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The differences between cafeteria workers and dining room servers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a dining room server has an average salary of $29,540, which is higher than the $24,465 average annual salary of a cafeteria worker.
The top three skills for a cafeteria worker include food handling, kitchen equipment and food preparation. The most important skills for a dining room server are fine dining, food service, and cleanliness.
| Cafeteria Worker | Dining Room Server | |
| Yearly salary | $24,465 | $29,540 |
| Hourly rate | $11.76 | $14.20 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 31,802 | 99,079 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 42% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A cafeteria worker is responsible for taking and processing customer orders, ensuring the correct foods are served, providing them the satisfaction of their dining experience. Cafeteria workers maintain the cleanliness and orderliness of the facilities, manage the adequacy of inventory stock supplies, coordinate with suppliers for deliveries, process payments, and help out the customers with their inquiries and concerns. A cafeteria worker should also assist the management in developing marketing techniques to boost revenues and increase profitability.
A dining room server performs various tasks to give patrons a positive dining experience. Their job usually entails greeting customers and presenting the menu, taking their orders, answering inquiries, recommending products and other services, serving drinks and food, and handling concerns professionally and courteously. They are also responsible for coordinating with cashiers and kitchen staff, cleaning and preparing tables for new customers, and assisting staff as needed. In some establishments, a dining room server may also participate in preparing drinks or ingredients, monitoring supply inventories, and collecting payments.
Cafeteria workers and dining room servers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Cafeteria Worker | Dining Room Server | |
| Average salary | $24,465 | $29,540 |
| Salary range | Between $18,000 And $32,000 | Between $23,000 And $37,000 |
| Highest paying City | Yuba City, CA | Marysville, WA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | Jefferson Elementary School District | Eastmont School District |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Hospitality |
There are a few differences between a cafeteria worker and a dining room server in terms of educational background:
| Cafeteria Worker | Dining Room Server | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 42% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between cafeteria workers' and dining room servers' demographics:
| Cafeteria Worker | Dining Room Server | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 20.4% Female, 79.6% | Male, 35.1% Female, 64.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 13.5% Asian, 7.0% White, 61.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 13.5% Asian, 7.5% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |