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The differences between food servers and beverage servers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a beverage server has an average salary of $25,886, which is higher than the $25,209 average annual salary of a food server.
The top three skills for a food server include beverage orders, wine and cleanliness. The most important skills for a beverage server are drink orders, guest service, and beverage orders.
| Food Server | Beverage Server | |
| Yearly salary | $25,209 | $25,886 |
| Hourly rate | $12.12 | $12.45 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 125,455 | 79,100 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 36% | Bachelor's Degree, 32% |
| Average age | 42 | 28 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
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.
A beverage server specializes in mixing and preparing drinks, serving them to customers courteously. Their responsibilities also include greeting the customers, taking orders, answering inquiries, offering recommendations when necessary, and checking the customers' identification to confirm their ages. They may also provide assistance to managers by monitoring beverage inventories, receiving and unloading deliveries, organizing supplies and equipment, and maintaining the cleanliness of work areas. Moreover, as a beverage server, it is essential to have a clear communication line with co-workers for smooth work operations.
Food servers and beverage servers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Food Server | Beverage Server | |
| Average salary | $25,209 | $25,886 |
| Salary range | Between $18,000 And $34,000 | Between $20,000 And $33,000 |
| Highest paying City | Los Angeles, CA | - |
| Highest paying state | Vermont | - |
| Best paying company | Gettysburg College | - |
| Best paying industry | Retail | - |
There are a few differences between a food server and a beverage server in terms of educational background:
| Food Server | Beverage Server | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 36% | Bachelor's Degree, 32% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between food servers' and beverage servers' demographics:
| Food Server | Beverage Server | |
| Average age | 42 | 28 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 36.0% Female, 64.0% | Male, 13.6% Female, 86.4% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 19.3% Asian, 8.3% White, 54.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 6% |