Grocery store employee stocks shelves.

Retail Food Distribution Career Pathway Maps

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June 24, 2021 - Judith Barry<barryjud@msu.edu>, Jeannine La Prad, Megan Elyse Williams, and Mary Freeman

The retail food distribution pathway encompasses occupations involved in selling and distribution of food directly to individual consumers in a retail setting. Most jobs in this subsector are in grocery stores.

Career pathways for retail food distribution

Download the file to access a high-resolution version of the maps.

The maps below indicate the top occupations in this field as well as wages, opportunities for advancement, typical time to advance, education required, and on-the-job training.

Michigan’s Food System Career Pathway Map Key

This key describes what the elements of the career pathway maps mean.

Food Sales and Management Pathway Map

This figure shows the most common occupations in the field for a specific career pathway. In addition, it shows the wages, the typical time to advance, the education required, and the typical level of on-the-job training required to fulfil the demands of occupation. Data on the most common occupations in the field for a specific career pathway can be found from the Economic Modeling Specialist, Inc’s (Emsi) 2020.4 Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) Employees, Non-QCEW Employees and Self-Employed dataset. Accessible text for specific occupations in different sectors from 2019 can be found in the 2019 Workforce Assessment of Michigan’s Local and Regional Food System. Data on key occupations and respective wages, entry education required, and typical level of on-the-job training can be accessed from the Economic Modeling Specialist, Inc’s (Emsi) 2020.4 Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) Employees, Non-QCEW Employees and Self-Employed dataset, Burning Glass Technologies, O*Net online, and multiple sources of education and training inventories and stakeholder interviews. Average earnings, on-the-job training, entry education requirements for different sectors and the number of people employed in those sectors can be found in tables in the 2019 Workforce Assessment of Michigan’s Local and Regional Food System. For more information on education and training opportunities in Michigan and the credentials that can support the local and regional food system, please refer to the Directory of Education and Training opportunities in Michigan’s local and regional food system.

Operations, Business Management, and Administration Pathway Map

This figure shows the most common occupations in the field for a specific career pathway. In addition, it shows the wages, the typical time to advance, the education required, and the typical level of on-the-job training required to fulfil the demands of occupation. Data on the most common occupations in the field for a specific career pathway can be found from the Economic Modeling Specialist, Inc’s (Emsi) 2020.4 Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) Employees, Non-QCEW Employees and Self-Employed dataset. Accessible text for specific occupations in different sectors from 2019 can be found in the 2019 Workforce Assessment of Michigan’s Local and Regional Food System. Data on key occupations and respective wages, entry education required, and typical level of on-the-job training can be accessed from the Economic Modeling Specialist, Inc’s (Emsi) 2020.4 Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) Employees, Non-QCEW Employees and Self-Employed dataset, Burning Glass Technologies, O*Net online, and multiple sources of education and training inventories and stakeholder interviews. Average earnings, on-the-job training, entry education requirements for different sectors and the number of people employed in those sectors can be found in tables in the 2019 Workforce Assessment of Michigan’s Local and Regional Food System. For more information on education and training opportunities in Michigan and the credentials that can support the local and regional food system, please refer to the Directory of Education and Training opportunities in Michigan’s local and regional food system.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge and express appreciation to all the stakeholders and employers who contributed their time and knowledge to this research.

The authors thank Andrea Weiss of MSU Center for Regional Food Systems (CRFS) for guidance and formatting, Lindsay Mensch of CRFS for proofing and web publishing, Rachel Kelly of CRFS for editing, and Charli Holloway of Charli ReNae Design for the design of the career pathway maps.

This work was made possible through funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and MSU Extension.

Suggested citation

Barry, J., La Prad, J., Williams, M., & Freeman, M. (2021). Retail food distribution career pathway maps. Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems. https://foodsystems.msu.edu/resources/retail-food-distribution-career-pathway-maps

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