Waiters and Waitresses
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Calculated automation risk
High Risk (61-80%): Jobs in this category face a significant threat from automation, as many of their tasks can be easily automated using current or near-future technologies.
More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.
User poll
Our visitors have voted that it's probable this occupation will be automated. This assessment is further supported by the calculated automation risk level, which estimates 70% chance of automation.
What do you think the risk of automation is?
What is the likelihood that Waiters and Waitresses will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?
Sentiment
The following graph is included wherever there is a substantial amount of votes to render meaningful data. These visual representations display user poll results over time, providing a significant indication of sentiment trends.
Sentiment over time (yearly)
Growth
The number of 'Waiters and Waitresses' job openings is expected to rise 1.0% by 2033
Total employment, and estimated job openings
Updated projections are due 09-2025.
Wages
In 2023, the median annual wage for 'Waiters and Waitresses' was $31,940, or $15 per hour
'Waiters and Waitresses' were paid 33.5% lower than the national median wage, which stood at $48,060
Wages over time
Volume
As of 2023 there were 2,237,850 people employed as 'Waiters and Waitresses' within the United States.
This represents around 1.5% of the employed workforce across the country
Put another way, around 1 in 67 people are employed as 'Waiters and Waitresses'.
Job description
Take orders and serve food and beverages to patrons at tables in dining establishment.
SOC Code: 35-3031.00
Comments
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SCARED for the next generation!!
Ultimately, going out to eat is an experience. Going through a drive-thru serves a functional purpose, you need food and you need it within minutes. Full service restaurants exist to give people somewhere to *go*. Somewhere to socialize, celebrate, grab a drink, mourn a bad day, take a load off, sit down with a good book, write a good book, get some office work done, etc., etc. It’s about experiencing human connections, even if you’re eating alone, you still have the company of your server, of the other patrons surrounding you. We crave human connection, we’re social creatures by nature, otherwise, everyone would just stay home. To-go and delivery has existed for forever and full service restaurants still stand, because the *people* are the draw.
Customers want to become regulars, they delight in their name or order being remembered, couples want a place they think of as “theirs” that they return to every year for their anniversary, they want to tell the server it’s their birthday so they can get that free piece of cake, so their waiter will wish them well or sing for them. They want someone to joke around with, to tease and be teased, to flirt, to leave their number on a receipt even though they know they won’t call. They want their baby to be cooed at and made to laugh. They want the bartender to listen to them wax poetic about their bad breakup. Speaking of bartenders, I don’t think people realize how much they keep you safe. They’ll keep an eye on your drink, put your purse behind the bar, toss out the drunken idiot harassing everyone.
And on a less positive note—people *especially* want someone to level their fury at. When their order is messed up or the food isn’t to their liking or when they have to wait too long to be seated. You can’t be mad at a robot. I mean, you can be, but I’m certain it won’t give the same satisfaction that whatever it is miserable people get out of bullying waitstaff. What I’m saying is—people crave human interaction…and that includes asking for the manager.
Maybe it would be a different story if AI could mimic human behavior, but even then, it can’t get around the uncanny valley effect. People need people.
I assume culture will change in future generations. This is similar to how there are love hotels and vending machines for everything in Japan, which wouldn't be acceptable in the Western world.
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