Sommelier vs cocktail waitress

The differences between sommeliers and cocktail waitresses can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a sommelier has an average salary of $40,584, which is higher than the $26,819 average annual salary of a cocktail waitress.

The top three skills for a sommelier include wine, fine dining and POS. The most important skills for a cocktail waitress are customer service, drink orders, and non-alcoholic beverages.

Sommelier vs cocktail waitress overview

	Sommelier	Cocktail Waitress
Yearly salary	$40,584	$26,819
Hourly rate	$19.51	$12.89
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	1,802	77,429
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Average age	28	28
Years of experience	-	-

Sommelier vs cocktail waitress salary

Sommeliers and cocktail waitresses have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Sommelier	Cocktail Waitress
Average salary	$40,584	$26,819
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $68,000	Between $19,000 And $36,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	-
Highest paying state	New York	-
Best paying company	Del Frisco's Restaurant Group	-
Best paying industry	Hospitality	-

Differences between sommelier and cocktail waitress education

There are a few differences between a sommelier and a cocktail waitress in terms of educational background:

	Sommelier	Cocktail Waitress
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Sommelier vs cocktail waitress demographics

Here are the differences between sommeliers' and cocktail waitresses' demographics:

	Sommelier	Cocktail Waitress
Average age	28	28
Gender ratio	Male, 68.3% Female, 31.7%	Male, 5.7% Female, 94.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 21.5% Asian, 9.0% White, 51.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 21.6% Asian, 7.8% White, 53.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between sommelier and cocktail waitress duties and responsibilities

Sommelier example responsibilities.

Manage sales and inventory for premier wine destination restaurant.
Wine, spirits and fine products sale.
Direct guest interaction and up-sell of wine and spirits.
Inventory, purchasing and cost control monitoring, transaction reconciliation, POS programming, payroll, sommelier work.
Purchase wines for one of the largest menu varieties in NYC.
Market wine selections with sales team through upselling or pouring wine product samples for testing.

Cocktail waitress example responsibilities.

Offer first--class customer service to ensure VIP guests enjoy their club experiences in very fast--pace environment.
Relay orders to bar and kitchen quickly and accurately recording guest selections and keying into the POS system.
Assist bar tenders in peak hours and cash out customers as they exit the restaurant (POS cash register system).
Serve customers alcoholic beverages and accommodate VIP and special requests
Establish a positive relationship with co-workers and managers through a solid work ethic, positive attitude, punctuality and dependability.
Uphold a high level of professionalism, service, and attentiveness to guests.

Sommelier vs cocktail waitress skills

Common sommelier skills

Wine, 44%
Fine Dining, 13%
POS, 5%
Culinary, 5%
Spirits, 4%
Sommeliers, 3%

Common cocktail waitress skills

Customer Service, 29%
Drink Orders, 10%
Non-Alcoholic Beverages, 8%
POS, 8%
Beverage Orders, 5%
Bartending, 4%

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Sommelier
Sommelier vs Cocktail Waitress

Updated January 8, 2025

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