Food Servers, Nonrestaurant

Work context | O*NET 35-3041.00 describes delivery, plating, tray management, and customer or patient contact, mostly in controlled indoor settings. Percentages are respondent distributions, not personal hours, accident rates, or Chinese workplace statistics. Environment | Daily controlled indoor work (63%) and distracting or uncomfortable noise (28%). Protective equipment | Daily common protective or safety equipment (37%). Standing and movement | Continual or almost continual standing (72%), walking or running (72%), hand use to handle or control equipment and tools (73%), and bending or twisting (61%). Contact and teamwork | Constant contact with others (71%), daily face-to-face discussions with individuals and teams (78%), teamwork extremely important (64%), and leading or coordinating others extremely important (49%). External contact and communication | Dealing with external customers or the public extremely important (51%); daily telephone communication (41%). Time and decisions | Daily time pressure (72%) and decisions (60%); some task and priority freedom (47%) and decision freedom (36%). Accuracy and repetition | Accuracy important (47% rate it very important), repeating tasks extremely important (42%), and continual or almost continual repetitive motions (37%). Responsibility and consequences | Very high responsibility for other workers' health and safety (49%), high responsibility for others' work outcomes (39%), important decision effects on coworkers and company results (43%), daily unpleasant, angry or discourteous people (40%), and high competition (36%).

Environment and pace | O*NET63% report daily controlled indoor work, 28% daily noise, 72% daily time pressure, and 60% daily decisions. 72% respectively report continual standing and movement, 73% continual hand use, and 61% continual bending and twisting. These are respondent distributions, not personal time shares. They do not establish that noise comes from corridors or lifts or every role follows three meal routes. Check actual routes, hours, and safety procedures for rooms, wards, care facilities, vehicles and other settings.

Tools and materials | Equipment: trays, racks, carts and insulated carts, tableware, napkins and condiment containers, portioning and plating utensils, sandwich, salad and beverage utensils, dishwashing and sanitizing equipment, and record and payment terminals where applicable. Materials: ordered or instructed meals, beverages and ingredients, disposable tableware and packaging, cleaning and sanitizing supplies, and protective equipment (slip-resistant shoes, gloves and aprons). Documents: orders, menus and delivery slips, special-diet and allergen guidance, room, bed and name lists, service and hygiene procedures, and abnormality and complaint reporting procedures. Recipients, special diets and hygiene requirements must follow current shift orders and institutional guidance.

Check orders and special diets → Portion, plate and load → Deliver along routes and check names and rooms → Assist diners and handle requests → Collect trays and count tableware → Record, hand over and report

Quality standards | Portion and deliver under orders, instructions and special-diet guidance: complete portions and items, tableware and condiments; matching recipients, rooms and names; hot food within safe temperatures and timely delivery. Record special-meal quantities and types; provide courteous service protecting residents' and customers' privacy and dignity. If orders, dietary guidance or hygiene procedures conflict, first consult and document with team leaders or duty leads. Do not independently substitute meals or change recipients.

Adjacent directions | Waiters and waitresses focus on restaurant table service; food preparation workers on ingredients; dishwashers on utensils; bartenders and baristas on drinks. Fast Food and Counter Workers (35-3023) must not be confused with BLS's broad Food and Beverage Serving and Related Workers group. Tasks may overlap; recheck equipment, processes and authorization before changing roles.

Boundary review points | Stop and escalate mismatches with orders or dietary guidance, suspected allergens or label/meal mismatches, abnormal hot-food or drink temperatures or damaged packaging, choking, discomfort, falls or other sudden events, missing or mismatched tray and tableware counts, or anything risking injury or dietary safety. Team leaders, duty leads, nursing or food safety leads respond under company procedures and regulations.

Check orders → Portion and plate → Deliver and check names and rooms → Assist diners → Collect and count → Record, hand over and report

Difference from waiters and waitresses | They focus on restaurant table service; this occupation focuses on delivery outside restaurants. Both may take orders and payments. Tips depend on location and employment conditions, not titles alone.

Difference from food preparation workers | They emphasize ingredients and preparation; this occupation emphasizes nonrestaurant service and may also make sandwiches, salads, soups and drinks. Duties overlap; check actual task allocation.

Checking method | First distinguish main delivery, preparation, cleaning and alcohol-service duties, then check actual tools, abnormality-response authority and wage definitions. Unlike dishwashers, this occupation also delivers and serves but may clean and sanitize tableware, equipment and areas; cleaning cannot be excluded. The table adds boundaries around tools, trial work and Chinese and U.S. evidence.

Difference from bartenders | They emphasize alcoholic drinks and bar service; this occupation focuses on nonrestaurant meals. Alcohol duties require local-law and employer-authorization checks; titles do not remove actual alcohol-service responsibilities.

Before choosing, compare task proportions (portioning, delivery, checking, assistance, collection and records), training (on-the-job, food safety and hygiene, special diets and customer service), shifts and physical demands (meal times, weekends and holidays, continual standing, walking and handling, interpersonal contact), and progression (waiting, preparation, fast food and counter service, first-line supervision or institutional service). Residential care, hospitals, hotels and vehicle service differ considerably; check vacancies and site observations.

Boundaries cannot be inferred from similar titles. Kitchen preparation, restaurant service, tray delivery, dishwashing, bartending and counter beverages differ in setting, utensils and authorization. Changing roles requires new processes, procedures and safety learning; former judgment and sign-off authority does not carry over. Clinical and therapeutic diet decisions and food safety incidents belong with responsible parties.

AI task exposure | Tools may assist orders and delivery slips, route and floor arrangements, special-diet and allergen reminders, supply restocking, service records and complaint tracking. On-site staff and team leaders retain meal and recipient checks, portioning, plating, delivery, assistance and abnormality handling. Task exposure does not mean replacement.

Occupational definition | Serve individuals outside restaurants, including rooms, wards, residential care and vehicles. Duties may include portioning and plating, order and recipient checks, delivery and help finding dining locations and getting situated, tray collection, special-meal records, restocking, simple preparation and cleaning and sanitizing tableware, equipment and areas. Preparation and cleaning overlap depends on institutions; titles neither exclude these tasks nor authorize clinical diet decisions. O*NET's help them get situated does not establish feeding, swallowing-assessment or clinical-care qualifications. Check actual training, institutional procedures and authorization.

Data and system requirements | Check traceability to shifts, rooms and names; special-diet and allergen access and updating; meal and complaint-ticket definitions and retention; paper-slip fallback and records during network or terminal failure; consistency of routes and schedules with actual conditions; and resident and patient access and privacy requirements.

Human control points | Staff and team or duty leads must check meals and orders, confirm diets and allergens, portion and plate, verify recipients, rooms and names, assist diners and handle abnormalities, record and report. Tool-generated orders, reminders, routes and records require documented human checks before use.

Remaining responsibility | No automatic clearance for meal/order/diet agreement, allergen and label safety, correct recipients, temperature and hygiene compliance, or delivery suspension, replacement and complaint escalation decisions. Output is not an acceptability finding or authorization.

