Data & Research
 
* ELMI Occupation Profile - Waiters and Waitresses *
 
Waiters and Waitresses
(O*NET 35-3031.00, SOC 35-3031)
What they do
Take orders and serve food and beverages to patrons at tables in dining establishment.
 
Also called:
Banquet Server, Buffet Server, Cocktail Server, Food Runner, Food Server, Restaurant Server, Server, Waiter, Waitress, Waitstaff
 
 
Wages
Vermont - 2023
Percentile1HourlyYearly
10% $ 13.72   $28,530  
25% $ 16.01   $33,310  
Median $ 28.99   $60,300  
75% $ 38.26   $79,590  
90% $ 46.17   $96,030  
 
Average $ 28.94   $60,200  
1 What are Percentile Wages?
More at CareerOneStop
 
Industries of Employment
United States - 2020
IndustryPercent 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.
More at O*NET
 
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.
More at O*NET
 
Interests
People in this career often prefer these work environments:
  • Social
    Work involves helping, teaching, advising, assisting, or providing service to others. Social occupations are often associated with social, health care, personal service, teaching/education, or religious activities.
  • Enterprising
    Work involves managing, negotiating, marketing, or selling, typically in a business setting, or leading or advising people in political and legal situations. Enterprising occupations are often associated with business initiatives, sales, marketing/advertising, finance, management/administration, professional advising, public speaking, politics, or law.
  • Conventional
    Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources.
What are your interests? Take the O*NET Interest Profiler
 
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
 
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
 
Related Occupations
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
 
Physical Work Activity
Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
 
  • Physical activity is Important
  • Level of activity is Moderate
Importance
Low   High
Level
Compare Occupations at O*NET
 
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%
More at O*NET
 
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).
More at O*NET
 
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.
More at O*NET
 
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
 
Other Resources
  • CareerOneStop
    resource for job seekers, students, businessess and career professionals
  • O*NET Online
    nation's primary source of occupational information
 
O*NET in-it

This page includes information from the O*NET 28.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

BLS

This page includes information produced in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics and State Occupational Projections programs.

 
 
 
 
Vermont.gov State of Vermont Department of Labor