How To Become A Lead Barista: What It Is and Career Path

What is a lead barista and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Lead Barista greets customers and presents beverage menus to them. They discuss the beverage items, make recommendations, and answers any inquiries. Likewise, they explain current promotions and new products. They prepare and present beverages according to established recipe and presentation standards. They ensure compliance with health, safety, and hygiene guidelines and regulations.

Also, they help customers in selecting and purchasing specialty coffee beverages and whole bean sales and train baristas on all policies and drinks recipes. Furthermore, they write department schedules, coordinates requests, bids, and business needs. Besides that, they maintain a clean and hygienic work area.

To get this role, you need at least a high school diploma or its equivalent with prior experience in a similar role. Applicants must have organization, customer service, teamwork, interpersonal, and communication skills. You must be honest, reliable, and tolerant. Lead baristas are paid about $27,912 per annum. The salary ranges from $21,000 to $38,000.

ScoreLead BaristaUS Average

Salary

2.6

Avg. Salary $33,918

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

5.7

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 69.74%

male 30.26%

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

5.7

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

5.3

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

10.0

Work Life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a lead barista

Explore lead barista education requirements

Most common lead barista degrees

Bachelor's

42.8 %

High School Diploma

28.7 %

Associate

19.8 %

Start to develop specific lead barista skills

Skills	Percentages
Cleanliness	16.33%
Customer Service	15.87%
Product Quality	10.06%
Customer Satisfaction	8.49%
Culinary	5.17%

Research lead barista duties and responsibilities

Manage high-volume university caf and bakery.
Prepare and serve drinks and food in accordance with health codes and caf standards.
Promote, educate, and enforce sustainable techniques to reduce waste and save Starbucks money.
Warehouse assistance include roasting, bagging and labeling the company's exclusive whole bean product.

Get lead barista experience

Prepare your lead barista resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your lead barista 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 lead barista resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Lead Barista Resume templates

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Apply for lead barista jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a lead barista 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

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