Failure risks | Unreviewed output may cause wrong-room or wrong-person delivery, dietary and allergen mismatches, missing portions or items and inaccurate records, or unconfirmed replacements and complaint actions implemented as plans. Dietary incidents, injuries and compliance risks can result. Identify reviewers and original documents before implementation.

Employment evidence boundaries | U.S. O*NET and BLS wage and employment estimates have specific definitions and cannot be extrapolated directly to China or other regions. Chinese industry averages are background proxies, not occupational wages. Generated content needs traceability to original inputs and sources; fluency is not evidence of correctness.

Practical response | Begin with reversible, auditable low-risk order and slip management, route and schedule reminders, supply inventory and complaint tracking. Follow team and duty lead confirmation and actual delivery. Expand use based on errors, complaints and safety incidents, retaining human meal, recipient and safety confirmation.

Cross-market boundaries | China publishes urban-unit employee averages by economic industry, without this occupation separately; the United States estimates by SOC occupation and industry. Different classifications prevent combination and conversion; industry averages cannot replace occupational wages.

Insufficient evidence: NBS releases reviewed this round do not separately report nonrestaurant food server wages. Industry averages, recruitment offers and third-party estimates are not substituted.

Chinese wage review points | Only definitions, industry background proxies and visible gaps are provided, without estimated pay. Check scope (industry category / occupation), period, units and populations for comparability before using figures.

U.S. wage review | National wages are from May 2025 OEWS and projections from BLS 2025—2035 tables. Check periods, rows and inclusions separately. OEWS includes tips, base pay, commissions and production bonuses, excluding overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses, employer benefits and self-employment. Annual values generally assume 2,080 hours and are not take-home income.

Chinese wage coverage | NBS publishes urban-unit industry averages. Accommodation and food services provides background only, covers neither all hospital nor care settings, and does not separately report this occupation. Industry means cannot establish personal pay.

Insufficient evidence: No occupationally verifiable Chinese nonrestaurant food server median wage was obtained. Industry averages are not substituted.

Chinese wage period | Annual industry averages below refer to 2025, released in 2026, unlike U.S. May 2025 point-in-time wages. Do not mix periods.

Cross-market boundaries | Chinese industry averages and U.S. occupational wages differ in population, period and definitions and are shown separately with limitations, without currency conversion or substitution.

Units | Chinese industry averages are pretax yuan per year including withheld personal taxes, social insurance and housing fund contributions; OEWS uses dollars per hour or standard-hours annual wages. It includes tips, base pay, commissions and production bonuses, excluding overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses, employer benefits and self-employment. Annual values generally assume 2,080 hours and are not take-home income.

Insufficient evidence: No Chinese nonrestaurant food server wages verifiable by region or employment arrangement were obtained. Individual offers and secondhand accounts are not substituted.

Chinese population coverage | The 2025 NBS scope covers employees of urban legal entities with 5 or more people, excluding individual businesses and freelancers. This does not exclude all part-time or dispatched workers or make industry averages occupational wages.

U.S. wage market scope | OEWS sample estimates represent employer-reported wages and exclude self-employment. Medians are distribution midpoints, not starting pay or every region's or employer's wages.

Periods | Wages are May 2025 OEWS; projections have a 2025 base year and 2025—2035 growth and annual openings. These are separate statistical programs.

Units | OEWS annual wages generally equal hourly wages multiplied by 2,080 hours. This cannot establish actual annual income; check hours and contractual pay inclusions.

U.S. coverage | OEWS surveys full-time and part-time wage employees, excluding self-employment. Tips are included; shift differentials and overtime are excluded. Sample estimates are not every institution's offer.

Occupational scope | Figures cover SOC 35-3041, Food Servers, Nonrestaurant, excluding waiters and waitresses (35-3031), preparation workers (35-2021), dishwashers (35-9021), bartenders (35-3011), baristas (roles related to 35-3023), fast food and counter workers (35-3023), fast-food cooks (35-2011), and first-line preparation and serving supervisors (35-1012). Wages cannot be mixed across occupations.

Sampling limits | OEWS provides sample estimates. May 2025 national employment is 293,900, with relative standard error 1.3%. Four high-wage industry medians from official queries provide a limited comparison, not main employers, national industry averages or personal income.

Conclusion | Core distinctions concern setting and work stage. This occupation portions, delivers, checks and assists diners in rooms, wards, residential care and vehicles. Waiters take orders, deliver dishes and serve tables in restaurants; preparation workers wash, cut and prepare cold foods and drinks in kitchens; dishwashers clean tableware centrally and kitchens; bartenders and baristas prepare alcohol and coffee drinks and provide bar service. Settings, utensils and authorization differ; processes and judgments cannot simply carry over.

Evidence note | Scope follows O*NET; work emphases and choice questions are the author's synthesis, not qualification or hiring judgments. Duties overlap; check wages under each SOC row. Tip structures do not establish fit.

Introduction | Four columns compare career direction, core work and outputs, key differences, and suitable choices. Food-service and institutional roles connect in workflows but are not interchangeable. Changing directions requires learning settings, processes, and safety requirements.

Centers on delivery and service outside restaurants: portion and plate under orders, check names, rooms and special diets, help people settle and dine, collect trays and count tableware, record special meals, and report abnormalities.

May better suit people willing to deliver accurately while moving, handle intensive contact and time pressure, and patiently check names and special diets.

Produces accurately delivered meals and service through portioning, plating, delivery and checks, dining assistance, collection and counting, special-meal records, and abnormality reporting.

This occupation: Food Servers, Nonrestaurant

Centers on kitchen washing, cutting, cold-food and beverage preparation and hygiene: prepare sandwiches, salads, soups and drinks under orders, clean and sanitize utensils and areas, and store under temperature and hygiene requirements.

May better suit people willing to perform procedural preparation and hygiene at a fixed station. Those who prefer movement and service interaction may prefer this occupation.

Produces prepared foods and hygienic environments through ingredient checks, washing and cutting, cold-food and beverage preparation, temperature and usage records, and cleaning and sanitizing.

Food Preparation Workers

Centers on restaurant order-taking, dish delivery and table service: seating, order records, dish delivery and table setting, billing, and tipped service.

Explore waiting if you prefer restaurant table service, or this occupation if you prefer guest-room, ward or institutional delivery. Check contracts separately for pay and tips.

Produces completed restaurant service through orders, delivery and table setting, table maintenance and billing, customer relations, and tips.

Waiters and Waitresses

Centers on centralized tableware and utensil washing and kitchen cleaning: dishwashing equipment, floors and bins, and cleaning records.

May better suit people willing to do centralized cleaning and repetitive physical work. Those preferring delivery and service interaction may prefer this occupation.

Produces clean tableware and kitchens through washing and sanitizing utensils, cleaning floors and waste, and cleaning records.

Dishwashers

Centers on alcoholic drinks and bar service: mixing, ingredient preparation and output, age checks and alcohol laws, bar cleaning, and customer interaction.

Explore this direction if you prefer alcoholic drinks and bar pace. Confirm alcohol-service responsibilities under local rules and role authorization; this occupation's title does not remove such responsibilities.

