Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers

Low pay & highrisk
High Risk
Low High

Explore safer careers (5)

Lower estimated automation risk

First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers
20% automation risk | Minimal Risk
Pays better More jobs
55.1 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Experienced attendants can coordinate shifts, service standards, sanitation, and supplies.

Bartenders
41% automation risk | Moderate Risk
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33.3 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Bar stocking, guest service, drink-area support, cleanliness, and service timing provide a base.

Food Servers, Nonrestaurant
62% automation risk | High Risk
12.3 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Serving, tray setup, sanitation, dining assistance, and replenishment routines transfer well.

Waiters and Waitresses
63% automation risk | High Risk
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12 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Dining-room flow, table setup, guest needs, service timing, and restaurant communication transfer directly.

Food Preparation Workers
67% automation risk | High Risk
More jobs
8.2 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Kitchen support, sanitation, stocking, simple prep, and service timing transfer with food-prep training.

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Occupation snapshot

What does this snowflake show?
The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
JOB SCORE
3.9/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

Risk & user votes

Calculated automation risk

75% (High Risk)

High Risk (61-80%): This occupation shows a significant risk of end-to-end replacement by automation. Many core parts of the role may be structured, repeatable, software-driven, or physically predictable enough for AI, machines, or robotic systems to take over. If you work in this area, it may be worth exploring safer related careers or moving towards more human-centred responsibilities.

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

Human strengths important in this job

These are human abilities and work contexts that are important in this occupation. They may help explain why parts of the role are harder to replace end-to-end, but they are not the only inputs into the automation score.

Assisting and caring for others

Quite important
Why this matters
Provide hands-on help, emotional support, or personal care to people—work that depends on empathy, trust, and responding to individual needs in the moment.
Jobs that also use this strength

Working directly with the public

Quite important
Why this matters
The job involves face-to-face interaction with customers, clients, or guests—answering questions, handling requests, and managing service situations in real time. Roles with frequent public interaction are harder to replace end-to-end because they rely on trust, communication, and adapting to unpredictable human needs.
Jobs that also use this strength

Thinking creatively

Quite important
Why this matters
Coming up with original ideas and designs—creating new concepts, products, systems, or artistic work. This kind of open-ended invention and taste-based judgment is harder to automate end-to-end than routine, rule-based tasks.
Jobs that also use this strength

Coordinating others’ work

Quite important
Why this matters
Bringing people together, assigning tasks, and keeping a group aligned so work gets done.
Jobs that also use this strength

What users think

Based on 25 votes

59% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted they are unsure if this occupation will be automated. However, the automation risk level we have generated suggests a much higher chance of automation: 75% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

View sentiment trend

Pay & outlook

Wages

Very low paid relative to other professions

In 2024, the median annual wage for Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers was $32,670 ($16 per hour).

The median annual wage for Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers was 34.0% lower than the national median annual wage, which stood at $49,500.

View wage trend

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Growth

Very fast growth relative to other professions

The number of 'Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers' job openings is expected to rise 6.3% by 2034

View employment trend

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Volume

Significantly greater range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2024 there were 522,010 people employed as 'Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers' within the United States.

This represents around 0.34% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 295 people are employed as 'Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers'.

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Job description

Facilitate food service. Clean tables; remove dirty dishes; replace soiled table linens; set tables; replenish supply of clean linens, silverware, glassware, and dishes; supply service bar with food; and serve items such as water, condiments, and coffee to patrons.

O*NET-SOC code: 35-9011.00