Futureproof

US dataswitch to UK

Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers

running cash registers, maintaining adequate supplies of items and locating items requested by customers. If that's your week, this page is about your job.

The honest answer

AI changes the edges of this job, not the middle: wiping tables or seats with dampened cloths or replacing dirty tablecloths is work software can't reach.

Your move: what you can actually do about this ↓

What shifts is the routine end of the work. This page scores what today's tools actually do, not headlines.

Your week, as this page understands it

Facilitate food service. Clean tables; remove dirty dishes; replace soiled table linens; set tables; replenish supply of clean linens, silverware, glassware, and dishes; supply service bar with food; and serve items such as water, condiments, and coffee to patrons. The job title says “dining room”, “cafeteria attendants” or “bartender helpers”: officially one job, several names. The real job is the part underneath: wiping tables or seats with dampened cloths or replacing dirty tablecloths. That is the thing someone has to be right about.

The exposed part of this job is specific, and we won’t pretend it is coming back. But dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers is not one task. It is 23 scored ones, and they are nowhere near equally exposed. The most durable of them, on this evidence, is wiping tables or seats with dampened cloths or replacing dirty tablecloths, and the ledger below shows exactly why.

Where the work sits, by task weight

shifting to AI
0%
changing shape
0%
staying human
100%

These bars are tasks changing hands, not people being counted out. The ledger below shows which.

Whole-job exposure score 1 out of 100 (05 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, across 23 scored tasks. The number is the support for the sentence above it, not a headline about anyone’s future.

How we know this

What is measured: Every published task statement for dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers is rated on five dimensions: can a model produce the output, does the work need a body in a room, does it need a legally accountable person, does it depend on a person being trusted in the moment, and how much data exists. A published formula turns those five ratings into the score; the model never writes the number.

How the bar is built: Each task’s share of the bar is its published importance weight, so a task you do all day counts for more than one you do twice a year.

Release: 2026-q4.1, scores computed 2026-08-04. Read the full method.

Your job, task by task

These are the official task statements for this occupation, in plain English, sorted by what the evidence says is happening to each one. The official wording sits under every line so you can check the rewrite against it.

Shifting to AI

0 tasks

Tasks today’s tools can already do most of. This is the part we will not soften: where these rows are the bulk of your week, the week changes.

Nothing in this job’s scored task list landed in this group. That is the measurement, not an editorial choice, and it is worth knowing either way.

Changing shape

0 tasks

Tasks where the machine takes the producing and a person keeps the checking, the deciding, or the answering-for-it. For most jobs this is the biggest group, and it is where "transformation, not termination" is literally visible.

Nothing in this job’s scored task list landed in this group. That is the measurement, not an editorial choice, and it is worth knowing either way.

Staying human

23 tasks

Tasks that stay with a person, because they happen in the physical world, because the rules need someone accountable, or because the value is that a specific person does them.

  • Wiping tables or seats with dampened cloths or replacing dirty tablecloths

    This work happens in the physical world: tables, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 5 · Core
    Source:Wipe tables or seats with dampened cloths or replace dirty tablecloths.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Wiping tables and changing tablecloths is hands-on cleaning.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

  • Cleaning up spilled food or drink or broken dishes and removing empty bottles and trash

    This work happens in the physical world: spilled food, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source:Clean up spilled food or drink or broken dishes and remove empty bottles and trash.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Clearing spills, broken crockery and rubbish is physical work.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

  • Maintaining adequate supplies of items

    This work happens in the physical world: adequate supplies of items, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source:Maintain adequate supplies of items, such as clean linens, silverware, glassware, dishes, or trays.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 13 out of 100 (620 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Knowing what is running low can be tracked, but fetching and restocking linen and glassware is manual.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.