Produces drinks and bar service through mixing and output, ingredients and inventory, bar cleaning, and customer interaction.

Bartenders

Centers on espresso and beverage preparation and bar service: grinding, extraction, milk steaming and latte art, orders and payments, and bar cleaning.

May better suit people preferring beverage techniques and bar pace. Those preferring institutional and guest-room meal service may prefer this occupation.

Produces beverages and bar service through extraction and milk steaming, drink presentation, orders and payments, and bar cleaning.

Baristas

Transition | Comparing settings and work stages helps you choose a food-service environment for long-term work. Readiness depends on understanding processes, hygiene and safety, maintaining accuracy and courtesy while moving and under pressure, and passing employer- or team-leader-recognized practical assessments. Questionnaires only generate questions.

New meal-delivery assistants

Use tools for reversible order and delivery-slip viewing, supply inventory, and tray and tableware counts. On-site and team-leader review governs recipients and special diets.

Frontline meal-delivery staff

Use tools to view orders and routes, record special meals and complaints, and receive restocking reminders. Personally portion, plate, deliver, check, and handle abnormalities.

Team leaders and duty leads

Use tools for schedules, routes, complaints and tickets, and special-meal registers. Meal replacement, delivery suspension, complaint escalation and safety handling require documented on-site review.

Institutional service and food safety support

Use tools for summaries, procedure comparisons and draft training materials. Special-diet and food-safety judgments require human confirmation against institutional guidance and law.

Task analysis | No occupational generative AI exposure level or replacement timeline is provided. Based on O*NET tasks, text tools may draft handovers, training or complaints. Order systems, rules checks, route optimization and delivery equipment are distinct technologies, not all generative AI. Physical portioning, delivery and checks follow institutional processes, and output needs verification. General exposure studies prove neither adoption nor job reductions here.

O*NET 35-3041.00 details (tasks and activities)

Defines tasks and context under U.S. classifications, not Chinese occupational classifications.

BLS Employment Projections 2025—2035

BLS U.S. occupational projections include this occupation's 0.2% self-employed share; they establish neither AI adoption rates nor individual hiring.

BLS OEWS wage statistics (May 2025)

Supports May 2025 U.S. wage and employment sample estimates. OEWS includes tips, base pay, commissions and production bonuses, excluding overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses, employer benefits and self-employment. Annual values generally assume 2,080 hours, not personal take-home income.

ILO 2025 Generative AI Task Exposure Research

ILO's 2025 update assesses potential generative AI exposure by ISCO occupations and tasks. No score directly matching SOC 35-3041 was obtained; no exposure grade, adoption or unemployment probability is inferred.

NIST Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework (AI RMF 1.0)

General governance and risk-control principles; not food safety, hygiene, or care-service standards.

O*NET 35-3041.00 occupational scope

Defines nonrestaurant personal food-service boundaries for classification checks.

O*NET Occupational Interests

Explains interest codes and preferences, not hiring or fit conclusions.

Work-stage comparison | The table is the author's task-based assistance proposal, not adjacent-occupation comparisons or adoption research. Orders, routes, reminders and records may benefit, while people and institutional processes retain physical portioning, delivery and checks. Route optimization and ordinary validation need not be generative AI. Verify feasibility, adoption and outcomes separately.

Tools can accelerate order and delivery-slip management, route and scheduling prompts, and supply reminders

On-site meal and recipient checks, portioning and plating, delivery and assistance, and abnormality and safety handling

Tools may assist special-diet and allergen reminders and meal registers

Diet and allergen confirmation, recipient checks, and replacement and delivery-suspension confirmation

Tools can generate complaint tracking, summaries, and draft training materials

Customer requests and conflict resolution, hygiene and safety, privacy, and responsibility sign-offs

Evidence introduction | Tasks, wage statistics, potential AI exposure and actual job changes are distinct evidence. General ILO exposure research does not prove adoption. Tool analysis here is author reasoning, not occupational scores or replacement timelines.

Occupational description, not automation risk assessment

O*NET 35-3041.00 details

Tasks include delivery, checks, preparation and hygiene. Context percentages show respondents reporting a frequency, not daily time shares.

Author analysis: Text-only tools cannot directly deliver physical meals. Adoption with delivery equipment and job outcomes need separate evidence.

OEWS includes tips, base pay, commissions and production bonuses, excluding overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses, employer benefits and self-employment. Annual values generally assume 2,080 hours, not take-home income.

BLS OEWS（May 2025）

Point-in-time U.S. wage and employment sample estimates

Wages are tied to U.S. occupations and periods, not institutional offers. Tips and part-time employees are included; standard-hours annual wages are not take-home income.

Must not be extrapolated to specific company or individual job outcomes

ILO 2025 Generative AI Task Exposure Research

Potential exposure index by tasks and ISCO occupations, not empirical U.S. SOC adoption evidence.

Task exposure means technology may affect tasks, not jobs will decline

Not food safety, hygiene, or care-service standards

NIST AI RMF 1.0

General AI risk governance framework

Digital tools need clear responsibilities, data arrangements, and fallback plans

Projections are not actual recruitment counts

BLS 2025—2035 projections table, including annual openings

Projections include growth and replacement needs

Annual openings of 48,800 include growth and replacements; ten-year net growth is about 13,300. These are not the same measure.

Technical feasibility: A task may technically be affected by tools; this establishes neither permission nor adoption.

Institutional adoption: Introduction depends on institutional and hotel procedures, food safety, hygiene and privacy requirements. Tools cannot transfer delivery and care responsibilities.

Job outcomes: Staffing changes depend on institutional, hotel and vehicle-delivery structures, automation and employment arrangements, not feasibility alone.

No evidence supports a replacement timetable. Tools may change records and order queries; organizations still arrange physical service and safety checks. Exposure is not adoption or layoffs.

O*NET 35-3041.00 (tasks and context)

BLS and O*NET entry preparation does not set programming as a universal requirement. Prioritize order checks, actual systems and reporting. Vacancies determine specific technology needs; lists do not establish adoption.

O*NET occupational tasks and preparation

Author analysis: Generative AI may assist handover, training and complaint drafts; routes and order validation need not use it. Adoption and effects require employer evidence.

ILO 2025 exposure methodology; this page's task analysis is author reasoning

Insufficient evidence: No verifiable Chinese occupational job-change data were obtained. BLS projects 4.5% U.S. growth over 2025—2035, from 296,300 to 309,600. This is an overall projection, not AI causality.

BLS 2025—2035 occupational projections table

Identify reviewers, original documents and fallback steps, checking food safety, hygiene and privacy procedures. Tools must not automatically determine diets, recipients or delivery suspension.

NIST AI RMF (governance principles)

Limit uses and retention of resident and patient names, rooms and diets and complaint data. Do not upload identifiable information externally.

NIST AI RMF: general data-risk and organizational-responsibility principles

Practice reading current orders, recipient and special-meal labels, counting supplies and reporting. Use the four fictional orders and reference answers to explain two paused meals and the 1 missing cup, then check training conditions.

