What do they do?

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

Also known as:

Banquet Server, Busser, Cocktail Server, Cocktail Waitress, Food Runner, Food Server, Restaurant Server, Room Service Server, Server, Server Assistant, Waiter, Waitress

Typical Wages

Projected Growth Rate

Employment of Waiters and Waitresses is projected to Decline 4 percent from 2022 to 2032

Projected Employment in OH

No Data Available
  • -4.9%

    Change

    Ranks #66 in job growth rate
    14,170

    Job Openings

    Ranks #11 in net job growth

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Education Level

Percent of workers in this field with these degrees:

  • High school diploma equivalent  (35%)
  • Some college, no degree  (27%)
  • Bachelor's degree  (14%)
  • Less than high school diploma  (12%)
  • Associate's degree  (9%)
  • Master's degree  (2%)
  • Doctorate or Professional Degree  (1%)

People in this career often have these skills:

  • Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
  • Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

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, and 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.
  • Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

People in this career often do these activities:

  • Process customer bills or payments.
  • Enforce rules or regulations.
  • Communicate dining or order details to kitchen personnel.
  • Take customer orders.
  • Communicate with customers to resolve complaints or ensure satisfaction.
  • Collect dirty dishes or other tableware.
  • Clean food service areas.
  • Serve food or beverages.
  • Cook foods.
  • Clean food preparation areas, facilities, or equipment.
  • Present food or beverage information or menus to customers.
  • Arrange tables or dining areas.
  • Stock serving stations or dining areas with food or supplies.
  • Schedule dining reservations.
  • Assist customers with seating arrangements.
  • Add garnishes to food.
  • Prepare foods for cooking or serving.
  • Prepare hot or cold beverages.
  • Provide customers with general information or assistance.

This page includes data from:

O*NET OnLine Career data: O*NET 30.0 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

careeronestop logo Videos: CareerOneStop, USDOL/ETA and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development

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