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Food Server

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All About Food Servers

Position Description Serve food to individuals outside of a restaurant environment, such as in hotel rooms, hospital rooms, residential care facilities, or cars.

Daily Life Of a Food Server

  • Record amounts and types of special food items served to customers.
  • Monitor food preparation or serving techniques to ensure that proper procedures are followed.
  • Take food orders and relay orders to kitchens or serving counters so they can be filled.
  • Carry food, silverware, or linen on trays or use carts to carry trays.
  • Remove trays and stack dishes for return to kitchen after meals are finished.
  • Examine trays to ensure that they contain required items.

Food Server Required Skills

Below is a list of the skills most Food Servers say are important on the job.

Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.

Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.

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.

Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others’ actions.

Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

  • Hot Dog Vendor
  • Room Service Server
  • Dietary Assistant
  • Hospital Tray Service Worker
  • Food Service Assistant

What Kind of Food Server Job Opportunities Are There?

There were about 263,800 jobs for Food Server in 2016 (in the United States). New jobs are being produced at a rate of 10.2% which is above the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 26,900 new jobs for Food Server by 2026. The BLS estimates 43,100 yearly job openings in this field.

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The states with the most job growth for Food Server are Utah, Arizona, and Idaho. Watch out if you plan on working in Wyoming, District of Columbia, or Connecticut. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.

Do Food Servers Make A Lot Of Money?

The typical yearly salary for Food Servers is somewhere between $18,030 and $35,150.

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Food Servers who work in Hawaii, New York, or District of Columbia, make the highest salaries.

Below is a list of the median annual salaries for Food Servers in different U.S. states.

State Annual Mean Salary
Alabama $21,550
Alaska $29,780
Arizona $27,320
Arkansas $20,560
California $30,350
Colorado $26,730
Connecticut $28,690
Delaware $24,700
District of Columbia $32,740
Florida $22,570
Georgia $22,020
Hawaii $38,480
Idaho $23,740
Illinois $24,450
Indiana $23,050
Iowa $23,870
Kansas $20,390
Kentucky $22,370
Louisiana $20,860
Maine $24,230
Maryland $24,730
Massachusetts $29,210
Michigan $25,220
Minnesota $27,660
Mississippi $19,330
Missouri $22,120
Montana $22,340
Nebraska $23,330
Nevada $25,570
New Hampshire $23,530
New Jersey $25,190
New Mexico $20,530
New York $32,500
North Carolina $21,180
North Dakota $27,500
Ohio $22,370
Oklahoma $21,450
Oregon $27,380
Pennsylvania $23,250
Rhode Island $25,880
South Carolina $21,750
South Dakota $26,930
Tennessee $21,830
Texas $21,170
Utah $24,950
Vermont $30,970
Virginia $22,210
Washington $27,040
West Virginia $22,190
Wisconsin $22,160
Wyoming $22,410

What Tools do Food Servers Use?

Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Food Servers may use on a daily basis:

  • Microsoft Office
  • Microsoft Windows
  • Point of sale POS software
  • CBORD Nutrition Service Suite

How to Become a Food Server

What kind of Food Server requirements are there?

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What work experience do I need to become a Food Server?

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Where Food Servers Work

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The table below shows the approximate number of Food Servers employed by various industries.

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Similar Careers

Those who work as a Food Server sometimes switch careers to one of these choices:

References:

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More about our data sources and methodologies.

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