How To Become A Cafe Server: What It Is and Career Path

What is a cafe server and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

If you're a people person, a coffee lover, and have great customer service skills, the role of a cafe server may be just the right job for you.

The main job of a café server is to take customer orders, deliver food and drinks to tables, receive payments (if the café offers table service), and clean up afterward. The role also involves answering customer's questions about the menu, upselling food and drinks, and communicating with kitchen staff. Many café servers also work the bar, so making orders may also be part of the job.

The educational requirements for this job generally aren't strict. In fact, you can become a café server while in high school. Experience may also not be required, but it is definitely a plus. What's more important is that you are able to follow instructions easily and are physically able to carry out tasks in an efficient manner. The average salary of a café server is $21,689. And since this is a service job, you have the potential of earning tips.

ScoreCafe ServerUS Average

Salary

2.1

Avg. Salary $26,967

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

4.2

Growth Rate 14%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.85%

Asian 6.49%

Black or African American 9.64%

Hispanic or Latino 18.63%

Unknown 6.92%

White 57.47%

Gender

female 71.16%

male 28.84%

Age - 21

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 21

Stress Level

4.2

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

4.0

Complexity Level is basic

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

10.0

Work Life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a cafe server

Explore cafe server education requirements

Most common cafe server degrees

Bachelor's

43.2 %

High School Diploma

24.9 %

Associate

21.3 %

Start to develop specific cafe server skills

Skills	Percentages
Cleanliness	30.15%
Support Tasks	24.37%
Customer Satisfaction	22.46%
Wine	3.60%
Health Code	3.56%

Complete relevant cafe server training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New cafe servers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a cafe server based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real cafe server resumes.

Research cafe server duties and responsibilities

Serve food to fitness members, order taking on a POS system.
Provide orders, operate POS terminal, and serve food to spa and poolside guests.
Submit additional meal requirements, allergies, dietary needs, and special requests to the kitchen.
Maintain product presentation standards and cleanliness.

Prepare your cafe server resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your cafe server resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a cafe server resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Cafe Server Resume templates

Build a professional Cafe Server resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Cafe Server resume.

Apply for cafe server jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a cafe server job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do cafe servers rate their job?