Food Preparation and Serving Related
Food Servers, Nonrestaurant
Serve food to individuals outside of a restaurant environment, such as in hotel rooms, hospital rooms, residential care facilities, or cars.
Also called: Food Server, Food Service Worker, Kitchen Runner, Room Server, Room Service Server, Tray Server
- Median pay in Greater Boston
- $37,330
- $17.95/hr
- Jobs in Greater Boston
- 4,370
- Massachusetts 2024–2034
- +6.5%
- 1,130 openings a year
- Typical U.S. entry requirement
- No formal educational credential
- plus Short-term on-the-job training
Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.
Pay range in Greater Boston
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $33,970 | $35,630 | $37,330 | $39,040 | $48,110 |
10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.
What you’d do
- Place food servings on plates or trays according to orders or instructions.
- Clean or sterilize dishes, kitchen utensils, equipment, or facilities.
- Monitor food distribution, ensuring that meals are delivered to the correct recipients and that guidelines, such as those for special diets, are followed.
- Examine trays to ensure that they contain required items.
- Load trays with accessories, such as eating utensils, napkins, or condiments.
- Take food orders and relay orders to kitchens or serving counters so they can be filled.
AI and this job
AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.
Lower exposure28 of 100
The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:
- AIOE 26
- Language-model AIOE 34
- GPTs-are-GPTs 25
Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)
AI exposure for this job is on the lower side, and observed AI use is little or none so far. AI tools might help with tracking meal orders and special diets. Plating food, loading and checking trays, cleaning, and delivering meals to the right person are hands-on work that still relies on people.
Likely to change
- Tracking meal orders and special diets
- Checking tray lists and order details
Still relies on people
- Delivering meals and greeting each person
- Plating food and cleaning kitchen areas
Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.
Next steps from here
Related jobs that build on what you already do.
Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria
Following diet instructions and portion orders carries over to institutional cooking, with higher median pay ($48,530) and short-term training.
- Pay difference
- +$11,200 median
- AI exposure
- Lower
- MA growth
- +4.7%
- To get started
- No formal educational credential
Cooks, Restaurant
Your food handling and kitchen cleaning skills carry over to restaurant cooking, with higher median pay ($45,830) and projected growth of 14.3%.
- Pay difference
- +$8,500 median
- AI exposure
- Lower
- MA growth
- +14.3%
- To get started
- No formal educational credential
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners
Cleaning and sanitizing skills carry over to janitorial work, which has a higher median pay ($46,550) and needs short-term training.
- Pay difference
- +$9,220 median
- AI exposure
- Lower
- MA growth
- +2.8%
- To get started
- No formal educational credential
Training near Boston
College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).
No college programs near Boston map to this job. Many people enter through on-the-job training or apprenticeship.
Talk to a career coach at the Office of Workforce Development about apprenticeships and City partner programs.
Related occupations
Talk to a career coach
A coach at the Office of Workforce Development can help you plan your next step, and connect you with training, apprenticeships and City partner programs that are not listed here.
Talk to a career coach