Food Preparation and Serving · Holland code RSC

Baristas

Prepare or serve specialty coffee or other beverages. Serve food such as baked goods or sandwiches to patrons.

Also called: Bobarista, Catering Barista.

O*NET 35-3023.01

At a glance

US median annual pay: $31,200; Middle half earn $27,700 to $36,070. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 2 of 5; Some preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Clean or sanitize work areas, utensils, or equipment.
Receive and process customer payments.
Prepare or serve hot or cold beverages, such as coffee, espresso drinks, blended coffees, or teas.
Take customer orders and convey them to other employees for preparation.
Clean service or seating areas.
Prepare or serve menu items, such as sandwiches or salads.
Wrap, label, or date food items for sale.
Check temperatures of freezers, refrigerators, or heating equipment to ensure proper functioning.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Active Listening3.4 / 5
Speaking3.3 / 5
Monitoring3.0 / 5
Reading Comprehension2.9 / 5
Critical Thinking2.6 / 5
Writing2.5 / 5

Knowledge areas

Customer and Personal Service4.6 / 5
Administration and Management3.6 / 5
Sales and Marketing3.5 / 5
Food Production3.2 / 5
English Language3.1 / 5
Personnel and Human Resources3.0 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic76
Investigative1
Artistic27
Social45
Enterprising37
Conventional45

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

barista · DE Barista · FR barista

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Bar staff (9265)169,900 employed
Coffee shop workers (9266)79,300 employed
Bar and catering supervisors (9261)64,800 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Service and sales workers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Service and sales workers, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€32,957
Sweden	€32,596
Netherlands	€29,198
Austria	€29,068
Germany	€27,471
Ireland	€26,978
Italy	€24,995
France	€24,971
Spain	€18,303
Portugal	€10,656
Poland	€7,579

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test