Career
Waiters and waitresses
Serve guests and shape their experience of a meal.
$35,230
Median pay
+2.0%
Job growth, 2025–35
423,100
Openings a year
No formal educational credential
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- 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.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on information & systems, then people & care?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Collect payments from customers.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Service Orientation, Speaking, Active Listening, Social Perceptiveness.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though short-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $35,230 a year and 423,100 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- NO MATCHCIP 99.9999
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers$33,980 · +5.3%
- Food Servers, Nonrestaurant$35,360 · +4.5%
- Bartenders$34,340 · +5.0%
- Fast Food and Counter Workers$31,200 · +5.8%
- Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop$31,200 · +3.4%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.