Dishwasher
Structural exposure score derived from 2 independent sources (OpenAI "GPTs are GPTs" (human_rating_beta) + AIOE (Felten, Raj & Seamans)), each normalized against its own full reference population and combined by simple average, then converted to a percentile.
We have not ingested real-world usage data for this occupation yet. We show a band only where genuine data exists, rather than estimate one.
What a dishwasher actually does
Dishwashers wash dishes, glassware, flatware, pots, and pans using commercial dishwashing machines or by hand, and keep kitchen work areas, equipment, and utensils clean and organized throughout a shift. Core tasks include loading and operating industrial dishwashing equipment, hand-scrubbing pots, pans, and items too delicate or oddly shaped for a machine, restocking clean dishware and utensils for the kitchen and dining room, and maintaining general kitchen sanitation standards.
Many dishwashers also support basic food-preparation tasks and supply stocking during slower periods of a shift, making the role a genuine utility position within a busy kitchen rather than a narrowly defined single task.
Most dishwashers work in restaurants, hotels, hospitals, schools, and other institutional food-service settings, and the role requires no formal education or prior experience, with skills learned entirely on the job during a worker's first few shifts. It remains one of the largest food-service occupations in the country by headcount, with nearly half a million people currently employed in it nationwide.
Why it reads this way
Dishwasher scores 95/100 on this site's structural exposure measure, one of the highest readings on the entire site, and this site checked the robotics angle carefully rather than accepting that number at face value, since automated dishwashing is a real, actively developed technology, not a hypothetical. Companies like Dishcraft Robotics and Nala Robotics have built commercial robotic dishwashing systems, and the robot-kitchen market overall is projected to grow at a 24.6% compound annual rate through 2030.
What the honest, current evidence shows is real technology running into real limits. Dishcraft's robotic system can only clean specially made plates and bowls with magnetic bases, not standard glassware or silverware, a genuine functional gap rather than a temporary rollout limitation. Actual adoption remains small, roughly 2,000-3,000 kitchen robots deployed across all U. S.
quick-service restaurants combined as of 2026, under 2% of locations, and operators report real payback periods of 24-48 months against vendor claims of 12-24 months, with some installations never reaching payback at all. The clearest honest signal: this deployment is explicitly driven by a chronic labor shortage, 62% of U. S. restaurant operators report they can't fill open positions, not by an adequately staffed workforce being displaced.
BLS's own Bright Outlook designation and roughly 76,800 projected openings over the decade, driven by the occupation's naturally high turnover, confirms real, continuing demand for this role.
Skills this role draws on
We don't yet have task-by-task time-share data for this occupation, so we can't show which specific tasks carry the exposure score above. This is the real skill set instead.
Typical salary range (USD)
$26,200–$42,860
Average: $34,810/yr
Range source: BLS OEWS wage data via O*NET OnLine (2025 release), SOC 35-9021.00 'Dishwashers'
Average source: BLS OEWS wage data for Dishwashers (35-9021.00) via O*NET OnLine, 2025 wage data (Annual Median Wage)
Related careers
Head-to-head comparisons
Dishwasher scores 95/100 (Medium structural confidence, both pillars cover this code), one of the highest readings on the site. The mandatory §2a robotics-materiality check found real technology (Dishcraft Robotics, Nala Robotics) running into real limits: Dishcraft's system only cleans specially made magnetic-base plates and bowls, not standard glassware or silverware. Actual adoption remains small (2,000-3,000 kitchen robots across all U.S. QSRs combined as of 2026, under 2% of locations), with real payback periods of 24-48 months against vendor claims of 12-24 months, some never reaching payback. Deployment is explicitly driven by a chronic labor shortage (62% of operators can't fill open positions), not displacement of an adequately staffed workforce. BLS's Bright Outlook designation and ~76,800 projected openings over the decade confirm real continuing demand, as of 2026-09-21.
This is a researched judgment (checklist v1.2), not a statistical measurement — it sits alongside, not instead of, the structural exposure signal above. Next scheduled review: 2027-03-21.
Sources (5)
- https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/35-9021.00
- https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/35-9021.00
- https://www.therobotreport.com/armstrong-robotics-creating-general-purpose-kitchen-robots-starting-dishwashing/
- https://www.roboticscenter.ai/blog/restaurant-robot-guide
- https://xtalks.com/could-robot-dishwashers-solve-foodservices-labor-shortage-3354/
Data sources & methodology
Salary data: BLS OEWS wage data via O*NET OnLine (2025 release), SOC 35-9021.00 'Dishwashers'. Min/max figures represent the 10th–90th percentile annual wage range across the United States. Average figure sourced separately: BLS OEWS wage data for Dishwashers (35-9021.00) via O*NET OnLine, 2025 wage data (Annual Median Wage).
Automation Risk Score: Based on O*NET occupational analysis (35-9021.00) evaluating task complexity, physical requirements, social intelligence, and environmental variability. Methodology based on research from Frey & Osborne (Oxford, 2017).
Growth projections: Little or no change (2024-2034, Bright Outlook designation), ~76,800 projected openings over the decade driven by very high turnover (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook / O*NET Job Outlook), based on BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.