How long does it take to become a Waitress?

It takes one year or less to become a waitress. That is the time it takes to learn specific waitress skills, but does not account for time spent in formal education.

How To Become A Waitress: What It Is and Career Path

What is a waitress and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Waitresses take food and beverage orders, typically in dining establishments. You don't need a lot of formal education to be a waitress, but you'll receive some on-the-job training. If you want to secure a lot of tips, you may want to brush up on your customer service.

Some waitresses depend on a notepad to make sure the orders come out right, fewer waitresses are able to memorize everyone's order. Even if the waitresses jotted down or memorized the order perfectly if there is a mistake with the food, they're the first to blame.

As a waitress, you'll probably have to deal with a lot of "hangry" people but, hopefully, once they've eaten, they'll be in a much better mood and leave a nice tip. There will undoubtedly be times that you have to deal with difficult customers, it's those days that make this job stressful.

ScoreWaitressUS Average

Salary

1.9

Avg. Salary $24,770

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.2

Growth Rate 10%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.73%

Asian 8.59%

Black or African American 11.86%

Hispanic or Latino 20.23%

Unknown 5.37%

White 53.22%

Gender

female 80.12%

male 19.88%

Age - 25

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 - 25

Stress Level

6.2

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

6.1

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

10.0

Work Life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a waitress

Explore waitress education requirements

Most common waitress degrees

High School Diploma

36.4 %

Bachelor's

32.8 %

Associate

17.9 %

Start to develop specific waitress skills

Skills	Percentages
Food Orders	13.40%
Food Preparation	9.30%
Customer Orders	7.78%
POS	6.63%
Drink Orders	5.34%

Complete relevant waitress training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New waitresses 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 waitress based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real waitress resumes.

Research waitress duties and responsibilities

Manage a recurring book of business of top VIP clients secure through networking.
Relay orders to bar and kitchen by quickly and accurately recording guest selections and keying them into the POS computer system.
wait tables, handle money, exceed guest expectations, serve food and drinks, micros, clean, side work.
Increase store sales by upselling merchandise.

Prepare your waitress resume

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

Choose From 10+ Customizable Waitress Resume templates

Build a professional Waitress 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 Waitress resume.

Apply for waitress jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a waitress 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 waitresses rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Waitress reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2021

Pros

What I like about working as a hostess is that you get to greet and meet new people on a daily basis.

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2020

Pros

I like food, I believe that food is a comfort and food brings people together, and I like being apart of this.

A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2019

Pros

Most waiter and waitress jobs are entry level, and workers learn through short-term on-the-job training. No formal education or previous work experience is required to enter the occupation. Most states require workers who serve alcoholic beverages to be at least 18 years of age, but some states require servers to be older. Waiters and waitresses who serve alcohol must be familiar with state and local laws concerning the sale of alcoholic beverages.

Cons

Nothing because this job cocktail service is nice and I'm comfortable to serve our costumer.. And I want this job because vases on my Japanese work experience

What is a waitress and how to become one

Waitress career paths

Key steps to become a waitress

Explore waitress education requirements

Most common waitress degrees

Start to develop specific waitress skills

Complete relevant waitress training and internships

Research waitress duties and responsibilities

Prepare your waitress resume

Choose From 10+ Customizable Waitress Resume templates

Apply for waitress jobs

How Did You Land Your First Waitress Job

Average waitress salary

How do waitresses rate their job?

Waitress reviews

Waitress FAQs

How long does it take to become a Waitress?

Search for waitress jobs

Waitress jobs by state