Waiters and waitresses
SOC Code: 35-3031
Waiters and waitresses carries a 45% AI exposure score (High automation risk), with a median annual wage of $33,760 and -0.7% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 2,329,700 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 45% AI exposure, Waiters and waitresses sits 8 points above the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 79% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
16/100
Waiters and waitresses, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage F $33,760
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth F -0.7%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) F 45% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Waiters and waitresses in the High band.
Credential × growth standing
Open entry with non-declining BLS pace
Waiters and waitresses keeps an No credential bar (109 of 832) and sits in Slow growth (245 of 832). Lower formal gates with a non-shrinking employment line - skill and AI desks matter more than credentials here.
Where Waiters and waitresses sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Waiters and waitresses sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
45% Higher than most higher than 79% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Waiters and waitresses vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Waiters and waitresses is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Waiters and waitresses's High automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score in the 40–70% range indicates meaningful automation pressure on specific task categories, but the role as a whole still requires human judgment for coordination, exception handling, or client interaction.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 35-3031) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Waiters and waitresses be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Waiters and waitresses. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Collect payments from customers.
- 2. Check patrons' identification to ensure that they meet minimum age requirements for consumption of alcoholic beverages.
- 3. Write patrons' food orders on order slips, memorize orders, or enter orders into computers for transmittal to kitchen staff.
- 4. Check with customers to ensure that they are enjoying their meals, and take action to correct any problems.
- 5. Take orders from patrons for food or beverages.
- 6. Prepare checks that itemize and total meal costs and sales taxes.
- 7. Remove dishes and glasses from tables or counters, and take them to kitchen for cleaning.
- 8. Clean tables or counters after patrons have finished dining.
- 9. Serve food or beverages to patrons, and prepare or serve specialty dishes at tables as required.
- 10. Perform cleaning duties, such as sweeping and mopping floors, vacuuming carpet, tidying up server station, taking out trash, or checking and cleaning bathroom.
Key Skills Required
- Service Orientation
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Coordination
- Monitoring
- Critical Thinking
- Reading Comprehension
- Persuasion
- Judgment and Decision Making
Knowledge Areas
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Sales and Marketing
- Food Production
- Mathematics
- Administration and Management
- Psychology
- Education and Training
- Computers and Electronics
- Sociology and Anthropology
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Waiters and waitresses?
Waiters and waitresses has an AI exposure score of 45%, indicating a high level of automation risk. Some tasks in this role can be augmented or partially automated by AI, but core responsibilities require human judgment.
What is the job outlook for Waiters and waitresses?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Waiters and waitresses is projected to decline by 0.7% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 2,329,700 workers.
What skills are needed for Waiters and waitresses?
Key skills for Waiters and waitresses include Service Orientation, Active Listening, Speaking, and others. Typical entry-level education is No formal educational credential.
How much do Waiters and waitresses earn?
The median annual wage for Waiters and waitresses is $33,760, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Waiters and waitresses?
The typical entry-level education for Waiters and waitresses is No formal educational credential. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves Short-term on-the-job training. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Waiters and waitresses?
Waiters and waitresses roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
High automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. A moderate share of tasks may be augmented by AI tools.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Waiters and waitresses: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (45% here).
- Advertising sales agents · AI exposure 45%
- Broadcast announcers and radio disc jockeys · AI exposure 45%
- Electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment · AI exposure 45%
- First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers · AI exposure 45%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (-0.7% here).
- Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers · growth -0.7%
- Database administrators · growth -0.7%
- Detectives and criminal investigators · growth -0.7%
- Gambling dealers · growth -0.6%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
What to do with this
Use Waiters and waitresses' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Waiters and waitresses side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).