O*NET tasks; paper exercise designed by the author

Responsibility introduction | Tools can support efficiency; people retain judgment and consequences. These five steps preserve human responsibilities before and after adoption.

Special-diet checks | Staff check meals, recipients and labels against valid orders and guidance. Conflicts require pausing and reporting, not independent clinical diet decisions or allergen-safety declarations.

Correct orders and slips: People check rooms, names, items and special requirements against originals and shift changes before delivery.

On-site service control: Staff portion, plate, deliver, check, assist, collect and count under current procedures.

Truthful records and privacy: Special-meal, complaint and abnormality records reflect actual processes; identifiable information has limited uses. Tools must not generate unverified records.

Escalation: Meal changes, suspended deliveries, allergen and temperature abnormalities, personal safety and complaints require documented team or duty lead confirmation.

Wrong recipients or diets cause dietary-safety and care risks

Before delivery, people check names, rooms and diets, identifying reviewers and keeping records

Missed checks cause missing or incorrect deliveries and undetected emergencies

Delivery and assistance require on-site confirmation; tools only provide routes and reminders

Personal information may be improperly disclosed or misused

Limit uses and retention; do not upload sensitive materials externally

Inaccurate special-meal and complaint records undermine traceability and responsibility

Records must reflect reality; unverified generated records are prohibited

Responsibility may be unclear during dietary incidents or escalated complaints

Identify and document review and response owners before adoption

People portion and check; tools only assist records

Portioning, plating and loading records

Portioning and loading

Tool option | Order and delivery-slip systems may be used; people check. Verify employer processes for adoption, not occupational prevalence.

People check and deliver on site

Delivery and name and room checks

Delivery checks

Tool option | Routes and reminders may assist; people check. Verify employer adoption, not occupational prevalence.

People communicate and respond

Dining assistance and requests

On-site service

Tool option | Tickets may assist; people respond. Verify employer adoption, not occupational prevalence.

People operate and count on site

Tray collection and tableware counts

Collection and counting

Tool option | Count registers may assist; people operate. Verify employer adoption, not occupational prevalence.

People prepare food and perform hygiene

Preparation and hygiene

Meal preparation hygiene

Tool option | Records may assist; people operate. Verify employer adoption, not occupational prevalence.

People ensure truthful records and communication

Records and handovers

Shift records

Tool option | Registers and templates may assist. Verify employer adoption, not occupational prevalence.

People judge and respond

Abnormality and safety reporting

Abnormality reporting

Tool option | Alerts and tickets may assist; people respond. Verify employer adoption, not occupational prevalence.

Summary | Reminders become faster; responsibility remains. Tools can speed orders, clarify routes and simplify inventory, but staff and team leaders retain meal/order/diet agreement, correct delivery, temperature and hygiene compliance, and responses to deviations.

10th percentile: $28,030 per year (2025, BLS OEWS)

Scope | 10th percentile: about 10% of wages are below it. Boundary | Not exclusively beginners, part-time or less-experienced workers.

25th percentile: $31,190 per year (2025, BLS OEWS)

Scope | U.S. national lower quartile. Boundary | Lower distribution segment; regions, institutions and employers vary greatly.

75th percentile: $38,500 per year (2025, BLS OEWS)

Scope | 75th percentile: about 75% below it. Boundary | Not exclusively experienced workers and does not explain causes.

90th percentile: $46,120 per year (2025, BLS OEWS)

Scope | 90th percentile: about 90% below it. Boundary | Not maximum pay or a career endpoint; cannot explain income causes.

Employment: 296,300 (United States, 2025 BLS projections base year)

Scope | Projections include 0.2% self-employment. Boundary | OEWS May 2025 estimates 293,900 wage employees. Separate programs are not the same population.

Projected growth: 4.5% (United States, 2025—2035, BLS); base year 296,300, reaching 309,600 in 2035, a net increase of about 13,300

Scope | U.S. projected growth 4.5%. Boundary | Net growth of about 13,300 differs from annual openings and individual hiring probability.

Approximately 48,800 annual openings (United States, 2025—2035, including growth and replacements from departures and transfers)

Scope | 2025—2035 annual openings of 48,800 include growth and replacements. Boundary | Not annual net additions, posted vacancies or individual opportunities.

Task analysis | No occupational generative AI exposure level or replacement timeline is provided. Based on O*NET tasks, text tools may draft handovers, training or complaints. Order systems, rules checks, route optimization and delivery equipment are distinct technologies, not all generative AI. Physical portioning, delivery and checks follow institutional processes, and output needs verification. General exposure studies prove neither adoption nor job reductions here.

Definition | Serve individuals outside restaurants, including rooms, wards, residential care and vehicles. Duties include portioning and plating, order and recipient checks, delivery and dining assistance, tray collection, special-meal records, restocking, simple preparation and cleaning and sanitizing tableware, equipment and areas. Setting and work emphasis distinguish roles; preparation, cleaning, orders and payments may overlap. Clinical diets and actions beyond authorization belong to responsible personnel.

Lower secondary education or below

Delivery, collection and cleaning assistance

Learn through support tasks and demonstrate training through checks and abnormality records. This is preparation advice; education does not determine roles or independent authority.

Upper secondary or secondary vocational education

Food Servers, Nonrestaurant

Practice checks, plating and communication in pre-job training. Independent work depends on actual assessments, not automatic authority from education.

Associate degree related to food service, hotels or care

Team leader, delivery and institutional service support

For team management, develop scheduling and service-quality experience. Associate degrees guarantee neither leadership nor meal-change authority.

Bachelor's degree or above

Explore service operations management, checking actual job conditions separately

Degrees do not automatically confer management or nutrition qualifications. Professional transitions require separate qualifications, training and appointment.

Residential care and nursing facilities

Institutional example. Check actual meals, special diets and assistance by role; U.S. employment structure is not Chinese industry shares.

Hospital and ward meal assembly and delivery

Therapeutic diets and meal checks require strict hygiene and accuracy.

Hotel room, vehicle and event meal delivery

Room and mobile settings emphasize timeliness and customer experience, with pronounced time-specific demand.

NBS 2025 industry wage release and notes | https://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202605/t20260518_1963740.html

Search terms | Meal assembly, ward delivery and room service may locate duties. Similar names do not establish matching scope; read actual tasks.

Insufficient evidence: Reviewed NBS 2025 wage releases do not separately list this occupation. No verifiable precise Chinese occupational wages were obtained; industry averages are not substituted.

Industry background | 2025 accommodation and food services averages are 62,461 yuan per year for urban non-private units and 55,123 for private units. These all-employee industry means are not occupational wages or representative of hospitals and care facilities. Coverage is urban legal entities with 5 or more people, excluding individual businesses and freelancers. U.S. wages and projections retain their own occupation and periods, without combination or conversion.

NBS 2025 industry wage release and notes | https://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202605/t20260518_1963740.html

Contract checking suggestion | Confirm location, institution, hours, employment arrangements, pay calculation, allowances, tips or commissions, and insurance and benefits. No representative occupational samples were obtained, so typical structures or amounts are not inferred.

