Waiters and Waitresses vs Cooks, Restaurant AI Risk

Job 1

Job 2

Job 1

Job 2

medium risk

Waiters and Waitresses

44 shared · 16 different

core competencies

medium risk

Cooks, Restaurant

Side-by-Side Comparison

Cooks, Restaurant leads 4–0

Metric	Waiters and Waitresses	Cooks, Restaurant
Risk Score	33.8%	31.6%
Risk Tier	Medium Risk	Medium Risk
Risk Percentile	61th	48th
Tasks at Risk (>50%)	5 / 15	5 / 15
Median Salary	$33,760	$36,830
Employment	2.3M	1.5M

Skill Comparison

Sorted by largest difference

Food Production

Performing for or Working Directly with the Public

Scheduling Work and Activities

Production and Processing

Selling or Influencing Others

Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge

Analyzing Data or Information

Developing Objectives and Strategies

Service OrientationAI-Resistant

Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships

Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work

Visual Color Discrimination

Protective Factors

Higher values indicate stronger protection against AI displacement

Waiters and Waitresses

28%

total discount

Cooks, Restaurant

28%

total discount

Task Risk Comparison

Tasks sorted by AI automation risk — higher means more automatable

Waiters and Waitresses

5 of 15 at risk

89%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.

Cooks, Restaurant

5 of 15 at risk

86%Estimate expected food consumption, requisition or purchase supplies, or procure food from storage.

77%Ensure freshness of food and ingredients by checking for quality, keeping track of old and new items, and rotating stock.

71%Ensure food is stored and cooked at correct temperature by regulating temperature of ovens, broilers, grills, and roasters.

59%Weigh, measure, and mix ingredients according to recipes or personal judgment, using various kitchen utensils and equipment.

58%Bake, roast, broil, and steam meats, fish, vegetables, and other foods.

Wage Comparison

Cooks, Restaurant earns +$3,070(+9%) vs Waiters and Waitresses

Waiters and WaitressesCooks, Restaurant

10th

$18,500$28,010

25th

$25,690$31,310

Median

$33,760$36,830

75th

$45,350$43,610

90th

$62,510$47,340

Premium Head-to-Head Analysis

Displacement Timeline Comparison

Waiters and Waitresses2028–2035

Cooks, Restaurant2028–2035

20242030203520402045

Cooks, Restaurant has a longer runway before significant displacement, projected 0 years later than Waiters and Waitresses.

Risk-Adjusted Salary

Salary weighted by displacement risk: salary × (1 − risk%)

Waiters and Waitresses

$22,363

from $33,760

Cooks, Restaurant

$25,192

from $36,830

After adjusting for AI risk, Cooks, Restaurant offers $2,829 more in risk-adjusted pay.

Transition Feasibility

Skill Overlap

Low overlap — significant retraining needed for transition

Unique to Waiters

Unique to Cooks,

Combined Protection Strategy

Regardless of which path you choose, focus on these protective factors

Social Intelligence

Creativity

Decision Complexity

Fine Manipulation

Waiters and WaitressesCooks, Restaurant

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