  • Locating items requested by customers

    This work happens in the physical world: items, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source:Locate items requested by customers.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Finding and fetching something a customer asks for means walking and picking it up.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

  • Setting tables with clean linens

    This work happens in the physical world: tables, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source:Set tables with clean linens, condiments, or other supplies.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Laying tables with linen and condiments is hands-on preparation work.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

  • Serving ice water, coffee, rolls or butter to patrons

    This work happens in the physical world: ice water, coffee, rolls or butter, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 5 · Core
    Source:Serve ice water, coffee, rolls, or butter to patrons.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Carrying drinks and food to customers requires a person on the floor.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

  • Scraping and stacking dirty dishes and carry dishes and other tableware to kitchens for cleaning

    This work happens in the physical world: dirty dishes, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 5 · Core
    Source:Scrape and stack dirty dishes and carry dishes and other tableware to kitchens for cleaning.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Clearing and carrying dirty dishes is manual work.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

  • Filling beverage or ice dispensers

    This work happens in the physical world: beverage, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source:Fill beverage or ice dispensers.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Refilling drink and ice dispensers is done by hand.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

  • Greeting and seating customers

    This work happens in the physical world: customers, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source:Greet and seat customers.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; the value is that a specific person does it.

    The rating behind it: Greeting people and walking them to a table needs someone in the room.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 2/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

  • Performing serving, cleaning or stocking duties in establishments

    This work happens in the physical world: duties, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source:Perform serving, cleaning, or stocking duties in establishments, such as cafeterias or dining rooms, to facilitate customer service.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Serving, clearing and stocking in a dining room all happen on your feet.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

Show the other 13 tasks
  • Running cash registers

    staying human

    This work happens in the physical world: cash registers, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 5 · Core
    Source:Run cash registers.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 9 out of 100 (216 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Running a till means being at the counter taking payment from the customer in front of you.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 1/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

  • Stocking cabinets or serving areas with condiments and refilling condiment containers

    staying human

    This work happens in the physical world: cabinets, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source:Stock cabinets or serving areas with condiments and refill condiment containers.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Stocking and refilling condiments is manual work.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

  • Carrying food, dishes, trays or silverware from kitchens or supplying departments to serving counters

    staying human

    This work happens in the physical world: food, dishes, trays or silverware, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source:Carry food, dishes, trays, or silverware from kitchens or supply departments to serving counters.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Carrying food and trays between kitchen and counter is physical work.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

  • Serving food to customers when waiters or waitresses need assistance

    staying human

    This work happens in the physical world: food, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source:Serve food to customers when waiters or waitresses need assistance.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world; the value is that a specific person does it.

    The rating behind it: Serving food to a table is done in person by hand.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 2/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

  • Cleaning and polishing counters, shelves, walls, furniture or equipment in food service areas or other areas of restaurants and mop or vacuum floors

    staying human

    This work happens in the physical world: counters, shelves, walls, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source:Clean and polish counters, shelves, walls, furniture, or equipment in food service areas or other areas of restaurants and mop or vacuum floors.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Cleaning counters, furniture and floors is physical work.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

  • Carrying trays from food counters to tables for cafeteria patrons

    staying human

    This work happens in the physical world: trays, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 4 · Core
    Source:Carry trays from food counters to tables for cafeteria patrons.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Carrying trays to cafeteria tables needs someone to do the carrying.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

  • Replenishing supplies of food or equipment at steam tables or service bars

    staying human

    This work happens in the physical world: supplies of food, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 4 · Supplemental
    Source:Replenish supplies of food or equipment at steam tables or service bars.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Replenishing steam tables and service bars is manual work.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

  • Washing glasses or other serving equipment at bars

    staying human

    This work happens in the physical world: glasses, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 4 · Supplemental
    Source:Wash glasses or other serving equipment at bars.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Washing glasses and equipment is hands-on work at the bar.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

  • Garnishing foods and positioning them on tables to make them visible and accessible

    staying human

    This work happens in the physical world: foods, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 4 · Supplemental
    Source:Garnish foods and position them on tables to make them visible and accessible.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Garnishing and setting out food is done by hand.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

  • Carrying linens to or from laundry areas

    staying human

    This work happens in the physical world: linens, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 4 · Supplemental
    Source:Carry linens to or from laundry areas.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Carrying linen to and from the laundry is physical work.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

  • Stocking refrigerating units with wines or bottled beer or replacing empty beer kegs

    staying human

    This work happens in the physical world: units, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 3 · Supplemental
    Source:Stock refrigerating units with wines or bottled beer or replace empty beer kegs.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Restocking fridges and changing beer kegs is heavy manual work.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

  • Mixing and preparing flavors for mixed drinks

    staying human

    This work happens in the physical world: flavors, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 4 · Supplemental
    Source:Mix and prepare flavors for mixed drinks.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Mixing drink flavours is hands-on work behind the bar.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.

