Restaurant servers attend to guests at dining establishments, serving them food and beverages. They seat customers, inform them about specials, and answer questions about the menu. They take their orders and deliver the meals to their tables. Very much like waiters, which is the less fancy term for restaurant servers.
Being polite and patient is essential in any profession dealing with customers, and this applies to restaurant servers just the same. They communicate with kitchen staff as well, which is no less of a feat, and contribute to keeping the establishment clean and safe. Taking payment and dealing with customer complaints is also their duty.
A high school diploma will suffice to get you started on the job. Being energetic and positive, thriving in a teamwork atmosphere, and performing well under pressure will be what really matters. You will have to be fast and on your feet during your entire shift, though, so physical stamina is also essential.
Restaurant Server Overview
Working as a Restaurant Server
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a restaurant server. For example, did you know that they make an average of $11.5 an hour? That's $23,919 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 170,200 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Restaurant Server Do
There are certain skills that many restaurant servers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed detail oriented, communication skills and customer-service skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a restaurant server, we found that a lot of resumes listed 12.6% of restaurant servers included beverage orders, while 9.0% of resumes included guest service, and 8.0% of resumes included food preparation. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the restaurant server job title. But what industry to start with? Most restaurant servers actually find jobs in the hospitality and retail industries.
How To Become a Restaurant Server
If you're interested in becoming a restaurant server, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 44.3% of restaurant servers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 3.3% of restaurant servers have master's degrees. Even though some restaurant servers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a restaurant server. When we researched the most common majors for a restaurant server, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or high school diploma degrees. Other degrees that we often see on restaurant server resumes include associate degree degrees or diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a restaurant server. In fact, many restaurant server jobs require experience in a role such as server. Meanwhile, many restaurant servers also have previous career experience in roles such as cashier or sales associate.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the right jobs to get there.
Restaurant Server Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of warehouse worker you might progress to a role such as technician eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title general manager.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for a Restaurant Server
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Renaissance Milwaukee West Restaurant Server Restaurant Server | Renaissance Milwaukee West Renaissance Milwaukee West | 01/28/2021 01/28/2021 | $14,60901/28/2021 $14,609 |
Kimpton Hotels Restaurant Server Restaurant Server | Kimpton Hotels Kimpton Hotels | 01/23/2021 01/23/2021 | $24,52201/23/2021 $24,522 |
Concord Hospitality Restaurant Server Restaurant Server | Concord Hospitality Concord Hospitality | 01/23/2021 01/23/2021 | $14,60901/23/2021 $14,609 |
Sage Hospitality Resources, LLP Restaurant Server Restaurant Server | Sage Hospitality Resources, LLP Sage Hospitality Resources, LLP | 01/10/2021 01/10/2021 | $24,52201/10/2021 $24,522 |
Xanterra Parks & Resorts Restaurant Server Restaurant Server | Xanterra Parks & Resorts Xanterra Parks & Resorts | 12/15/2020 12/15/2020 | $18,78312/15/2020 $18,783 |
Calculate your salary
Use Zippia's Salary Calculator to see how your pay matches up.
Restaurant Server Resumes
Designing and figuring out what to include on your resume can be tough, not to mention time-consuming. That's why we put together a guide that is designed to help you craft the perfect resume for becoming a Restaurant Server. If you're needing extra inspiration, take a look through our selection of templates that are specific to your job.
Learn How To Write a Restaurant Server Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Restaurant Server resumes and compiled some information about how best to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Detailed InformationTop Skills For a Restaurant Server
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 12.6% of restaurant servers listed beverage orders on their resume, but soft skills such as detail oriented and communication skills are important as well.
- Beverage Orders, 12.6%
- Guest Service, 9.0%
- Food Preparation, 8.0%
- POS, 7.8%
- Communication, 7.2%
- Other Skills, 55.4% See All Restaurant Server Skills
Best States For a Restaurant Server
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a restaurant server. The best states for people in this position are Oregon, Alaska, New York, and Washington. Restaurant servers make the most in Oregon with an average salary of $34,907. Whereas in Alaska and New York, they would average $34,693 and $33,577, respectively. While restaurant servers would only make an average of $33,341 in Washington, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Nevada
$24,314
Avg. Salary
2. Oregon
$34,907
Avg. Salary
3. New York
$33,578
Avg. Salary
How Do Restaurant Server Rate Their Jobs?
Top Restaurant Server Employers
Restaurant Server Videos
