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

What is a formal waiter/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 formal waiter/waitress. For example, did you know that they make an average of $12.41 an hour? That's $25,808 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 10% and produce 197,000 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreFormal Waiter/WaitressUS Average

Salary

2.0

Avg. Salary $25,808

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.2

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.81%

Asian 8.45%

Black or African American 7.04%

Hispanic or Latino 19.17%

Unknown 5.66%

White 58.87%

Gender

female 48.48%

male 51.52%

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 formal waiter/waitress

Explore formal waiter/waitress education requirements

Most common formal waiter/waitress degrees

Bachelor's

46.2 %

High School Diploma

38.5 %

Diploma

7.7 %

Start to develop specific formal waiter/waitress skills

Skills	Percentages
Wine	78.48%
Fine Dining	21.52%

Complete relevant formal waiter/waitress training and internships

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

Research formal waiter/waitress duties and responsibilities

Set up, work in, and manage the private room events as both bartender and waiter.
Develop expertise in wine recommendations and pairings base on extensive winereserves.
Operate large volume cooking equipment like buger grills, fryers, and/or griddles.

Prepare your formal waiter/waitress resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your formal waiter/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 formal waiter/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 formal waiter/waitress resume templates

Build a professional formal waiter/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 formal waiter/waitress resume.

Apply for formal waiter/waitress jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a formal waiter/waitress 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 formal waiter/waitresses rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Formal waiter/waitress reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2019

Pros

Most waiter and waitress jobs are entry level, and workers learn through short-term on-the-job training. No formal education or previous work experience is required to enter the occupation. Most states require workers who serve alcoholic beverages to be at least 18 years of age, but some states require servers to be older. Waiters and waitresses who serve alcohol must be familiar with state and local laws concerning the sale of alcoholic beverages.

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2019

Cons

Working day shifts