First-tier cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen)

Insufficient evidence: No Chinese monthly occupational wages verifiable by city or region were obtained. Offers, industry averages and secondhand accounts are not substituted.

Other provincial capitals and regional hubs

Insufficient evidence: No Chinese monthly occupational wages verifiable by city or region were obtained. Offers, industry averages and secondhand accounts are not substituted.

County-level and lower-tier markets

Insufficient evidence: No Chinese monthly occupational wages verifiable by city or region were obtained. Offers, industry averages and secondhand accounts are not substituted.

Classification comparison | U.S. SOC 35-3041 is occupational; Chinese industry wages classify employing units. Institutions, hospitals and hotels are not all accommodation and food services. Industry wages cannot become occupational wages.

U.S. BLS OEWS methods and inclusions | https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/ocwage_05152026.pdf

Projected growth: 4.5% (United States, 2025—2035, BLS); base year 296,300, reaching 309,600 in 2035, a net increase of about 13,300

Median annual wage $35,360; median hourly wage $17.00 (U.S. national, May 2025 OEWS)

Scope | U.S. national median, not starting pay or employer offers. OEWS includes tips, base pay, commissions and production bonuses. Boundary | Excludes overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses, employer benefits and self-employment. Annual values generally assume 2,080 hours, not take-home income.

10th percentile: $28,030 per year (2025, BLS OEWS)

Scope | 10th percentile: about 10% of wages are below it. Boundary | Not exclusively beginners, part-time or less-experienced workers.

25th percentile: $31,190 per year (2025, BLS OEWS)

Scope | U.S. national lower quartile. Boundary | Lower distribution segment; regions, institutions and employers vary greatly.

75th percentile: $38,500 per year (2025, BLS OEWS)

Scope | 75th percentile: about 75% below it. Boundary | Not exclusively experienced workers and does not explain causes.

90th percentile: $46,120 per year (2025, BLS OEWS)

Scope | 90th percentile: about 90% below it. Boundary | Not maximum pay or a career endpoint; cannot explain income causes.

Employment: 296,300 (United States, 2025 BLS projections base year)

Scope | Projections include 0.2% self-employment. Boundary | OEWS May 2025 estimates 293,900 wage employees. Separate programs are not the same population.

Projected growth: 4.5% (United States, 2025—2035, BLS); base year 296,300, reaching 309,600 in 2035, a net increase of about 13,300

Scope | U.S. projected growth 4.5%. Boundary | Net growth of about 13,300 differs from annual openings and individual hiring probability.

Approximately 48,800 annual openings (United States, 2025—2035, including growth and replacements from departures and transfers)

Scope | 2025—2035 annual openings of 48,800 include growth and replacements. Boundary | Not annual net additions, posted vacancies or individual opportunities.

Boundary | U.S. national wages are May 2025 OEWS; projections cover 2025—2035. Four industries are official high-wage examples, not largest employers. Keep jurisdictions, programs and periods separate.

Direct answer | May 2025 U.S. median annual wage $35,360 and hourly wage $17.00; 10 / 25 / 75 / 90 percentiles are $28,030 / $31,190 / $38,500 / $46,120. Percentiles show distributions, not causes related to experience, hours or institutions. OEWS includes tips, base pay, commissions and production bonuses, excluding overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses, employer benefits and self-employment. Annual values generally assume 2,080 hours, not take-home income.

Check target state or city data for the same occupation and living costs separately. National percentiles are not a region's pay.

Region and living costs

Wages may differ by employer industry. The table shows only official high-wage examples and does not establish that all hospitals or hotels pay more than care facilities.

Institution type

Check hours, pay calculation, contractual overtime, shift differentials, tips and benefits separately. OEWS annual wages are not part-time workers' actual annual income.

Shifts and employment arrangements

Projected growth: 4.5% (United States, 2025—2035, BLS); base year 296,300, reaching 309,600 in 2035, a net increase of about 13,300

Outpatient Care Centers

$61,250 per year (May 2025, median for nonrestaurant food servers in this industry)

Official high-annual-wage industry example, not all-employee industry averages or occupational employment rankings.

Other Support Services

$49,530 per year (May 2025, median for nonrestaurant food servers in this industry)

Official high-annual-wage industry example, not all-employee industry averages or occupational employment rankings.

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions

$47,660 per year (May 2025, median for nonrestaurant food servers in this industry)

Official high-annual-wage industry example, not all-employee industry averages or occupational employment rankings.

Grantmaking and Giving Services

$42,450 per year (May 2025, median for nonrestaurant food servers in this industry)

Official high-annual-wage industry example, not all-employee industry averages or occupational employment rankings.

Reading distributions | Percentiles are wage-ranking positions, not beginner or experienced groups. Their spread does not establish greater concentration than other occupations.

Inclusions | OEWS includes tips, base pay, commissions and production bonuses, excluding overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses, employer benefits and self-employment. Annual values generally assume 2,080 hours, not take-home income.

Experience checks | For added leadership or independent-route duties, confirm responsibilities, assessments and pay with employers. National percentiles do not prove guaranteed raises.

Usage suggestion: Consider medians, percentiles and employment together and check local markets and institutions, not individual pay from one figure.

Median annual wage $35,360; median hourly wage $17.00 (U.S. national, May 2025 OEWS)

The 10th percentile is a distribution position, not evidence of experience, part-time shares or actual annual hours.

The median is the midpoint, not starting pay or every employer's standard offer.

The 90th percentile is a distribution position, not all experienced workers, an income ceiling or a guarantee of attainment.

Holland (RIASEC) | Explore relative Realistic, Social and Conventional preferences. O*NET's RSC (Realistic–Social–Conventional) code corresponds to hands-on physical activity, service and assistance, and procedural work. Questionnaires generate questions, not fit or readiness judgments.

Evidence note | RSC is an occupational interest code, not validation linking personal questionnaires to performance or qualifications. No occupational predictive grade is assigned.

High interest scores cannot remove practical costs if you strongly dislike prolonged standing and walking, intensive contact or repetitive service.

Big Five | Reflect on item-by-item checks and communication during complaints. These are self-questioning suggestions; no validated occupational personality-performance research was obtained.

Evidence note | No occupational assessment-validity research is provided; scores do not predict hiring, fit or performance.

Do not abandon or avoid the occupation because a personality assessment labels you unsuitable. Rely on site experience and practical assessment.

Understanding RSC: Realistic means hands-on physical work and movement; Social means service and assistance; Conventional means procedures and records. It explains task preferences, not performance.

MBTI | Reflect on communication preferences. Work requires procedural communication with residents, customers, kitchens and nurses; preferences do not determine competence.

Interest experience: Enjoy delivering each meal to the correct person while moving, and find satisfaction in helping and resolving requests.

Evidence note | No occupational MBTI fit or performance validation was obtained. Labels cannot replace training, practice, qualifications or employer assessment.

RSC

Realistic–Social–Conventional

Use types as communication references, not to infer delivery, checking or service competence.

Enneagram | Observe pressure reactions. Required checks and reporting after delivery errors or dissatisfaction matter more than labels.

