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The differences between catering assistants and food servers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a catering assistant has an average salary of $32,101, which is higher than the $25,209 average annual salary of a food server.
The top three skills for a catering assistant include patients, food service and customer service. The most important skills for a food server are beverage orders, wine, and cleanliness.
| Catering Assistant | Food Server | |
| Yearly salary | $32,101 | $25,209 |
| Hourly rate | $15.43 | $12.12 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 10,042 | 125,455 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | High School Diploma, 36% |
| Average age | 37 | 42 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A catering assistant is responsible for supporting catering operations, especially on outdoor gatherings and social events. Catering assistants prepare the buffet area and ensure the adequacy of foods and beverages, and provide the best customer service for the guests' satisfaction. Catering assistants must have excellent communication skills, responding to the guests' inquiries and concerns about the dish, and resolving immediate complaints. They maintain the cleanliness of the buffet station, strictly adhering to the sanitary standards and hygienic regulations.
A Food Server specializes in helping customers attain a pleasant dining experience while ensuring to meet all food handling and health regulation standards. Most of the responsibilities revolve around greeting customers and directing them to comfortable seats, responding to their inquires and taking their orders, and courteously suggesting options. Aside from serving meals, Food Servers must also accept payments, organize order receipts, replenish stocks in food containers and drinking stations, and clean tables for the new customers.
Catering assistants and food servers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Catering Assistant | Food Server | |
| Average salary | $32,101 | $25,209 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $38,000 | Between $18,000 And $34,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Los Angeles, CA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Vermont |
| Best paying company | Massachusetts General Hospital | Gettysburg College |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Retail |
There are a few differences between a catering assistant and a food server in terms of educational background:
| Catering Assistant | Food Server | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | High School Diploma, 36% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between catering assistants' and food servers' demographics:
| Catering Assistant | Food Server | |
| Average age | 37 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 32.2% Female, 67.8% | Male, 36.0% Female, 64.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 7.2% White, 56.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% | Black or African American, 4.2% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 20.4% Asian, 8.7% White, 60.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 7% |