What do they do?

Serve food to individuals outside of a restaurant environment, such as in hotel rooms, hospital rooms, residential care facilities, or cars.

Also known as:

Dining Room Server, Food Server, Food Service Worker, Kitchen Runner, Room Server, Room Service Server, Tray Server

Typical Wages

Projected Growth Rate

Employment of Food Servers, Nonrestaurant is projected to grow 3 percent from 2020 to 2030, more slowly than average compared to all occupations.

Projected Employment in OH

No Data Available
  • 3.3%

    Change

    Ranks #53 in job growth rate
    2,040

    Job Openings

    Ranks #10 in net job growth

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Education Level

Percent of workers in this field with these degrees:

  • Doctorate or Professional Degree  (<1%)
  • Master's degree  (2%)
  • Bachelor's degree  (10%)
  • Associate's degree  (8%)
  • Some college, no degree  (25%)
  • High school diploma equivalent  (42%)
  • Less than high school diploma  (12%)

People in this career often know a lot about:

  • Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

People in this career often have talent in:

  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

People in this career often do these activities:

  • Arrange food for serving.
  • Clean tableware.
  • Monitor food services operations to ensure procedures are followed.
  • Stock serving stations or dining areas with food or supplies.
  • Communicate dining or order details to kitchen personnel.
  • Process customer bills or payments.
  • Collect dirty dishes or other tableware.
  • Move equipment, supplies or food to required locations.
  • Record operational or production data.
  • Cook foods.
  • Assist customers with seating arrangements.

This page includes data from:

O*NET OnLine Career data: O*NET 28.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (“USDOL/ETA”). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Logo Occupation statistics: USDOL U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics

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