  • Slicing and pitting fruit used to garnish drinks

    staying human

    This work happens in the physical world: fruit, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.

    importance 4 · Supplemental
    Source:Slice and pit fruit used to garnish drinks.” (O*NET task statement)
    How this row was scored

    Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (04 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.

    Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.

    The rating behind it: Slicing and pitting fruit is knife work.

    The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

What this job pays, and how many people do it

Median pay
$33,980a year, the middle of the range, so half earn more and half earn less.bls-oews, 2025 · May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
How we know this

Source: bls-oews

Reference period: May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)

Rounding: Shown as published.

People doing this job
542,750in the US, 2025.bls-oews · May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)

What is deliberately not here: a forecast of how many of these jobs exist in ten years. Where an official projection exists for a market we publish it with its vintage; where it does not, we leave the space empty rather than borrow the other country’s number.

Why this is shifting

The reason is boringly specific. Almost none of this job is reading one thing and writing another (the shape today's tools are built for), because the work turns on tables, which happens with people and things rather than on a screen. The rows above are the evidence rather than the reassurance: wiping tables or seats with dampened cloths or replacing dirty tablecloths and cleaning up spilled food or drink or broken dishes and removing empty bottles and trash. The parts that are changing are the paperwork and the tools around the job, not the middle of it, which is why this page talks about your tasks changing, not your job ending.

Your move

Over a pint: what I’d tell you if you were my friend

Start with what does not change: wiping tables or seats with dampened cloths or replacing dirty tablecloths is the middle of this job, and the evidence on this page says it stays with a person.

So, given all that: 0% of this job's task weight sits in rows the software is already learning, 0% in rows that change shape rather than disappear, and 100% in rows it is nowhere near. That is the position, measured across 23 scored tasks. It is not a forecast about you.

So the thing worth your attention is not the job going away. It is the layer around it. The routine end of the work is the part turning into software, and being the person who understands that layer is worth money.

This week: one thing

Ask the one question. Find whoever is bringing new software into your workplace (the manager, the office, whoever runs the system) and ask them what it is meant to do to the routine work, and what it is not meant to touch. Ten minutes, this week, before anyone decides it for you.

What you end up holding
a straight answer about what is actually being rolled out, and when
How long it takes
ten minutes

If there’s nobody obvious to ask, or you’d rather not ask your manager: Put the same question to your union rep, your shift lead or the person who has been there longest, in person, over a break. Same ten minutes, same answer, and you will usually get a straighter one. Write down what they say. The note is the artifact, and it tells you whether spilled food is in scope or not. Nothing to log into, no license needed.

Over the next 90 days

Get inside the tool rollout rather than waiting for it. Over the next ninety days, ask to be in the group that tests, checks or signs off whatever new system arrives near wiping tables or seats with dampened cloths or replacing dirty tablecloths. It is usually an unglamorous seat that nobody fights for, and it is the one that decides how the software is used on your job rather than to it.

Over the next 12 months

On this evidence I would not retrain out of this job, and I will say that plainly rather than hedge it. The task list here is dominated by work that stays with a person. What I would do with a year is get formally recognised for the layer around it (the systems, the compliance, the planning), so you are the one who understands the software instead of the one it is done to. Before you pay for anything, use CareerOneStop - Find local training. It is free, it is the Labor Department's own service, and it is listed below with the rest of the free routes.

The roads out of here, and why I am not sending you down them

I looked at the obvious moves out of this job, and here is what I found.

I checked the 12 nearest US occupations to dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers (nearest by the work that AI is not taking, not by job title), and none of them survived. The closest was waiters and waitresses: only about 11% of its durable work is work you already do. And on the numbers you do not need one. This job scores 1/100 here, with only 0% of the task list in the top band, and “wipe tables or seats with dampened cloths or replace dirty tablecloths” is not work that hands over cleanly. None of them beats deepening what you already have.

How that was checked: this job was compared against all 830 US occupations in this release on their official task statements, and the 12 nearest were examined one by one. A move that turns on an industry, an employer or a qualification rather than on the work itself will not show up in a check like that. And this release carries no licence register, so anything you are weighing needs that looked up separately.

