How To Become A Restaurant Associate: What It Is and Career Path

What is a restaurant associate and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Restaurant associates are front-of-house employees responsible for greeting and serving customers. They take orders, serve food and beverages, and handle payments, ensuring customer satisfaction. They may also assist with food preparation and perform other tasks as assigned by management. Strong communication, customer service, and time-management skills are essential for success in this role. Restaurant associates often work flexible schedules, including weekends and holidays, and must be able to work well under pressure in a fast-paced environment.

ScoreRestaurant AssociateUS Average

Salary

2.3

Avg. Salary $29,195

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.1

Growth rate 14%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.88%

Asian 6.58%

Black or African American 11.10%

Hispanic or Latino 21.51%

Unknown 5.15%

White 54.78%

Gender

female 50.80%

male 49.20%

Age - 34

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 - 34

Stress level

9.1

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.0

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.5

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a restaurant associate?

Pros

Ability to work flexible hours
Chance to meet new people
Opportunity to work in a team-oriented environment
Access to free or discounted meals
Opportunity to work in a fun and lively atmosphere

Cons

Long and irregular hours, including evenings, weekends, and holidays
High stress and intense work environment
Physical demands of being on your feet for long periods of time
Dealing with difficult customers and complaints
Working in an environment with potential health hazards (e.g. hot surfaces, sharp knives)

Key steps to become a restaurant associate

Explore restaurant associate education requirements

Most common restaurant associate degrees

High School Diploma

37.4 %

Bachelor's

31.0 %

Associate

18.2 %

Start to develop specific restaurant associate skills

Skills	Percentages
Food Service	42.87%
Customer Service	18.10%
Customer Orders	17.10%
Food Handling	9.63%
Cleanliness	4.99%

Complete relevant restaurant associate training and internships

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

Research restaurant associate duties and responsibilities

Manage staff by teaching them the correct procedures along with making sure they are working up to Marriott standards.
Uphold professional image, including restaurant cleanliness and appearance standards.
Develop ability to communicate to a variety of personalities of guests and employees while serving culinary indulgences
Review and evaluate HACCP documents, create corrective action documentation for HACCP errors.

Prepare your restaurant associate resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable restaurant associate resume templates

Build a professional restaurant associate 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 restaurant associate resume.