Waiters and Waitresses vs Cooks, Private Household
Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index
A factual, source-backed comparison of Waiters and Waitresses and Cooks, Private Household on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”
At a glance
| Dimension | Waiters and Waitresses | Cooks, Private Household |
|---|---|---|
| Median pay | $33,760 | $44,530 |
| Employment | 2,302,690 | 900 |
| Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection | Declining (-0.7%) | About average (+5.1%) |
| Annual openings · BLS projection | 456,700 | 5,300 |
| Typical education · O*NET | Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not. | Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. |
| AI exposure · published exposure studies | High · 83rd pct | High · 83rd pct |
| Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk | 52nd pct · 28% of tasks | 29th pct · 18% of tasks |
| Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index | Augmentation-leaning (42.9%) | Automation-leaning (50.0%) |
| Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman | No | Yes |
Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.
Skills
Shared: Customer and Personal Service, Service Orientation, Oral Comprehension, Oral Expression, Speech Recognition, English Language, Active Listening, Speaking, Social Perceptiveness, Sales and Marketing, Trunk Strength, Coordination, Problem Sensitivity, Monitoring, Deductive Reasoning, Information Ordering, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Manual Dexterity, Near Vision, Critical Thinking, Written Comprehension, Selective Attention, Finger Dexterity, Reading Comprehension, Judgment and Decision Making, Time Management, Inductive Reasoning, Complex Problem Solving, Food Production, Written Expression, Category Flexibility.
Specific to Waiters and Waitresses
- Speech Clarity
- Time Sharing
- Stamina
- Gross Body Coordination
- Persuasion
- Static Strength
- Extent Flexibility
- Far Vision
Specific to Cooks, Private Household
- Fluency of Ideas
- Administration and Management
- Production and Processing
- Mathematics
- Originality
- Writing
- Active Learning
- Management of Material Resources
Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).
Tools & technology
Shared: Web page creation and editing software .
Specific to Waiters and Waitresses
Full profiles
This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Waiters and Waitresses or Cooks, Private Household — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.
More comparisons
Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.
- Waiters and Waitresses vs Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers
- Waiters and Waitresses vs Food Servers, Nonrestaurant
- Waiters and Waitresses vs Bartenders
- Waiters and Waitresses vs Fast Food and Counter Workers
- Waiters and Waitresses vs Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop
- Waiters and Waitresses vs Baristas
- Waiters and Waitresses vs Food Preparation Workers
- Waiters and Waitresses vs Food Service Managers
Sources for this page
Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
- Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
- ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
- IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
- Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
- Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Singulariki. "Waiters and Waitresses vs Cooks, Private Household." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/waiters-and-waitresses-vs-cooks-private-household
Singulariki. (2026). Waiters and Waitresses vs Cooks, Private Household. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/waiters-and-waitresses-vs-cooks-private-household
@misc{singulariki-waiters-and-waitresses-vs-cooks-private-household,
title = {Waiters and Waitresses vs Cooks, Private Household},
author = {{Singulariki}},
year = {2026},
note = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
url = {https://singulariki.com/compare/waiters-and-waitresses-vs-cooks-private-household}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.