Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers
Food Preparation and Serving Related
Most of the shift is support work around the dining room and service bar rather than taking full meal orders. You scrape and carry dirty dishes to the kitchen, wipe tables or change tablecloths, set places with clean linens and condiments, and keep silverware, glassware, and trays stocked. Diners may get water, coffee, rolls, or butter from you; some roles also greet and seat people or run a cash register. Spills, broken dishes, empty bottles, and trash get cleaned as they happen so servers can keep moving. Suits people who like physical, behind-the-scenes teamwork and keeping a room ready between seatings.
Typical education: High School Diploma or GED
Annual Median Wage in Field (2025)
$33'980
Median Wage Market Position
$33'980
What you might do
- Scrape and stack dirty dishes for washing
- Set tables with linens and condiments
- Serve water, coffee, or rolls
- Wipe tables and replace soiled cloths
- Restock clean glasses and silverware
- Clean up spills and broken dishes
Skills that matter
- Greeting and seating arriving customers
- Table resets with linens and condiments
- Dirty-dish runs to the kitchen
- Linens, glassware, and silverware restocking
- Water, coffee, and roll service
- Spill and broken-dish cleanup
AI & the future of this role
Clearing tables, restocking, and keeping service areas moving are physical, interrupt-driven tasks that machines struggle to share smoothly with staff. Scheduling tools might help managers plan, but on-floor support work tends to stay human.
Does Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers fit your values?
Take the free LostInCareer assessment to see personalized matches based on your core values—not just a personality label.
Related careers
Includes O*NET® 30.3 Database information by USDOL/ETA under CC BY 4.0; modified by LostInCareer. Wage/outlook from BLS. Attribution details