3 moves I checked and rejected

These are the obvious-looking jumps. They are here with their reasons rather than quietly dropped, because the ones that fail are worth knowing about. It is one less thing to turn over at night.

  • Waiters and Waitresses

    Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already carry food, dishes, trays, or silverware from kitchens or supply departments to serving…, and their equivalent is to remove dishes and glasses from tables or counters, and take them to kitchen…. Across both published task lists that is about 11% of the durable work in that job.

    Why I am not recommending it: You would be starting most of it from nothing: about 11% of the durable work in that job is work you do today, and the rest you would be learning while the bills carried on.

    Look at that job’s page anyway →

  • Food Servers, Nonrestaurant

    Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already maintain adequate supplies of items, and their equivalent is to carry food, silverware, or linen on trays or use carts to carry trays. Across both published task lists that is about 11% of the durable work in that job.

    Why I am not recommending it: You would be starting most of it from nothing: about 11% of the durable work in that job is work you do today, and the rest you would be learning while the bills carried on.

    Look at that job’s page anyway →

  • Food Preparation Workers

    Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already serve food to customers when waiters or waitresses need assistance, and their equivalent is to distribute food to waiters and waitresses to serve to customers. Across both published task lists that is about 10% of the durable work in that job.

    Why I am not recommending it: You would be starting most of it from nothing: about 10% of the durable work in that job is work you do today, and the rest you would be learning while the bills carried on.

    Look at that job’s page anyway →

What I’d stop worrying about

A friend tells you what not to spend fear on. This is that list.

  • The headline number you read somewhere

    The big “X% of jobs” figures are about the whole economy, not about you. The number that describes your job is on this page: 0% of its task weight, across 23 scored tasks. Every row behind it is printed above with the source. Check ours; ignore theirs.

  • The headlines about your trade disappearing

    They are usually about the technology, not the timetable. Changes to work like wiping tables or seats with dampened cloths or replacing dirty tablecloths arrive through rules, insurance and money, slowly and visibly. This page tracks the task evidence and will move when it moves.

  • Retraining out of a job that is holding up

    On this evidence I would not spend money leaving. Spend it on the layer around the job instead: the tools, the paperwork, the planning. That is where the change actually is.

  • The “obvious” next job everyone suggests

    I checked the obvious moves and most of them did not survive. The reasons are printed with the routes above, including the pay and the gate. A move that fails on the numbers is worth knowing about so you can stop turning it over at night.

You are reading the United States figures

The United Kingdom splits this work across more than one official group, of which Kitchen and catering assistants is the closest. The pay and employment figures are not directly comparable, and we do not average them together.

Switch to the United Kingdom page →partial match

The other groups this work is counted across:

In UK official statistics this job is counted as Kitchen and catering assistants, Bar and catering supervisors and Bar staff. Pay is shown separately for each of those groups (medians cannot be averaged together), while the task list and the scores on this page are for this group only.

Your route through this

Where to go next, and what it costs

Free, and complete

The moves above cost nothing. These are the real services that go with them: public, government-funded, and free at the point of use. Nothing on this page is behind an email address or a payment.

Why there is no community here

Collab365, who build this site, run paid Spaces for a small number of subjects, and none of them is built for this job. We are not going to point you at the nearest one and call it a fit.

So the free services listed on this page are the whole answer, and it is the same answer we would give a friend.

Noted, and thank you. We’ll email you if a Space for dining room / cafeteria attendants / bartender helpers launches. Nothing else.

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No Space for dining room / cafeteria attendants / bartender helpers yet. Should there be one?

Collab365 Spaces is built by the same people as this site. We find the problems that AI and automation are creating inside one kind of work, then solve them as short courses, briefings and Blueprints. Each Space is the community too, so the research and the people doing your job are in the same place.

What a Space actually is, in full

Collab365 launches new communities where the need is real. If one for dining room / cafeteria attendants / bartender helpers existed, with researched problems, courses and people in the same boat, would you want in?

