Waitress Career

The job description for those who choose a waitress career path includes serving drinks and food, taking orders, providing clarifications to customers concerning their orders and the menu,  preparing bills, preparing items on the table as well as ensuring that alcoholic beverages are not served to underage clients.

How to Become a Waitress

Most employers will hire individuals who have not yet completed high school as waitresses. This can be either as apprentices, meaning that they will learn the skills on-the-job or work part time as temporary workers or summer workers. Employers provide on the job training for new waitresses.

You will need to be computer literate to be able to process bills and orders. You also need to be good in Math since you will be doing a lot of calculations and giving change to customers. Knowledge of a foreign language will improve your career prospects since you will be dealing with people from all over the world.

Types, Description, Information

You can work in cafeteria, upscale hotels, resorts and restaurants. Be quick on your feet as employers will look for this feature when hiring waitresses.

Courses, Training, Programs

In house training programs are usually provided to new recruits. Hospitality and culinary schools also provide good training for those who want to pursue a waitress career. You can also attend vocational schools, certification online programs or restaurant associations to get the necessary training.

Schools, Colleges, Universities

Classes that one are taught include safe food handling, hygiene and food service. Some of the top five universities and colleges in this career sector include

• University of Nevada, Nevada
• Cornell University in New York
• University of Delaware, Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management in Delaware
• Kendall College, School of Culinary Arts in Illinois
• James Madison University, Hospitality and Tourism Management in Virginia

Job opportunities, Salaries, Recruitment

The job prospect for waitresses is excellent: hotels, restaurants, and other places of leisure are always hiring due to increase in the number of customers. The average pay for waitresses is $34,000 annually. However, this salary scale is mainly based on temporary workers. Permanent workers are often paid higher and get even more benefits like paid vacations, health insurance and pension benefits. The job outlook for those in waitress careers is good since job opportunities are expected to increase at the rate of 16% through to 2016.