Evidence note | No occupational Enneagram validation was obtained. Self-exploration only, without ability or fit findings.

Do not explain service errors through type labels. Check processes, verification and authorization.

Intelligence and reasoning | Questionnaires may explore learning styles; directly practice reading orders, identifying conflicts and calculating quantities. O*NET tasks do not validate this page's IQ questionnaire occupationally.

Evidence note | No occupational validation for this questionnaire was obtained. Scores cannot replace training, practice and safety checks.

Scores do not establish whether you can learn delivery and service processes. Test through practice and assessment.

Emotional intelligence | Reflect on communication during customer requests and coworker corrections. Intensive contact does not validate this questionnaire for predicting service quality or complaint handling.

Evidence note | No occupational validation of this emotional intelligence questionnaire was obtained. Scores cannot establish hiring, performance or competence.

Emotional abilities improve through experience and deliberate practice; scores need not limit you.

Boundary | Assessments and comparisons support self-questioning only, not hiring standards, ability scores, qualifications or food-service and care assessments. Entry depends on employer conditions, training and assessment, and local food safety, hygiene and institutional-care regulations.

Direct answer | Tools and assessments cannot predict passing practical assessments or adapting long-term to intensive service. Simulate checks, routes and reporting with fictional materials, then explore actual work under lawful training and supervision. One experience establishes neither lasting fit nor safe competence.

Food Servers, Nonrestaurant | Provides nonrestaurant meals and service through portioning, plating, delivery, name, room and diet checks, dining assistance and requests, tray collection and tableware counts, records and reports

Has checking and service awareness and willingly takes delivery and assistance responsibility while moving and under pressure

Not recommended if continual movement, intensive contact, or patient attention to names and diets are difficult to accept.

Food Preparation Workers | Produces kitchen washing, cutting, cold-food and beverage preparation and hygiene through ingredient checks, temperature and usage records, cleaning and sanitizing

Has hygiene and procedural awareness and executes preparation consistently

Not recommended if unwilling to perform preparation and cleaning at a fixed station over time.

Waiters and Waitresses | Provides restaurant orders, delivery and table service through seating, order records, table setting, billing and tipped service

Willing to learn orders, table service and communication. Check tips, pay and settlement duties against local conditions and contracts.

Try the work first if unwilling to handle tables and peak communication. Tips are not fixed income everywhere.

Dishwashers | Produces centralized tableware washing and clean kitchens through washing, sanitizing, floor and waste cleaning, and records

Can consistently perform cleaning and repetitive physical work

Not recommended if unwilling to do long-term cleaning and repetitive physical work.

Bartenders | Produces drinks and bar service through mixing, ingredients, age checks, alcohol-law compliance, cleaning and interaction

Has bar-service skills and accepts alcohol-law and age-check responsibility

Not recommended if unwilling to accept alcohol-law and age-check responsibility.

Baristas | Produces espresso drinks and bar service through grinding, extraction, milk steaming, drinks, orders, payments and cleaning

Has beverage and bar-service skills and accepts bar pace

Not recommended if little interest in extraction techniques and bar pace.

What personalities suit this work? Responsibility, patience, communication and service awareness matter more than types. RSC (Realistic–Social–Conventional) offers an exploration starting point.

Does it suit introverts? Labels cannot decide. Practice proactively confirming orders and handling requests, and check whether the contact intensity is acceptable.

Preparation before entry? Learn meal windows and floor delivery, continual standing and walking, weekends and holidays, and contact intensity. Prepare food safety, hygiene and customer-service basics; delivery assistance or collection can be starting points.

Main pressures? Concentrated delivery windows and checking demands (daily pressure 72%, accuracy very important 47%), daily unpleasant, angry or discourteous people (40%), and very high responsibility for other workers' health and safety (49%).

Physical requirements? Continual standing and walking and tray and cart handling (72% each continual standing and walking; 61% bending/twisting). Employer and local rules govern medical and health certification; no medical conclusion is provided.

Education? BLS typically lists no formal educational credential, no related experience and short-term on-the-job training. O*NET responses about required education are upper-secondary or equivalent 48%, below upper-secondary 27%, and some college without a degree 9%. These are not entrants' composition or admission and hiring thresholds. Actual vacancies and assessments apply.

Long-term bodily effects? Burns from hot meals, drinks and soups, handling trays and carts, wet-floor slips, prolonged standing and walking and repetition are practical costs. Use slip-resistant and protective equipment and follow procedures.

Development and transitions? Progress from delivery assistance to skilled service and leadership, or adjacent waiting, preparation, dishwashing, bartending, barista or first-line supervision. New directions require new processes and procedures.

Chinese and U.S. preparation | BLS lists short-term training. China's Food Safety Law Article 44 requires enterprise employee training; Article 45 limits annual health checks and certification to workers handling ready-to-eat foods. Delivery titles do not extend this to every role. Food business licenses concern operators; check settings, local rules and authorization separately.

Exploration | Simulate checks and reporting with fictional orders, tray lists and special-meal prompts. Real delivery requires training, hygiene, privacy and supervision. One trial proves neither long-term fit nor safe competence, and unauthorized patient care is excluded.

Fit signals: Willing to deliver each meal correctly while moving and remain courteous and patient when helping and resolving requests.

Caution signals: Difficulty with continual standing, walking and intensive contact, or insufficient patience for name, diet and hygiene details.

Exploration | Simulate checks and reporting with fictional orders, tray lists and special-meal prompts. Real delivery requires training, hygiene, privacy and supervision. One trial proves neither long-term fit nor safe competence, and unauthorized patient care is excluded.

Checks tasks and context under U.S. classifications.

Checks tasks and activities in detail.

Checks O*NET interest codes and subareas.

Linked O*NET details show Job Zone groupings, not uniform training durations. Exact typical education, experience and training follow BLS35-3041; check actual vacancies separately.

Explains certifications, which are not licenses or employer appointments.

Checks point-in-time U.S. wage and employment definitions.

Checks U.S. 2025—2035 growth and openings definitions.

Supplementary U.S. overview, not applicable elsewhere.

Boundary | Common delivery and service failures and controls help identify risks, not provide legal, safety, food safety, hygiene, care, medical or contract advice. Dietary incidents, injuries, care and complaint disputes belong with employers, food safety, nursing and safety leads and authorities under law and contracts.

Direct answer | Risks extend beyond carrying trays: delivery accuracy failures (wrong recipients, diets and allergens), inadequate personal and operational safety (hot-food burns, tray and cart handling, wet-floor slips and sudden illness), and records, privacy and complaint failures (inaccurate records, poor information protection and improper escalation).

Evidence scope | O*NET 35-3041.00 tasks and context report continual standing 72%, walking 72%, hand use 73%, daily discussions 78%, daily pressure 72%, constant contact 71%, teamwork extremely important 64%, continual bending/twisting 61%, daily decisions 60%, public contact extremely important 51%, very high other-worker safety responsibility 49%, accuracy very important 47%, daily unpleasant people 40%, and repetitive motions 37%. Delivery practice is also synthesized. Wages and employment are background, not risk-assessment evidence.

