Waiters and Waitresses

Career Overview

Take orders and serve food and beverages to patrons at tables in dining establishment.

Also Known As

• Food Server
• Server
• Waiter
• Waitress

Alternate Job Titles

• Banquet Server
• Banquet Waiter
• Banquet Waitress
• Bar Waiter
• Bar Waitress
• Buffet Waiter
• Buffet Waitress
• Busser
• Carhop
• Club Waiter
• Club Waitress
• Cocktail Server
• Cocktail Waitress
• Deck Steward
• Dining Car Server

What You'll Do

In this role, your typical responsibilities include:

• Collect payments from customers.
• Check patrons' identification to ensure that they meet minimum age requirements for consumption of alcoholic beverages.
• Write patrons' food orders on order slips, memorize orders, or enter orders into computers for transmittal to kitchen staff.
• Check with customers to ensure that they are enjoying their meals, and take action to correct any problems.
• Take orders from patrons for food or beverages.
• Prepare checks that itemize and total meal costs and sales taxes.
• Remove dishes and glasses from tables or counters, and take them to kitchen for cleaning.

Emerging Responsibilities

As this field evolves, you may also:

• Check with customers to see if they want to apply any rewards to their purchase.
• Perform routine tasks, such as refilling syrups, sanitizer bottles, and other essential supplies.

Knowledge You'll Use

You'll need solid knowledge in these areas:

• Customer and Personal Service
• English Language

Essential Skills

Success in this career requires strong skills in:

1. Service Orientation

Key Abilities

This career requires key abilities in:

• Oral Comprehension
• Speech Recognition
• Speech Clarity
• Oral Expression
• Time Sharing
• Trunk Strength
• Stamina
• Problem Sensitivity
• Deductive Reasoning
• Information Ordering

Work Style

People who excel in this career typically demonstrate:

• Social Orientation
• Cooperation
• Dependability
• Optimism
• Empathy

What Matters in This Career

This career tends to satisfy these work values:

• Relationships
• Support
• Achievement
• Independence
• Working Conditions

Education & Preparation

Typical Education: High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)

On-the-Job Training: Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month

Education Details: Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.

Experience Required: Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.

Technology You'll Use

Popular Technologies & Software

• Facebook

Tools & Equipment

• Alphanumeric paging equipment
• Carving knives
• Cash registers
• Credit card processing machines
• Personal digital assistants PDA
• Point of sale POS printers
• Point of sale POS terminals
• Point of service workstations
• Portable bar code scanners
• Touch screen monitors

Work Environment

• Contact With Others
• Spend Time Standing
• Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
• Spend Time Walking or Running
• Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team

Salary & Job Market

Salary Percentile	Annual Wage
Entry-Level (10th percentile)	$18,500
Median	$33,760
Top Earners (90th percentile)	$62,510

Workers Employed Nationally: 2,302,690

Related Careers

If you're interested in this career, you might also consider:

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Occupational data sourced from the O*NET OnLine database, developed by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), 2024.