What is a Caterer/Server?
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a caterer/server. For example, did you know that they make an average of $16.22 an hour? That's $33,737 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 170,200 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Caterer/Server Do
There are certain skills that many caterer/servers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed detail oriented, communication skills and customer-service skills.
How To Become a Caterer/Server
If you're interested in becoming a caterer/server, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 48.6% of caterer/servers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 2.4% of caterer/servers have master's degrees. Even though most caterer/servers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Caterer/Server Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of waitress you might progress to a role such as teacher eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title general manager.
Average Salary for a Caterer/Server
What Am I Worth?
Roles and Types of Caterer/Server
The role of a caterer/server includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general caterer/server responsibilities:
- Greet and verbally acknowledge each guest promptly responsible for prompt, efficient
- Adhere to company policy and state
- Prepare banquet room for the function display excellent customer service
There are several types of caterer/server, including:
Server
Role:
Be our guest! Sure, server's don't typically sing Disney songs to their customers but they do make sure customers get their food as soon as it's ready.
Once you've been serving for awhile, you may be able to impress your guests with taking their food order without writing the orders down. As long as you get the entire order correct, this may score you a nice tip.
Not everyone is going to enjoy their dining experience though, and whether it's your fault or the chef's fault, it is your responsibility to correct any problems. Don't worry, you can go yell at the chef later.
- Average Salary: $29,901
- Degree: Bachelor's Degree
Server And Hostess
Role:
As a server and hostess, your job is to do everything except cook. You greet guests and show them to their table, you take food and beverage orders, and you might even clear off some tables. You're definitely a team player.
A server and hostess may keep unusual hours, ranging from super early morning to super late night. You might even work a few weekend shifts from time to time. And don't be surprised when you get called into work on Thanksgiving. Not everyone likes their family and turkey and prefers a night out.
As a server and hostess, you'll probably receive some tips from customers, as long as you get their orders right and provide them with excellent customer service. Still, some customers will never be happy, no matter how hard you try and those customers will make the workday seem really long.
- Average Salary: $28,020
- Degree: High School Diploma
Bartender Server
Role:
Bartender servers are the best kind of people - they can do it all or, at least, they can take your food order and make your drink. Bartender servers don't need any formal education, but will learn skills while on the job.
The majority of bartender servers work in restaurants, bars, and clubs but some work in hotels and other food/drink establishments. When the establishment is going through a rush of people, this job can be a little hectic, especially when you're tired from working the night shift the day before.
Speaking of hours, you'll keep some odd ones. Generally, people don't like to drink their troubles away in the morning unless they're in paradise or on vacation. You can be sure that you'll spend many nights working late hours and no one will notice if you take a shot yourself.
- Average Salary: $32,591
- Degree: Bachelor's Degree
States With The Most Caterer/Server Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active caterer/server jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where caterer/servers earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Number Of Caterer/Server Jobs By State
| Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | 3,270 | $27,584 |
| 2 | California | 2,648 | $41,319 |
| 3 | Florida | 1,846 | $28,427 |
| 4 | Ohio | 1,442 | $25,874 |
| 5 | Pennsylvania | 1,422 | $27,081 |
| 6 | North Carolina | 1,242 | $26,655 |
| 7 | Illinois | 1,240 | $32,658 |
| 8 | Georgia | 1,236 | $28,278 |
| 9 | New York | 1,196 | $41,848 |
| 10 | Michigan | 1,076 | $32,881 |
| 11 | Virginia | 1,026 | $29,028 |
| 12 | Indiana | 975 | $24,012 |
| 13 | Tennessee | 958 | $27,494 |