Delivery and checking staff; residents, patients and customers

Wrong rooms or recipients, diet/allergen mismatches or missing items cause dietary incidents and care risks, affecting health and triggering complaints and liability

Check names, rooms and diets against orders and recheck complete trays after loading. Pause mismatches immediately, check originals and report

Scenario | Skipping room and name checks to save time delivers a special meal to another resident.

Delivery and support staff; individuals and businesses

Hot-food and drink spills, improper tray/cart handling or wet floors cause burns, slips and muscle strains

Use insulated spill-resistant containers and slip-resistant shoes; check hot-food seals. Clear spills and wet floors promptly with warnings; use carts for heavy loads

Scenario | Unsealed hot soup and water on the floor lead to spills, slipping and burns.

Service staff, residents and customers; institutions and individuals

Agitated customers, escalating complaints or poor communication intensify conflict, disrupting service and creating safety and reputation risks

Listen courteously, record requests and refer to authorized staff. Withdraw and request support immediately for threats or personal danger

Scenario | Arguing with an agitated customer escalates a complaint and disrupts other residents' meals.

Service, nursing and kitchen staff; institutions and individuals

Missing or inaccurate special-meal, complaint, room and name records break traceability and privacy protection and obscure responsibility

Record quantities, types, requests and responses procedurally and limit information use. Isolate and report inconsistent records or leaks immediately

Scenario | Special meals and complaints are passed verbally without records, preventing later tracing of checks and responses.

Delivery and support staff; individuals and businesses

Missing or mismatched tableware, trays and supplies or improper cleaning cause shortages, lost hygiene control and cross-contamination risks

Count and register after meals, clean and sanitize utensils and areas procedurally, and report mismatches or inadequate cleaning immediately and replenish supplies

Scenario | Missing counts cause persistent tray and utensil shortages and inadequate cleaning.

Delivery and support staff; individuals and businesses

Prolonged standing, walking, bending, twisting, repetition and concentrated meal-time loads cause musculoskeletal strain, fatigue errors and falls

Rotate tasks and take breaks, adjust cart and tray handling, wear slip-resistant shoes, organize shifts and report unusual discomfort promptly

Scenario | Hours of standing and walking across meal periods without rotation cause marked back and leg discomfort and reduced attention.

Checks U.S. scope and context, not Chinese occupational classification.

Checks tasks and activities; author-created controls and exercises do not replace site safety procedures.

Checks point-in-time U.S. wages and employment; wages do not assess risk.

Explains digital data, responsibility and fallback risks, not food safety, hygiene or care procedures. Author scenarios and controls are not accident rates or legal requirements.

Checks tasks and context; author examples and controls do not replace employer procedures.

Qualification boundary | Education, training, health certificates and authorization are distinct. One does not confer the others. Pause and report meal/order conflicts, without independent replacements or clinical diets.

U.S. preparation comes from BLS and O*NET. Chinese training and ready-to-eat worker health management follow Articles 44 and 45. Business licenses belong to operators, not individuals.

Learning stages and management directions are author suggestions, not uniform hiring, promotion or statutory lists. Check actual duties and local requirements.

Personal boundaries | No medical conclusions, hiring probabilities or income promises. Paper samples are not qualifications or independent readiness.

Recruitment evidence | No verified vacancies were included. No hiring counts, representative wages or common channels are reported; simulations cannot imply hiring opportunities.

Checking suggestion | Record vacancy dates, locations, institution, contract form, hours and pay inclusions, food training and health conditions, and delivery, cleaning and dining-assistance duties. Ask employers about omissions.

Boundary | Pathways and capability stages plan learning and evidence, not hiring, promotion or qualifications. Entry follows employer conditions, training and practical assessments, and local food safety, hygiene, health and institutional-care requirements.

Learn routes, checks, hygiene and safety under a leader, assisting portioning, collection and cleaning without independent checking or response responsibility.

Guided learning (assistant stage)

Independently check orders, portion and plate, deliver and verify names, rooms and diets, assist diners, collect and count, and report abnormalities procedurally.

Independent operation (delivery staff)

Handle multiple floors and settings, lead meal-period delivery and handovers, and manage review, complaints and abnormalities.

Proficiency and leadership (skilled staff and team leader)

Contribute to procedures, standards, training and schedules; handle escalated complaints and compliance with role authorization.

Standards and coordination (institutional service and delivery management)

Pathway summary | Train checks, counts and reporting first, then use practice and assessments to choose next steps. Management and adjacent careers are exploration, not automatic promotions. Check education, training, certificates and authority separately.

Qualification boundary | Training, certification, health certification, and employer appointment and authorization differ. Preparation does not equal statutory qualifications or automatic authority for meal changes, delivery suspension or final complaints.

Jurisdiction | BLS lists short-term training. Chinese Food Safety Law Article 44 requires enterprise training and Article 45 annual health checks and certification for workers handling ready-to-eat food. Licenses concern operators, not personal delivery certificates. Check institutions, tasks and local rules separately. Training and certificates do not confer clinical or meal-release authority.

Summary | Check actual conditions, complete food safety, hygiene and service training, supervised practice and assessments, then undertake authorized tasks. For mismatches, suspected allergies or urgent safety abnormalities, pause risky operations and report immediately under institutional processes without waiting for reporting authorization. Authorized staff handle replacements, clinical decisions and final complaints.

Checks U.S. tasks and context to plan learning.

Checks U.S. wage and employment definitions, not personal income predictions.

Checks U.S. 2025—2035 growth and openings; projections are not recruitment.

O*NET details provide Job Zone groups, not uniform durations. BLS35-3041 lists no formal education, no experience and short-term training. Actual training and assessments depend on employer and setting.

Food safety and hygiene training records.

Follow a leader to learn routes, rooms, checks and safety; record daily learning.

Shadowing records and team-lead feedback; ability to explain checks and hygiene.

Assist portioning, route following, collection and cleaning under guidance without independent check or response responsibility.

Delivery assistant

On-the-job, customer service, special-diet and privacy training records.

Build proficiency across floors and settings and practice peak routes and checks.

Consecutive shift check, delivery and count records with leader reviews.

Independently check orders, portion, plate, deliver, verify names, rooms and diets, assist and collect, reporting abnormalities procedurally.

Delivery staff

Team-lead training records; employer appointment or authorization to lead a shift.

Learn schedules, routes, supplies and utensils; practice communication and handovers.

Peak delivery, abnormality-response and complaint-handling records; team service and counts.

Handle floors and settings and lead meal-period deliveries and handovers, managing checks, complaints and abnormalities.

Skilled delivery staff and team leader

Employer appointment; service operations management and food safety training records.

Learn standards, costs and inventory definitions and contribute to service improvements and training.

Service, hygiene and safety records for assigned shifts and routes.

Manage processes, standards, schedules, training and supplies, escalate complaints and coordinate kitchens, nurses and hotel management.

Institutional service and delivery management

Train hygiene and checks for the role; pause and report conflicts without independently changing or releasing meals.

Learn check, temperature and hygiene criteria and common deviation causes.

Inspection records and review status.

