Can I earn enough as a waiter to move out if I work Part-time?!
Question: I really want to move out. I am 18 and about to start college and I kinda want this new part of my life to be just that "new". I really want to start living on my own and searching myself and all the intellectual stuff. But I can't seem to do it here.
So any waiters/waitresses out there earn enough part-time to live in there own apartment.
(I live near Sacramento, Ca if this helps.)
Answers: I really want to move out. I am 18 and about to start college and I kinda want this new part of my life to be just that "new". I really want to start living on my own and searching myself and all the intellectual stuff. But I can't seem to do it here.
So any waiters/waitresses out there earn enough part-time to live in there own apartment.
(I live near Sacramento, Ca if this helps.)
I highly recommend being a waiter. For unskilled labor, it pays very well. How much you make as a waiter depends on what kind of restaurant in which you work. I waited tables about 20+ years ago and back then I made about $10-12 per hour in one restaurant and about $8-12 per hour in another restaurant. The restaurant in which I made less money was a huge chain restaurant in which I had to "tip out" (share a percentage of my food sales) to the bar tender (who makes TONS of cash) and the bus boys (and maybe the cooks and dishwashers; I'm not sure). After all that tip-out, I ended up with roughly $8 to $12 per hour. (Remember, this was 20+ years ago, so you could probably make about $15 per hour in the right place.)
Look for a restaurant that has an upper-level clientele (or at least a middle-level clientele). You don't want to wait on kids or blue collar workers because they don't tip. If the restaurant is too pricey for a kid to come with hordes of friends after a movie, that's where you want to work.
If your customers are reasonably wealthy adults or business people, that is good since they tip. The wealthy tip well because they have money. Business people tip well because they often have expense accounts (so the tip money doesn't come out of their pocket).
Also, try to find a restaurant in which you won't have to "tip out" to other people in the restaurant. This is not unfair to them. They all make an hourly rate (at least minimum wage) while waiters make a little more than $2 per hour (the restaurant assumes that you will make your money in tips).
One barrier that you MAY run into is serving alcohol. You should confirm this, but I think you need to be at least 21 years old to serve alcohol in California and many other states. If you work in a restaurant that does not serve alcohol, this will not be an issue. You can make more money when you serve alcohol, but the state probably forbids it.
The best thing about waiting tables is the possibility of making way more money than a regular hourly job. The more capable you are as a waiter, the more money you will make. I think it's the king of unskilled jobs.
Good luck!