| 14 | New Jersey | 917 | $36,167 |
| 15 | Colorado | 883 | $35,857 |
| 16 | Missouri | 788 | $32,986 |
| 17 | Maryland | 714 | $37,382 |
| 18 | South Carolina | 657 | $25,627 |
| 19 | Kentucky | 642 | $28,606 |
| 20 | Massachusetts | 625 | $42,159 |
| 21 | Washington | 577 | $47,766 |
| 22 | Wisconsin | 540 | $31,314 |
| 23 | Minnesota | 513 | $40,958 |
| 24 | Arizona | 490 | $35,991 |
| 25 | Alabama | 481 | $25,125 |
| 26 | Oklahoma | 434 | $23,850 |
| 27 | Louisiana | 427 | $24,547 |
| 28 | Iowa | 348 | $27,051 |
| 29 | Kansas | 346 | $29,902 |
| 30 | Oregon | 338 | $39,286 |
| 31 | Utah | 323 | $31,303 |
| 32 | Connecticut | 319 | $39,673 |
| 33 | Mississippi | 264 | $24,229 |
| 34 | Arkansas | 239 | $26,920 |
| 35 | Nevada | 233 | $28,625 |
| 36 | West Virginia | 223 | $29,157 |
| 37 | New Hampshire | 206 | $32,666 |
| 38 | New Mexico | 182 | $28,831 |
| 39 | Idaho | 181 | $31,554 |
| 40 | Nebraska | 176 | $26,199 |
| 41 | Montana | 153 | $31,198 |
| 42 | Delaware | 121 | $32,730 |
| 43 | Maine | 111 | $31,612 |
| 44 | Wyoming | 94 | $28,866 |
| 45 | Rhode Island | 91 | $35,158 |
| 46 | Hawaii | 53 | $35,515 |
| 47 | Vermont | 43 | $41,708 |
| 48 | North Dakota | 43 | $34,439 |
| 49 | South Dakota | 42 | $28,136 |
| 50 | Alaska | 37 | $39,931 |
Top Skills For a Caterer/Server
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 10.9% of caterer/servers listed customer service on their resume, but soft skills such as detail oriented and communication skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Caterer/Server Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Caterer/Server templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Caterer/Server resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Caterer/Server diversity
Caterer/Server Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among caterer/servers, 63.1% of them are women, while 36.9% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among caterer/servers is White, which makes up 54.2% of all caterer/servers.
- The most common foreign language among caterer/servers is Spanish at 62.8%.
Online Courses For Caterer/Server That You May Like
1. Setting the Stage for Success: An Eye on Safety Culture and Teamwork (Patient Safety II)
Safety culture is a facet of organizational culture that captures attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, and values about safety. A culture of safety is essential in high reliability organizations and is a critical mechanism for the delivery of safe and high-quality care. It requires a strong commitment from leadership and staff. In this course, a safe culture is promoted through the use of identifying and reporting patient safety hazards, accountability and transparency, involvement with patients...
2. Patient Safety and Quality Improvement: Developing a Systems View (Patient Safety I)
In this course, you will be able develop a systems view for patient safety and quality improvement in healthcare. By then end of this course, you will be able to: 1) Describe a minimum of four key events in the history of patient safety and quality improvement, 2) define the key characteristics of high reliability organizations, and 3) explain the benefits of having strategies for both proactive and reactive systems thinking...
3. Fun food safety and sanitation course
The food safety course will help prepare you for safely working in a kitchen and food handler tests like Servesafe...
Best States For a Caterer/Server
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a caterer/server. The best states for people in this position are Washington, Massachusetts, New York, and Vermont. Caterer/servers make the most in Washington with an average salary of $47,766. Whereas in Massachusetts and New York, they would average $42,159 and $41,848, respectively. While caterer/servers would only make an average of $41,708 in Vermont, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Colorado
$35,857
Avg. Salary
2. Washington
$47,766
Avg. Salary
3. New York
$41,848
Avg. Salary
How Do Caterer/Servers Rate Their Jobs?
Top Caterer/Server Employers
Most Common Employers For Caterer/Server
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bon Appétit Management | $44,234 | $21.27 | 20 |
| 2 | Carrabba's | $40,648 | $19.54 | 8 |
| 3 | McMenamins Pubs & Breweries | $38,840 | $18.67 | 8 |
| 4 | On The Border | $37,309 | $17.94 | 14 |
| 5 | Sifted | $31,866 | $15.32 | 10 |
| 6 | Darden Restaurants | $31,141 | $14.97 | 14 |
| 7 | The Party Staff | $30,586 | $14.70 | 14 |
| 8 | LGC Hospitality | $30,138 | $14.49 | 14 |
| 9 | University of Michigan | $29,682 | $14.27 | 8 |
| 10 | The Catering Company | $29,181 | $14.03 | 17 |
Caterer/Server Videos
