questions
How much do Cooks, Private Household make?
BLS does not publish a separate wage for cooks, private household. It counts them within cook, private household, whose median pay is $47,940 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The middle half of that occupation earn between $40,630 and $55,450, and the top 10% earn $91,130 or more.
Do you need a degree to become a Yacht Chef?
Not a degree, but you do need credentialed training: BLS lists a postsecondary non-degree award (a certificate or license program) as the typical entry route for Cooks, Private Household. Employers typically expect less than 5 years of related work experience first. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 38.5% hold post-secondary certificate.
Is Yacht Chef a growing career?
Yes. Employment is projected to grow 5.1% over 2025–2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 5,000 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does a Yacht Chef do?
A yacht chef runs the galley on a private or charter superyacht. A typical task: plan daily guest menus around preference sheets and dietary needs. Employers most often ask for Accounting software, Web page creation and editing software.
Which states pay Cooks, Private Household the most?
The highest state medians for Cooks, Private Household are New York ($37,440) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
What personality type suits a Yacht Chef?
O*NET scores Cooks, Private Household highest on the Realistic, Artistic and Enterprising interest areas, so the work mixes hands-on, practical work with tools, machines or the outdoors with creating, designing and working without a fixed set of rules. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping that lines up most closely with ESFJ personalities. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.