Waiters and Waitresses
35-3031.00
Bright Outlook Updated 2025

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

Sample of reported job titles: Banquet Server, Busser, Cocktail Server, Food Runner, Food Server, Restaurant Server, Room Service Server, Server, Waiter, Waitress

Occupation-Specific Information

Tasks

  • 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.
  • Clean tables or counters after patrons have finished dining.
  • Serve food or beverages to patrons, and prepare or serve specialty dishes at tables as required.
  • Perform cleaning duties, such as sweeping and mopping floors, vacuuming carpet, tidying up server station, taking out trash, or checking and cleaning bathroom.
  • Present menus to patrons and answer questions about menu items, making recommendations upon request.
  • Prepare tables for meals, including setting up items such as linens, silverware, and glassware.
  • Stock service areas with supplies such as coffee, food, tableware, and linens.
  • Roll silverware, set up food stations, or set up dining areas to prepare for the next shift or for large parties.
  • Inform customers of daily specials.
  • Explain how various menu items are prepared, describing ingredients and cooking methods.
  • Assist host or hostess by answering phones to take reservations or to-go orders, and by greeting, seating, and thanking guests.
  • Fill salt, pepper, sugar, cream, condiment, and napkin containers.
  • Perform food preparation duties, such as preparing salads, appetizers, and cold dishes, portioning desserts, and brewing coffee.
  • Prepare hot, cold, and mixed drinks for patrons, and chill bottles of wine.
  • Escort customers to their tables.
  • Provide guests with information about local areas, including directions.
  • Garnish and decorate dishes in preparation for serving.
  • Bring wine selections to tables with appropriate glasses, and pour the wines for customers.
  • Describe and recommend wines to customers.
  • 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.
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Technology Skills

  • Instant messaging software — Blink
  • Point of sale POS software — Compris Advanced Manager's Workstation; Hospitality Control Solutions Aloha Point-of-Sale; Intuit QuickBooks Point of Sale; NCR Advanced Checkout Solution; 4 more
  • Web page creation and editing software — Facebook Hot technology
Hot technology
Hot Technologies are requirements most frequently included across all employer job postings.

Occupational Requirements

Work Activities

  • Performing for or Working Directly with the Public — Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
  • Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
  • Performing General Physical Activities — Performing general physical activities includes doing activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
  • Handling and Moving Objects — Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
  • Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
  • Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Assisting and Caring for Others — Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
  • Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
  • Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others — Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
  • Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
  • Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
  • Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others — Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
  • Selling or Influencing Others — Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions.
  • Working with Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.

Detailed Work Activities

Find occupations related to multiple detailed work activities

Work Context

  • Contact With Others — 95% responded “Constant contact with others.”
  • Spend Time Standing — 80% responded “Continually or almost continually.”
  • Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams — 79% responded “Every day.”
  • Spend Time Walking or Running — 59% responded “Continually or almost continually.”
  • Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team — 70% responded “Extremely important.”
  • Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — 80% responded “Every day.”
  • Coordinate or Lead Others in Accomplishing Work Activities — 44% responded “Extremely important.”
  • Health and Safety of Other Workers — 37% responded “High responsibility.”
  • Physical Proximity — 36% responded “Moderately close (at arm's length).”
  • Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls — 36% responded “More than half the time.”
  • Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions — 41% responded “More than half the time.”
  • Telephone Conversations — 51% responded “Every day.”
  • Importance of Being Exact or Accurate — 43% responded “Very important.”
  • Deal With External Customers or the Public in General — 53% responded “Extremely important.”
  • Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals — 31% responded “A lot of freedom.”
  • Freedom to Make Decisions — 42% responded “Some freedom.”
  • Frequency of Decision Making — 35% responded “Every day.”
  • Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets — 59% responded “Every day.”
  • Dealing With Unpleasant, Angry, or Discourteous People — 48% responded “Once a month or more but not every week.”
  • Work Outcomes and Results of Other Workers — 30% responded “Moderate responsibility.”
  • Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results — 34% responded “Minor results.”
  • Importance of Repeating Same Tasks — 33% responded “Fairly important.”

Experience Requirements

Job Zone

Title
Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed
Education
These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
Related Experience
Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.
Job Training
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Job Zone Examples
These occupations often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include orderlies, counter and rental clerks, customer service representatives, security guards, upholsterers, tellers, and dental laboratory technicians.
SVP Range
(4.0 to < 6.0)

Training & Credentials

State training
Local training
Certifications
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State licenses

Apprenticeship Opportunities

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Worker Requirements

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.
  • Coordination — Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
  • Monitoring — Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Knowledge

  • 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.
  • Sales and Marketing — Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

Education

How much education does a new hire need to perform a job in this occupation? Respondents said:

  • 58%
     
    High school diploma or equivalent required
  • 32%
     
    Less than high school diploma required
  • 8%
     
    Post-secondary certificate required

Worker Characteristics

Abilities

  • 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 Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Stamina — The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
  • Time Sharing — The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
  • Trunk Strength — The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
  • Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Arm-Hand Steadiness — The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
  • Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Manual Dexterity — The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
  • Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Interests

Interest code: SCE
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  • Social — Work involves helping, teaching, advising, assisting, or providing service to others. Social occupations are often associated with social, health care, personal service, teaching/education, or religious activities.
  • Conventional — Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources.
  • Enterprising — Work involves managing, negotiating, marketing, or selling, typically in a business setting, or leading or advising people in political and legal situations. Enterprising occupations are often associated with business initiatives, sales, marketing/advertising, finance, management/administration, professional advising, public speaking, politics, or law.
  • Realistic — Work involves designing, building, or repairing of equipment, materials, or structures, engaging in physical activity, or working outdoors. Realistic occupations are often associated with engineering, mechanics and electronics, construction, woodworking, transportation, machine operation, agriculture, animal services, physical or manual labor, athletics, or protective services.

Work Styles

  • Optimism — A tendency to exhibit a positive attitude and positive emotions at work, even under difficult circumstances.
  • Social Orientation — A tendency to seek out, enjoy, and be energized by social interaction at work.
  • Cooperation — A tendency to be pleasant, helpful, and willing to assist others at work.
  • Dependability — A tendency to be reliable, responsible, and consistent in meeting work-related obligations.

Workforce Characteristics

Wages & Employment Trends

Median wages (2024)
$16.23 hourly, $33,760 annual
State wages
Local wages
Employment (2024)
2,329,700 employees
Projected growth (2024-2034)
Decline (-1% or lower)
Projected job openings (2024-2034)
456,700
State trends
Top industries (2024)

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024 wage data and 2024-2034 employment projections . “Projected growth” represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2024-2034). “Projected job openings” represent openings due to growth and replacement.

Job Openings on the Web

State job openings
Local job openings

More Information

Professional Associations

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National Associations
Accreditation, Certification, & Unions