How To Become A Counter Server: What It Is and Career Path

What is a counter server and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a counter server. For example, did you know that they make an average of $15.61 an hour? That's $32,460 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 14% and produce 775,300 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreCounter ServerUS Average

Salary

2.5

Avg. Salary $32,460

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.2

Growth rate 14%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.85%

Asian 6.49%

Black or African American 9.64%

Hispanic or Latino 18.63%

Unknown 6.92%

White 57.47%

Gender

female 72.02%

male 27.98%

Age - 21

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 21

Stress level

4.2

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.8

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

10.0

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a counter server

Explore counter server education requirements

Most common counter server degrees

Bachelor's

43.0 %

High School Diploma

32.5 %

Associate

16.9 %

Start to develop specific counter server skills

Skills	Percentages
Food Handling	23.82%
Excellent Guest	18.89%
Basic Math	14.19%
Wine	9.36%
Cash Handling	6.45%

Complete relevant counter server training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New counter servers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a counter server based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real counter server resumes.

Research counter server duties and responsibilities

Answer telephones and enter orders into POS system.
Operate POS terminal to process customers' orders, swipe credit cards, and enter cash amounts.
Provide guests with an excellent dining experience by asking questions about allergies or preferences and initiating conversation for customer confidence.
Prepare some salads, shakes, smoothies, and juices.

Prepare your counter server resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your counter server resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a counter server resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable counter server resume templates

Build a professional counter server resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your counter server resume.

Apply for counter server jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a counter server job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do counter servers rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Counter server reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Dec 2021

Pros

A total time you spend knowing and communicate and get attachment to the clients

A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2019