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Questions people ask about this job

Will AI replace Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers?
Not as a job, but it is already doing parts of the work. Across the 23 official task statements scored for Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers (United States, SOC 35-9011), 0% of the importance-weighted core work is made of tasks today's AI could already do most of. The overall exposure score is 1 out of 100 (range 0–5, band: minimal). That is a statement about tasks, not about headcount: this measures what AI could do, not whether any employer adopts it, whether the law allows it, or whether doing the routine parts faster creates more demand for the human parts. Figures are from release 2026-q4.1.
Which tasks in “Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers” can AI already do?
The highest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Maintain adequate supplies of items, such as clean linens, silverware, glassware, dishes, or trays” (13/100, minimal); “Run cash registers” (9/100, minimal); “Wipe tables or seats with dampened cloths or replace dirty tablecloths” (0/100, minimal). Each score comes from five published 0–4 ratings turned into a number by a published formula, and each carries the model's one-sentence reason on the page.
Which tasks in “Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers” stay human?
About 100% of this job's task weight sits in work that scores low for AI exposure. The lowest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Greet and seat customers” (0/100, minimal); “Slice and pit fruit used to garnish drinks” (0/100, minimal); “Mix and prepare flavors for mixed drinks” (0/100, minimal). Low scores usually mean the task needs a body in a room, a legally accountable human, or trust built in real time. Those are the three things the scoring rubric treats as gates rather than obstacles.
What should someone working in “Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers” do about AI?
Start from the ledger rather than the headline: 0% of this job's weighted core work is exposed, and roughly 100% is not. The practical move is to spend more of your week on the tasks that score low, the ones above, and to get fluent at directing AI through the tasks that score high, because those are the parts that change whether or not you are ready for them. This page does not predict your job, and nothing here is career advice tailored to you: the score describes the occupation, not the person.
How is the AI exposure score for Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers calculated?
Each official task statement for the occupation is rated on five published 0–4 dimensions (output replicability, physical embodiment, licensed accountability, real-time human trust, and data availability) by claude-opus-5 using scoring prompt task_scoring_v1.0. The model never writes the score; a published formula turns the five ratings into a 0–100 number, so every score can be recomputed by hand. The occupation figure is the importance-weighted mean across 23 scored tasks. The prompt, the rubric, the formula and the full dataset are published at https://futureproof.collab365.com/method and https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1 under CC BY 4.0.

Where these numbers come from

Worth knowing about these figures

  • The match between this job and its counterpart in the other country is partial, so the two pages count slightly different groups of people.
  • 6 of this occupation's scored task statements carry a score that was measured under a different occupation's context, because the statement is shared between jobs and has only been scored once so far. Each one names the occupation it was measured under in the free routes below; none is presented as a measurement for this job.
  • Task clusters are not derived in this release, so the task-cluster field is empty and no Collab365 Space routing is attached to this occupation yet.
Task statements
onet-dbProcessing: catalogue-bridge → onet-im-rt-weighting → task-scoring → score-aggregation
Task weights
onet-db (im-rt)
Scores
Rubric task_scoring_v1.0, model claude-opus-5, computed 2026-08-04.
Pay and employment
bls-oews (May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx))bls-oews (May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx))

Figures on this page come from release 2026-q4.1, published 2026-08-05. Every release keeps its own permanent address, so a figure you cite in March is still there, unchanged, in November.

The plain-English wording on this page is assembled directly from the task statements and the published ratings, not written by hand for this occupation. That is why it is specific, and it is also why we say so.

The routes and free resources further up are today’s, not the release’s (last reviewed 2026-08-05). A route is an offer, not a historical fact, so it moves on its own clock.

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Everything on this site is published under CC BY 4.0. Quote it, chart it, sell something built on it. Just say where it came from, and cite the dated release rather than the site, so the figure you quote stays checkable.

Plain text

Collab365 (2026). Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1 (methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0). https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Built with O*NET data (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); ONS data (Open Government Licence v3.0); GAISI task framework (arXiv:2507.22748, MIT); BLS data (public domain).

BibTeX

@misc{collab365futureproof2026q41,
  title        = {Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1},
  author       = {{Collab365}},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1},
  note         = {Release 2026-q4.1, methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0, CC BY 4.0}
}

Data as of release 2026-q4.1, published . Releases never change after publication; when the figures move, a new dated release is published beside this one and this one stays exactly where it is.