Waiter or Waitress Career Assessment
Where the pay depends on where you work
Welcome
Waiters and waitresses take orders, serve food and drink, and manage a section of tables through a service.
North Dakota has about 1,070 openings a year. Read the pay section on this page carefully — the range in this job is wider than any other job in this area.
This takes about 15 minutes.
What is a Waiter or Waitress?
You manage a section of tables at once, each at a different stage. You greet, take orders, enter them correctly, time the courses, keep drinks filled, handle problems before they become complaints, run payment, and reset the table for the next party. All of it at the same time, across four to six tables, while looking unhurried.
The Reality: The pay here is the thing nobody tells you straight. The median is about $14.85 an hour including tips, but the tenth percentile is $8.88 and the ninetieth is $29.12. That is a bigger spread than any other job in this area, and it is almost entirely about where you work. A busy restaurant with higher prices and a good section is a completely different job financially from a slow diner on a weekday. The same effort pays very differently. On top of that, tips are unpredictable week to week, and you absorb other people’s bad moods for a living — the kitchen runs late and the customer takes it out on you.
Your Responsibilities:
- Manage four to six tables at different stages at once
- Take orders accurately and enter them correctly
- Time courses so a table is not waiting or rushed
- Keep drinks filled without being asked
- Answer questions about the menu, including allergens
- Handle complaints calmly before they escalate
- Run payment and handle cash and cards accurately
- Reset tables between parties
- Side work — stocking, rolling silverware, cleaning stations
Looking relaxed while tracking six tables is the skill, and it is why good servers are never short of work.
A Day in the Life
4:30 PM — Clock in. Side work, check the specials, set your section.
5:00 PM — First tables. Steady start.
6:30 PM — Full section. Six tables, all at different stages.
7:30 PM — Peak. A kitchen delay on one table — go talk to them before they ask.
8:30 PM — Turning tables. Reset, greet, repeat.
9:30 PM — Last seatings. Start closing side work.
10:15 PM — Cash out, tip out the bar and bussers.
10:45 PM — Final side work and off.
Four to six hours of sustained multitasking, then cash out and side work.
Training in North Dakota
No school needed. Trained on the job in a few shifts. You shadow an experienced server for a few shifts, learn the menu and the ordering system, and start with a small section. Most of the learning is the menu and the pace.
Training Pathways:
- Start as a host or busser: Common way in if you have never served. You learn the floor and the menu, then move onto a section.
- Hired directly: Many places will hire you straight onto the floor, especially if you have any counter or customer experience.
- Move to a busier or higher-priced restaurant: This is the single biggest pay decision in this job. The skill is the same; the money is not.
Where to Train in North Dakota:
Before You Start: No diploma or experience required. Serving alcohol requires you to be of legal age for that in North Dakota, and many employers require alcohol server training, which they usually arrange.
Tip: Most of these jobs need no school, so the cost of starting is not tuition — it is the things you need in the first month. Non-slip shoes, work clothes or a uniform, a way to get to work, and getting through the two or three weeks before the first paycheck arrives. Ask the employer first: many will supply a uniform, some give a shoe allowance, and some pay weekly rather than every two weeks, which matters a lot at the start. After that, ask a career counselor or Job Service North Dakota whether WIOA or other programs can help with what is left over, like work clothes, boots, tools, or getting to work. What can be paid for depends on the program and on your own situation, so ask before you start rather than after.
Certification & Licensing
No license to serve food. Alcohol service has requirements. You do not need a certificate to wait tables. If the job involves serving alcohol, employers generally require training and there are age rules.
What may be required:
- Alcohol server training — commonly required by employers and insurers; usually arranged and paid for by the employer
- Food handler card — some employers ask for it, usually employer-paid
- Age requirements — serving alcohol has a minimum age in North Dakota; ask the employer what applies to the specific position
The Exams: Alcohol server courses end in a short test, usually online.
Cost: Usually under $40 and commonly paid by the employer. Ask before paying for it yourself.
Keeping It Current: Alcohol server certificates are typically good for two to three years.
Salary & Job Outlook
North Dakota Waiter or Waitress Pay (May 2025):
- Starting out (bottom 10–25%): $8.88–$10.55/hour ($18,470–$21,930/year)
- Middle (median — half earn more, half earn less): $14.85/hour ($30,890/year)
- Experienced (top 25–10%): $21.62–$29.12/hour ($44,960–$60,570/year)
What that means: Read this range rather than the median. These figures include tips. The bottom end is a slow restaurant with low prices; the top end is a busy, higher-priced place with good sections. The work is nearly identical — the pay is not. Ask at the interview what a server in that restaurant actually averages per shift, and ask whether you tip out the bar and bussers and how much.
Jobs in North Dakota: About 5,380 people do this work in ND today. By 2034, that should be about 5,410 (about 1% growth). Expect about 1070 job openings every year in ND from growth and people retiring or changing jobs. Across the U.S., the change is growing slowly.
Outlook: Flat on total positions, but about 1,070 openings a year in North Dakota because turnover is high. Getting hired is not the hard part. Getting hired somewhere that pays well is.
Who Hires in ND: Restaurants, hotels, bars and taverns, casinos, country clubs, event venues, and truck stops.
Work Setting: Indoors, on your feet, busy and loud at peak. Evenings, weekends, and holidays are the shifts that make money.
Physical Demands: High. On your feet the whole shift, carrying loaded trays and plates, constant walking, often eight to ten miles in a shift.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, North Dakota, May 2025 (SOC 35-3031); North Dakota and U.S. long-term employment projections 2024–2034, via O*NET OnLine. Numbers are rounded.
Where This Leads
Path 1: Host or Busser — A common starting point if you have never served.
Path 2: Server — Your own section.
Path 3: Server at a busier or higher-priced restaurant — The single biggest pay jump available in this job.
Path 4: Bartender — Usually the best-paid position on the floor.
Path 5: Shift Lead or Floor Supervisor — Running the dining room.
Path 6: Restaurant Manager — Salaried, and most managers came off the floor.
The Real Talk
What's Great:
- You are paid daily in tips, which helps when money is tight
- No school, diploma, or experience needed
- About 1,070 openings a year — easy to get hired
- The top end of this job pays better than most jobs in this area
- Shifts are often flexible and can fit around other commitments
- The people skills transfer to almost any job you move to later
What's Hard:
- The widest pay range in this area — where you work decides your income
- Income is unpredictable week to week
- Nights, weekends, and holidays are the shifts that pay
- You absorb other people’s frustration, including for things you did not cause
- Physically demanding — carrying and walking for hours
- You tip out other staff, so your take-home is less than your tips
Be Honest: Can you track six tables at once and still look unhurried? Can you take the blame for a late kitchen without letting it show? And can you handle an income that changes week to week?