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What is a restaurant server and how to become one
A restaurant server serves food and drinks to customers in a dining establishment. They take food and drink orders, answer questions about menu items, and make recommendations. Servers aim to promote an enjoyable dining experience for customers by providing efficient and friendly service. They also handle payment transactions and may assist with cleaning and setting up tables. Successful servers have good communication skills, attention to detail, and the ability to work in a fast-paced environment.
Avg. Salary $24,558
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 10%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.83%
Asian 9.44%
Black or African American 10.91%
Hispanic or Latino 20.88%
Unknown 5.71%
White 52.23%
Genderfemale 59.21%
male 40.79%
Age - 25American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 25Stress level is manageable
7.1 - high
Complexity level is intermediate
7 - challenging
Work life balance is excellent
6.4 - fair
What are the pros and cons of being a restaurant server?
Pros
Opportunity for tips
Flexible schedule
Opportunity for advancement
Free or discounted meals
Potential for higher pay than minimum wage
Cons
Physically demanding job
Inconsistent income due to tips
Late nights and weekends required
Limited benefits (such as health insurance)
Potential for low base pay
Restaurant server career paths
Key steps to become a restaurant server
Explore restaurant server education requirements
Start to develop specific restaurant server skills
Skills Percentages Wine 28.33% Exceptional Dining 5.95% Guest Satisfaction 5.42% Cleanliness 5.15% POS 5.00% Complete relevant restaurant server training and internships
Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New restaurant servers 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 server based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real restaurant server resumes.Research restaurant server duties and responsibilities
- Demonstrate adequate culinary and Italian wine knowledge through suggestive selling.
- Input orders in micros and issue guest check for each order.
- Prepare the groceries for the customer in their request baggage handing.3.
- Maintain clean, sanitize FOH area and ensure health & safety and hygiene procedures and standards are meet.
Prepare your restaurant server resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your restaurant server 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 server 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 server resume templates
Build a professional restaurant server 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 server resume.
Apply for restaurant server jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a restaurant server 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 did you land your first restaurant server job
Are you a restaurant server?
Share your story for a free salary report.
Average restaurant server salary
The average restaurant server salary in the United States is $24,558 per year or $12 per hour. Restaurant server salaries range between $15,000 and $37,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do restaurant servers rate their job?
Restaurant server reviews
A total time you spend knowing and communicate and get attachment to the clients
Leaving work when it's time to leave
What I like about working as a hostess is that you get to greet and meet new people on a daily basis.
What I don’t like at times about being a hostess is sometimes running into those mean and rude customers at times.
I like food, I believe that food is a comfort and food brings people together, and I like being apart of this.
Many restaurants are corporate or franchisees, and they dont really have good management, which leads to not hiring people on skill, but just to fill the space, which leads to high turn over rates for both FOH, BOH and management. There's no stability
Restaurant server FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
