Baristas

AUTOMATION RISK

CALCULATED

74%

risk level

POLLING

63%

Based on 96 votes

LABOR DEMAND *

GROWTH

7.6%

by year 2032

WAGES

$29,540

or $14.20 per hour

Volume

3,676,580

as of 2023

Employment data isn't available specifically for this occupation from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, so we are using the data from Fast Food and Counter Workers.

SUMMARY

JOB SCORE

3.8/10

74% (High 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.

Sentiment

The following graph(s) are 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)

Wages

Very low paid relative to other professions

In 2023, the median annual wage for 'Fast Food and Counter Workers' was $29,540, or $14 per hour

'Fast Food and Counter Workers' were paid 38.5% lower than the national median wage, which stood at $48,060

Wages over time

Comments

kendall (Uncertain) 4 months ago

Making coffee can be, and is already, made by machines. However, one thing that will be harder to automate is the human connection aspect. Sure there are people that just want a cup of coffee and to leave, however there are a lot of people that want the cafe experience.

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Eden (Highly likely) 1 year ago

the robots are coming for you, baristas

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Ben (Uncertain) 1 year ago

I think jobs with tasks that are completed using specific software are likely to be automated. For example, cashiers are likely to be replaced.

However, for fast food and restaurant workers, it depends on the future ability of robots to mimic and improve upon human dexterity. It also hinges on whether it is cheaper to use human labor or automation.

I think it’s possible those workers could be replaced, but I don’t see it happening any time soon. The cashier machine has already replaced humans at McDonald’s and Taco Bell, but the people making the food are still human.

I think it will continue that way for a bit longer.

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James (Highly likely) 2 years ago

Current Starbucks barista here, every change by management leans away from social interaction with customers and more into robot-like efficiency and speed.

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