Waiters and Waitresses vs Food Preparation Workers AI Risk

Job 1

Job 2

Job 1

Job 2

medium risk

Waiters and Waitresses

43 shared · 10 different

core competencies

medium risk

Food Preparation Workers

Side-by-Side Comparison

Waiters and Waitresses leads 4–1

Metric	Waiters and Waitresses	Food Preparation Workers
Risk Score	33.8%	36.7%
Risk Tier	Medium Risk	Medium Risk
Risk Percentile	61th	71th
Tasks at Risk (>50%)	5 / 15	7 / 15
Median Salary	$33,760	$34,220
Employment	2.3M	889K

Skill Comparison

Sorted by largest difference

Scheduling Work and Activities

Administration and Management

English Language

Sales and Marketing

Oral Expression

Developing and Building Teams

Processing Information

Speech Clarity

Service OrientationAI-Resistant

Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others

Protective Factors

Higher values indicate stronger protection against AI displacement

Waiters and Waitresses

28%

total discount

Food Preparation Workers

26%

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.

Food Preparation Workers

7 of 15 at risk

88%Take and record temperature of food and food storage areas, such as refrigerators and freezers.

87%Operate cash register, handle money, and give correct change.

64%Keep records of the quantities of food used.

59%Vacuum dining area and sweep and mop kitchen floor.

57%Distribute food to waiters and waitresses to serve to customers.

Wage Comparison

Food Preparation Workers earns +$460(+1%) vs Waiters and Waitresses

Waiters and WaitressesFood Preparation Workers

10th

$18,500$23,490

25th

$25,690$28,740

Median

$33,760$34,220

75th

$45,350$37,540

90th

$62,510$44,260

Premium Head-to-Head Analysis

Displacement Timeline Comparison

Waiters and Waitresses2028–2035

Food Preparation Workers2028–2035

20242030203520402045

Waiters and Waitresses has a longer runway before significant displacement, projected 0 years later than Food Preparation Workers.

Risk-Adjusted Salary

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

Waiters and Waitresses

$22,363

from $33,760

Food Preparation Workers

$21,654

from $34,220

After adjusting for AI risk, Waiters and Waitresses offers $708 more in risk-adjusted pay.

Transition Feasibility

Skill Overlap

Low overlap — significant retraining needed for transition

Unique to Waiters

Unique to Food

Combined Protection Strategy

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

Social Intelligence

Regulatory Barriers

Fine Manipulation

Decision Complexity

Waiters and WaitressesFood Preparation Workers

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