Wages for Waiters
Waiters, or food servers, take customer orders at restaurants, serve food and beverages and often accept payment. No specific education is needed. However, the ability to stand for long periods and lift heavy trays of food is a requirement. Most waiter training occurs on the job. Advancement is limited because of the small sizes of most restaurants.
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Work
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More workers work part-time as waiters than in almost any other profession. The flexible scheduling attracts many young people, including students. They typically earn minimum wage, though tips can boost income to a median hourly rate of $8.50, with a low of $7.17 and a high of $14.48. The few who do work full time earn a median $17,690 per year, with a low of $14,920 and a high of $30,110, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) as of May 2009.
Experience
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Experience has no bearing on hourly rates. It is only a factor in the salary ranges for full-time workers, as revealed by the PayScale Report. This may be due to the higher tips afforded those by their regular clientele. As of December 2010, new waiters earn $9,586 to $20,482 per year. Those with one to four years of work experience make $9,757 to $29,905 and those with five to nine years get $10,021 to $36,576. Finally, those with 10 to 19 years experience receive $13,847 to $34,817, while those with 20 or more years are paid $14,740 to $48,484.
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Workplaces
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The workplaces that hire the most waiters are full-service restaurants, with 73 percent of the 2.3 million available jobs. Average wages here are above the median at $9.69 or $20,160. The employers paying the highest wages are travel arrangement and reservation services, which hire waiters out as part of a travel package for tour groups, conventions or meetings. Salaries are at $13.38 or $27,830 but only 80 jobs are available.
Outlook
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The BLS sees jobs growing at six percent from 2008 to 2018, which is slower than average. The increases will come from the number of restaurants which will open to feed a growing population. However, new jobs will be balanced by losses due to the growing popularity of fast food facilities and carry-out options even at sit-down restaurants. Job prospects will be excellent since waiters change jobs frequently. The greatest competition will come at fine dining establishments, were higher tips are common.
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References
- Photo Credit waiter with tray image by Arkady Chubykin from Fotolia.com