Spot-check orders, rooms, names, diets, delivery deadlines, temperatures and hygiene, keeping records.

Checking and delivery quality inspector

Customer service and complaint training.

Learn request types, authority and ticket-resolution requirements.

Complaint and ticket records and resolution.

Receive and record resident and customer requests, refer and track procedurally, and follow up.

Service and complaint handler

Training and process-role preparation; institutional or employer authority.

Build process-improvement and training experience; compile errors and improvements.

Training records and process-improvement results; changes in error rates.

Help standardize checks, delivery and communication, write materials and mentor new staff.

Training and process improvement staff

Relevant management qualifications or appointment.

Improve service standards, privacy, food safety and training.

Service and compliance findings; training and policies.

Manage service, hygiene, complaints and privacy compliance, set standards and assessments and coordinate disputes.

Service and quality lead

Utensil and supply training; no purchasing or repair authority.

Learn maintenance, inventory, sanitizing and cleaning-validation points.

Count, maintenance and inventory records.

Manage tray, cart, utensil and supply counts, maintenance, stock and restocking, assisting maintenance procedurally with records.

Tray, cart and supply administrator

Operations and scheduling training; employer or institutional authority.

Learn traffic, resident composition and timeliness optimization, including changes and emergencies.

Schedules, delivery records, timeliness and error improvements.

Coordinate meal-period routes, floors, shifts and changes and record delivery and timing.

Route and scheduling coordination

Coordination and communication training; employer or institutional authority.

Learn responsibilities and diet/allergen handovers; establish communication arrangements.

Handovers and abnormality communication records and resolution.

Coordinate kitchen dispatch, floor nursing and hotel reception information, special-meal handovers and abnormalities.

Kitchen, floor and nursing coordination

Relevant management qualifications or appointment.

Improve operations, emergency, training and assessment systems.

Service operations findings; team training and policies.

Take responsibility for delivery timing, quality, hygiene, safety and privacy, coordinate parties and resolve disputes under law and contracts.

Service operations lead

Insufficient evidence: No precise Chinese wages or employment obtained; industry background is not substituted. U.S. evidence | 2025 base employment 296,300, 2035 projected 309,600, growth 4.5%; 2025—2035 annual openings 48,800. May 2025 OEWS median annual wage $35,360, wage employees 293,900. These populations differ.

United States

2025—2035

Ten-year net growth is about 13,300; annual openings 48,800 include growth and replacements. Multiplying annual openings by ten does not establish new jobs.

Projections include 0.2% self-employment; OEWS May 2025 estimates 293,900 employees without self-employment. Do not directly combine programs.

Employment size, growth and openings

SOC 35-3041（Food Servers, Nonrestaurant）

2025 employment 296,300; 2035 projected 309,600; growth 4.5%; annual openings 48,800

United States

May 2025

Medians and percentiles are ranked wage positions, not starting pay or experience bands. Spreads do not establish causes.

OEWS includes tips, base pay, commissions and production bonuses, excluding overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses, employer benefits and self-employment. Annual values generally assume 2,080 hours, not take-home income.

Wages (median and percentiles)

SOC 35-3041（OEWS May 2025）

Median annual wage $35,360 (hourly $17.00); percentiles $28,030 / $31,190 / $38,500 / $46,120

Mainland China

2025

NBS2025 industry wage surveys cover urban legal entities with 5 or more people, not all industry workers. Individual businesses are excluded; accommodation and food services does not represent every hospital or care setting.

Annual industry definitions differ from U.S. occupational wages; no combination or conversion.

Industry average wages (background proxy)

NBS urban-unit employee average wages (industry categories)

Insufficient evidence: Reviewed NBS 2025 wage releases do not separately list this occupation. No verifiable precise Chinese occupational wages were obtained; industry averages are not substituted.

Checks U.S. point-in-time wages and employment; no institutional or regional pay promise.

Checks U.S. 2025—2035 growth and openings; projections are not recruitment.

Checks NBS definitions and years; industry proxy, not occupational wages.

Checks tasks and context under U.S. classifications.

Requires restaurant ordering and table-service skills

Order checks, meal delivery and placement, communication; separately practice restaurant systems and settlement.

Editorial assessment: relatively close, with different settings and processes; not measured transition distance or qualification exemption. Check target roles.

Requires kitchen washing, cutting and preparation skills

Simple cold foods or drinks, restocking and hygiene; complex cutting skills are not automatic.

Editorial assessment: relatively close, moving from front-end service to kitchens; not measured distance or qualification exemption. Check target roles.

Requires cleaning, sanitizing and utensil-handling skills

Tableware, equipment and area sanitizing and counts; learn centralized washing equipment separately.

Editorial assessment: relatively close, with more specialized cleaning; not measured distance or qualification exemption. Check target roles.

Requires mixing drinks and alcohol-law skills

Communication, order checks and cleaning; learn mixing and age checks and verify local requirements separately.

Editorial assessment: moderate, requiring drink techniques and legal responsibilities; not measured distance or qualification exemption. Check target roles.

Requires extraction and bar-service skills

Drink service, order checks and cleaning; learn extraction, milk steaming and latte art separately.

Editorial assessment: relatively close, emphasizing drinks and bar service; not measured distance or qualification exemption. Check target roles.

Requires order-taking, payments and food-dispatch skills

Order communication, delivery, customer service and restocking; check counter-payment training.

Editorial assessment: relatively close, with ordering and settlement responsibility; not measured distance or qualification exemption. Check target roles.

Requires heating, cooking and finished-food skills

Meal-item checks, simple preparation and hygiene; practice heat-processing equipment and cooking separately.

Editorial assessment: relatively distant, requiring heating and cooking skills; not measured distance or qualification exemption. Check target roles.

Requires scheduling, preparation and site management skills

Procedural checks, shift records and reporting; learn scheduling, mentoring and management with separate authorization.

Editorial assessment: moderate, adding site management; not measured distance or qualification exemption. Check target roles.

Research process | On 2026-10-11, checked O*NET35-3041 tasks, context and required-education questions and normally loaded BLS2025 dynamic OEWS queries. Verified national employment 293,900, RSE1.3%, annual median $35,360 and 10 / 25 / 75 / 90 percentiles $28,030 / $31,190 / $38,500 / $46,120. Industry medians 61,250 / 49,530 / 47,660 / 42,450 match the original and were retained. Inclusions, projections, Chinese proxies, food law, ILO and NIST use documents already checked in this session within their scope.

Source register | Separately registers facts, wages, methods, projections, Chinese background, food rules and general AI methods. Author exercises and fit suggestions are not official findings; fields cite actual support scope.

Reviewed 2026-10-11; O*NET profile 2026, wages May2025, BLS projections 2025—2035 and Chinese industry wages 2025. Historical shared dates remain, not substituting for current checks.

Insufficient evidence: Precise Chinese occupational, city and employment-form wages remain unavailable with visible gaps. Boundaries | U.S. national wages and four official industry examples were obtained, but no occupational AI adoption or assessment-validity evidence. No exposure grade, replacement time or personal fit score is assigned.