ELMI Occupation Report for Waiters and Waitresses

United States - 2020
Industry	Percent of total
Food services and drinking places	87%
Accommodation	5%
Amusement, gambling, and recreation industries	3%
Administrative and support services	1%
Nursing and residential care facilities	1%
More at BLS

Knowledge

People in this career often know a lot about:
Customer and Personal Service Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
English Language Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Sales and Marketing Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Food Production Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
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Skills

People in this career often have these skills:
Active Listening Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Service Orientation Actively looking for ways to help people.
Speaking Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Social Perceptiveness Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Coordination Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
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Interests

People in this career often prefer these work environments:
Social Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
Enterprising Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
Conventional Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
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Work Styles

People in this career will do well at jobs that need:
Dependability Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Attention to Detail Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Self-Control Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Cooperation Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Stress Tolerance Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
More at O*NET

Other Resources

Occupational Outlook Handbook
information on duties, training, pay, and employment outlook

CareerOneStop
resource for job seekers, students, businessess and career professionals

Related Occupations

Bartenders
Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers
Fast Food and Counter Workers
Food Servers, Nonrestaurant
Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop
More at O*NET

Career Video

Watch at CareerOneStop with transcript or at YouTube.

Projected Employment


Vermont
2020 employment	3,182
2030 employment	4,433
Annual percent change (compounded)	3.4%
Annual projected job openings (due to change and separations)	860
More at Occupational Projections

Education and Experience:

Typical education needed for entry No formal educational credential
Work experience in a related occupation None
Typical on-the-job training needed to attain competency Short-term on-the-job training
Based on BLS Education and Training Classifications

Job Zone

Some Preparation Needed
Specific Vocational Preparation Range (4.0 to < 6.0) - A typical worker will require over 3 months up to and including 1 year of training to achieve average performance in this occupation.
Based on O*Net Job Zones and SVP

Education Level

How much education do most people in this career have?
Education level		Percent of U.S. Workers
Doctoral or professional degree or post-MA certificate		0%
Master's degree or post-BA certificate		0%
Bachelor's degree		7%
Associate's degree		2%
Certificate or some college, no degree		5%
High school diploma or equivalent		57%
Less than high school diploma		28%
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Abilities

People in this career often have talent in:
Oral Comprehension The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Speech Clarity The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Speech Recognition The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Near Vision The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
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Work Activities

In general, what you might do:
Getting Information Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
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Detailed Work Activities

What you might do in a day:
Take customer orders.
Communicate with customers to resolve complaints or ensure satisfaction.
Enforce rules or regulations.
Process customer bills or payments.
Communicate dining or order details to kitchen personnel.
More at O*NET

Tasks

On the job, you would:
Take orders from patrons for food or beverages.
Check with customers to ensure that they are enjoying their meals, and take action to correct any problems.
Check patrons' identification to ensure that they meet minimum age requirements for consumption of alcoholic beverages.
Collect payments from customers.
Write patrons' food orders on order slips, memorize orders, or enter orders into computers for transmittal to kitchen staff.
More at O*NET

	This page includes information from the ONET 27.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. ONET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
	This page includes information produced in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics and State Occupational Projecions programs.