Waiters and waitresses

Pay

Getting in

Typical entry education

No formal educational credential

On-the-job training

Short-term on-the-job training

Prior experience

None

Calculate your switch to waiters and waitresses

What the work is like

Core 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.

Also called: Banquet Server · Busser · Cocktail Server · Food Runner · Food Server · Restaurant Server · Room Service Server · Server

Outlook and AI

Waiters and waitresses held 2,284,400 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 2,330,900 by 2035 (+2%, about as fast as average; all jobs: +3.5%).

Compare with

• Waiters and waitresses vs. Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers
• Waiters and waitresses vs. Food servers, nonrestaurant
• Waiters and waitresses vs. Bartender
• Waiters and waitresses vs. Fast food and counter workers
• Waiters and waitresses vs. Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop
• Waiters and waitresses vs. Food preparation worker
• Waiters and waitresses vs. Food service manager
• Waiters and waitresses vs. Cooks, short order
• Waiters and waitresses vs. First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers