Overview
1. Automation Risk
2. User Poll
3. Growth
4. Wages
5. Volume
Decription
Resources
Comments

Bartenders

AUTOMATION RISK
CALCULATED
53%
risk level
POLLING
44%
Based on 315 votes
LABOR DEMAND
GROWTH
17.9%
by year 2032
WAGES
$29,380
or $14.12 per hour
Volume
613,070
as of 2022
SUMMARY
JOB SCORE
5.2/10

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Comments (15)

Automation risk

53% (Moderate Risk)

Moderate Risk (41-60%): Occupations with a moderate risk of automation usually involve routine tasks but still require some human judgment and interaction.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Some quite important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Assisting and Caring for Others

  • Social Perceptiveness

  • Manual Dexterity

  • Persuasion

  • Finger Dexterity

User poll

44% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted they are unsure if this occupation will be automated. This assessment is further supported by the calculated automation risk level, which estimates 53% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Bartenders will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?






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)

Growth

Very fast growth relative to other professions

The number of 'Bartenders' job openings is expected to rise 17.9% by 2032

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2021 and 2031
Updated projections are due 09-2023.

Wages

Very low paid relative to other professions

In 2022, the median annual wage for 'Bartenders' was $29,380, or $14 per hour

'Bartenders' were paid 36.6% lower than the national median wage, which stood at $46,310

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Volume

Significantly greater range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2022 there were 613,070 people employed as 'Bartenders' within the United States.

This represents around 0.41% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 241 people are employed as 'Bartenders'.

Job description

Mix and serve drinks to patrons, directly or through waitstaff.

SOC Code: 35-3011.00

Resources

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Comments

Leave a comment

TLB (Low) says
There will always be a demand for human interaction. They can go ahead and automate the service well though.
Mar 06, 2024 at 09:21 PM
Chris (Low) says
While people could buy a beer or a mixed drink from a vending machine, I don't think that is what people are looking for when they go to the bar. Maybe at a club where something else is the main focus.
Apr 22, 2023 at 04:21 PM
Anthony (No chance) says
The hospitality skills that bartenders use on a daily basis are simply irreplaceable by machines. It's possible that SOME establishments could automate certain aspects of the process but I can't see a world where bar staff are eliminated entirely. People come to bars to socialize, and for many people, particularly to socialize with the staff.
Mar 08, 2022 at 08:39 AM
Evgo The Bartender (No chance) says
Unless AI becomes so advanced that it can feel emotions, there is no way a robot can replace a human being, as a bartender.

A bartender is much more than a cocktail machine, the bartender is the face of the establishment, and you cannot automate the experience of sitting and chatting with a bartender.
Aug 10, 2021 at 06:39 AM
Brisn (Highly likely) says
Bartenders are slow to make drinks when lines are long which leads to upset and lost customers. AI and automated bartending processes won’t be hard to develop to replace this job and serve customer to make them happier through a quicker service while also making bar owners cut down on costs and get more repeat customers.
Jun 13, 2021 at 06:22 AM
ec (Low) says
A robot can pour a drink but its going to be a while until they can listen to you talk about your problems
Apr 25, 2021 at 11:21 PM
Anonymous bartender (Low) says
Main reason why bartenders will NOT be replaced by robots: mixing and serving the cocktails are only a small portion of the job. The social interaction is the most important part about being a good bartender. Can the robot be a little more efficient or faster? Sure. The hourly labor costs of a bartender does not warrant a need by any owner to replace a human with a robot. The vast majority of most bartenders’ income is from tips. Owners of companies who would find it reasonable to replace humans with robots are humans in different industries where social interaction isn’t the biggest part of the job, who have a higher hourly rate.
Dec 25, 2020 at 07:27 AM
Tristan (Low) says
Many people have pointed out many reasons why this is unlikely: bartenders aren't expensive to begin with, bartenders provide social interaction that can't be raplaced by a robot, not enough big financial interest in the bar industry, etc.

There are other things that bartenders do that can't be automated, like being de facto security in bars with no bouncers. You wouldn't expect a robot to be able to identify a drunk and disorderly customer and eject them from the bar any time soon; even if the technology is there the legality of it seems lightyears away.
Apr 23, 2020 at 05:08 PM
Andria (Moderate) says
It wouldn't be that hard to have all alcoholic beverages available for use from a robot. It's very easy to program the recipes into a robot as well so it will know exactly how to make it; even faster than humans as we would have to look up an unknown recipe, taking longer than a robot could look one up.
Feb 11, 2020 at 07:23 PM
Aidan says
There isn't really a NEED to automate a bartender. They aren't paid that much to begin with, so automating them wouldn't render them all that cost effective. I also doubt the efficiency of getting your drink to begin with would fluctuate all that much. With current technology and the limits of our ability to replicate human dexterity, it's unlikely that the speed and accuracy of a bartender could have any competition to begin with. Think about the customer service aspect as well, who wants to be served by a lifeless robot that just scans you as another customer to serve?
Sep 14, 2019 at 06:54 AM
Bell (Low) says
I could see big chains with money doing this, especially restaurants, or places that have less human contact behind the bar.

Smaller places, no. Not enough money.

Bartenders make up a lot of the charm (or frustration) of going out, and automating this literally would take the life out of a place and probably backfire.
Aug 16, 2019 at 08:06 PM
Lee Springer says
When robots mix drinks at the bars I'm going to be the saddest person at the bar since I tend to drink alone. Time to put my phone away and attempt conversation with the other humans.
May 29, 2019 at 06:41 PM
Jesse (Uncertain) says
Bartenders serve libations to Humans. Humans are social beings who drink when socializing. Chances are Humans will go drink to escape robots.
May 13, 2019 at 02:50 PM
Anon says
Some bartnders have prevented suicides, I feel you can't automate that human experience that a lot of people go to a bar for.
May 07, 2019 at 11:55 AM
Lance O'Conner says
I can't talk to a robot about Karen taking the kids
Apr 01, 2019 at 11:43 PM

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