Food Servers, Nonrestaurant

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 Higher growth
42.8 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Realistic for experienced servers who coordinate shifts, quality, service flow, and food safety.

Food Service Managers
35% automation risk | Low Risk
Pays better Higher growth
27.5 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Plausible advancement path for workers who add scheduling, ordering, food safety, and staff supervision.

Dietetic Technicians
44% automation risk | Moderate Risk
18.6 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Fits institutional food-service workers who add nutrition training and meal-plan documentation skills.

Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria
50% automation risk | Moderate Risk
More jobs
12.9 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Builds on institutional meal service, dietary timing, sanitation, and coordination with kitchens.

Concierges
40% automation risk | Moderate Risk
22 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Weaker but realistic for hotel-room-service workers using guest requests, service recovery, and coordination.

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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
2.9/10
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

62% (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.

Working directly with the public

Very 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

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

Coaching and developing others

Quite important
Why this matters
Helps people learn and improve through coaching, mentoring, and feedback. This relies on trust, motivation, and adapting guidance to each person—work that’s hard to replace end-to-end with automation.
Jobs that also use this strength

Decision-making and problem solving

Quite important
Why this matters
Analyze information, weigh tradeoffs, and choose the best solution—especially when situations are ambiguous, high-stakes, or have real-world consequences.
Jobs that also use this strength

What users think

Based on 61 votes

72% chance of full automation within the next two decades

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 62% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Food Servers, Nonrestaurant 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 Food Servers, Nonrestaurant was $34,460 ($17 per hour).

The median annual wage for Food Servers, Nonrestaurant was 30.4% 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

Moderate growth relative to other professions

The number of 'Food Servers, Nonrestaurant' job openings is expected to rise 3.0% 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

Greater range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2024 there were 271,780 people employed as 'Food Servers, Nonrestaurant' within the United States.

This represents around 0.18% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 567 people are employed as 'Food Servers, Nonrestaurant'.

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What people are saying (2)

Guy (Uncertain)
09 Oct 2024 17:24
Im not quite sure, because food servers might cost less money than the robots used for food serving in other places, as they are much more difficult to create than putting ChatGPT into a screen. If they do cost less though, there is practically a 100% chance because of corporate greed.
Blob
10 Nov 2019 17:22
Thats just sad :(
Leave a reply about this occupation
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Job description

Serve food to individuals outside of a restaurant environment, such as in hotel rooms, hospital rooms, residential care facilities, or cars.

O*NET-SOC code: 35-3041.00