Dietary aide, serving vs food server

The differences between dietary aides, serving and food servers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a dietary aide, serving has an average salary of $27,660, which is higher than the $25,209 average annual salary of a food server.

The top three skills for a dietary aide, serving include meal service, culinary and meal preparation. The most important skills for a food server are beverage orders, wine, and cleanliness.

Dietary aide, serving vs food server overview

	Dietary Aide, Serving	Food Server
Yearly salary	$27,660	$25,209
Hourly rate	$13.30	$12.12
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	45,822	125,455
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 52%	High School Diploma, 36%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

Dietary aide, serving vs food server salary

Dietary aides, serving and food servers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Dietary Aide, Serving	Food Server
Average salary	$27,660	$25,209
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $34,000	Between $18,000 And $34,000
Highest paying City	Lake Oswego, OR	Los Angeles, CA
Highest paying state	Washington	Vermont
Best paying company	Erickson Senior Living	Gettysburg College
Best paying industry	Retail	Retail

Differences between dietary aide, serving and food server education

There are a few differences between a dietary aide, serving and a food server in terms of educational background:

	Dietary Aide, Serving	Food Server
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 52%	High School Diploma, 36%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Dietary aide, serving vs food server demographics

Here are the differences between dietary aides, serving' and food servers' demographics:

	Dietary Aide, Serving	Food Server
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 24.4% Female, 75.6%	Male, 36.0% Female, 64.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.6% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.1% Asian, 7.5% White, 68.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	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	7%	7%

Differences between dietary aide, serving and food server duties and responsibilities

Dietary aide, serving example responsibilities.

clean oven, stoves, freezer, fridge etc.
Follow guidelines concerning HIPPA and patient privacy rights.
Operate fryers, grills, and ovens to create lunch and dinner for students.
Check restaurant on daily basis to ensure cleanliness, high quality food and food presentation.
Serve only foods that can be eaten (especially for ones with allergies and diabetics).
Well educate on specific diets, allergies, and procedures to go about dealing with them.

Food server example responsibilities.

Manage expediter window paying close attention to garnishes and presentation.
Provide outstanding customer service by communicating clearly and effectively while maintaining the cleanliness and organization of the restaurant.
Serve tables in a busy caf /bar environment.
Handle all transactions, both in person and by headset in drive-thru.
Work the Drive-Thru counter assisting numerous customers at a fast and friendly pace.
Prepare and serve delicious espresso, coffee drinks, and smoothies according to memorize recipes.

Dietary aide, serving vs food server skills

Common dietary aide, serving skills

Meal Service, 24%
Culinary, 20%
Meal Preparation, 16%
Fine Dining, 3%
Food Handling, 3%
Patients, 3%

Common food server skills

Beverage Orders, 10%
Wine, 9%
Cleanliness, 9%
Customer Service, 9%
Guest Service, 6%
Cash Handling, 5%

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Dietary Aide, Serving
Dietary Aide, Serving vs Food Server

Updated January 8, 2025

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