How To Become A Dishwasher/Waitress: What It Is and Career Path

What is a dishwasher/waitress 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 dishwasher/waitress. For example, did you know that they make an average of $13.28 an hour? That's $27,619 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 10% and produce 197,000 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreDishwasher/WaitressUS Average

Salary

2.2

Avg. Salary $27,619

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.2

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.73%

Asian 7.12%

Black or African American 9.11%

Hispanic or Latino 17.52%

Unknown 5.35%

White 60.18%

Gender

female 93.12%

male 6.88%

Age - 25

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 - 25

Stress level

6.2

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.1

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

10.0

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a dishwasher/waitress

Explore dishwasher/waitress education requirements

Most common dishwasher/waitress degrees

High School Diploma

48.7 %

Bachelor's

19.2 %

Associate

16.9 %

Start to develop specific dishwasher/waitress skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	36.73%
Food Orders	9.98%
Customer Orders	9.41%
Bus Tables	5.95%
Drink Orders	5.14%

Complete relevant dishwasher/waitress training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New dishwasher/waitresses 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 dishwasher/waitress based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real dishwasher/waitress resumes.

Research dishwasher/waitress duties and responsibilities

Manage a recurring book of business of top VIP clients secure through networking.
Work with the POS system.
Clean dishes, deep fryers, vents, organize, and stock
Maintain general knowledge of bartending duties, drink and food specials, and any new promotions.

Prepare your dishwasher/waitress resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your dishwasher/waitress 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 dishwasher/waitress resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable dishwasher/waitress resume templates

Build a professional dishwasher/waitress 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 dishwasher/waitress resume.