Side-by-Side Comparison
Waiters and Waitresses leads 5–0| Metric | Waiters and Waitresses | Cashiers |
|---|---|---|
| Risk Score | 33.8% | 44.7% |
| Risk Tier | Medium Risk | Medium Risk |
| Risk Percentile | 61th | 91th |
| Tasks at Risk (>50%) | 5 / 15 | 9 / 15 |
| Median Salary | $33,760 | $31,190 |
| Employment | 2.3M | 3.1M |
Skill Comparison
|
Sorted by largest difference
Communicating with Persons Outside Organization
Protective Factors
Higher values indicate stronger protection against AI displacement
Waiters and Waitresses
28%
total discount
Cashiers
25%
total discount
Task Risk Comparison
Tasks sorted by AI automation risk — higher means more automatable
Waiters and Waitresses
5 of 15 at risk89%Prepare checks that itemize and total meal costs and sales taxes.
87%Collect payments from customers.
87%Write patrons' food orders on order slips, memorize orders, or enter orders into computers for transmittal to kitchen staff.
85%Check patrons' identification to ensure that they meet minimum age requirements for consumption of alcoholic beverages.
51%Perform cleaning duties, such as sweeping and mopping floors, vacuuming carpet, tidying up server station, taking out trash, or checking and cleaning bathroom.
Cashiers
9 of 15 at risk88%Calculate total payments received during a time period, and reconcile this with total sales.
88%Keep periodic balance sheets of amounts and numbers of transactions.
86%Issue receipts, refunds, credits, or change due to customers.
86%Issue trading stamps and redeem food stamps and coupons.
84%Monitor checkout stations to ensure that they have adequate cash available and that they are staffed appropriately.
Wage Comparison
Cashiers earns -$2,570(-8%) vs Waiters and Waitresses
Waiters and WaitressesCashiers
10th
$18,500$23,070
25th
$25,690$27,780
Median
$33,760$31,190
75th
$45,350$35,410
90th
$62,510$38,220
Premium Head-to-Head Analysis
Displacement Timeline Comparison
Waiters and Waitresses2028–2035
Cashiers2028–2035
20242030203520402045
Waiters and Waitresses has a longer runway before significant displacement, projected 0 years later than Cashiers.
Risk-Adjusted Salary
Salary weighted by displacement risk: salary × (1 − risk%)
Waiters and Waitresses
$22,363
from $33,760
Cashiers
$17,239
from $31,190
After adjusting for AI risk, Waiters and Waitresses offers $5,124 more in risk-adjusted pay.
Transition Feasibility
1%
Skill Overlap
Low overlap — significant retraining needed for transition
0
Unique to Waiters
0
Unique to Cashiers
Combined Protection Strategy
Regardless of which path you choose, focus on these protective factors
Fine Manipulation
Social Intelligence
Creativity
Decision Complexity
Waiters and WaitressesCashiers