Food Preparation and Serving · Holland code RCE
Bartenders
Mix and serve drinks to patrons, directly or through waitstaff.
Also called: Banquet Bartender, Bar Captain, Bartender, Mixologist.
O*NET 35-3011.00
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $34,340
- Middle half earn $27,400 to $47,570. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
- 43% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 2 of 5
- Some preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
- US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034
- +6% · Faster than average
- 756,700 jobs in 2024, projected 801,500. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Bartenders".
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- Clean glasses, utensils, and bar equipment.
- Collect money for drinks served.
- Balance cash receipts.
- Check identification of customers to verify age requirements for purchase of alcohol.
- Clean bars, work areas, and tables.
- Attempt to limit problems and liability related to customers' excessive drinking by taking steps such as persuading customers to stop drinking, or ordering taxis or other transportation for intoxicated patrons.
- Take beverage orders from serving staff or directly from patrons.
- Serve wine, and bottled or draft beer.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Active Listening3.8 / 5
- Speaking3.1 / 5
- Critical Thinking3.1 / 5
- Reading Comprehension3.0 / 5
- Active Learning3.0 / 5
- Monitoring3.0 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Customer and Personal Service4.4 / 5
- English Language3.6 / 5
- Education and Training3.2 / 5
- Sales and Marketing3.1 / 5
- Administration and Management3.0 / 5
- Public Safety and Security3.0 / 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.
- Realistic61
- Investigative0
- Artistic22
- Social46
- Enterprising48
- Conventional59
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)
- restaurant manager · DE Restaurantmanager/Restaurantmanagerin · FR gérant de restaurant/gérante de restaurant
- distillery supervisor · DE Brennereileiter/Brennereileiterin · FR superviseur de distillerie/superviseuse de distillerie
- beer sommelier · DE Biersommelier/Biersommelière · FR sommelier en bière/sommelière en bière
- bartender · DE Barkeeper/Barkeeperin · FR barman/barmaid
- barista · DE Barista · FR barista
- cocktail bartender · DE Cocktailbarkeeper/Cocktailbarkeeperin · FR barman spécialisé en cocktails/barmaid spécialisée en cocktails
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Restaurant and catering establishment managers and proprietors (1222)140,500 employed
- Skilled metal, electrical and electronic trades supervisors (5250)42,900 employed
- Waiters and waitresses (9264)259,800 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.
Japan
Japan classifies jobs in its own way. The closest category that names the same work is “飲食物給仕従事者”, which may be narrower or broader than this occupation.
- Median monthly pay
- ¥239,100
- Middle half earn ¥198,200 to ¥293,700 a month.
- Workers in the category
- 198,130
- Regular employees in firms of ten or more.
Scheduled monthly pay before tax, excluding overtime and bonuses, so it is not comparable to the annual figures above. Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025, via e-Stat, under the Japanese Government Standard Terms of Use. The category match was made by hand.
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.
| 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.
Exposure to AI
This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -0.62. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.
Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.
Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (35-3011).
Related careers
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