Many high school students hold jobs, saving up money for the prodigious expense of college and/or financial independence after high school. Among pecuniary benefits, some jobs have more practical benefits than others. Becoming a server while in high school provides students with people experience, time management skills and forced adaptation to be quick on their feet. 

Interacting with people–primarily adults–prepares students for interviews as well as future professional work experience. While waiting tables, the worker must establish respect and courtesy in interaction. Learning how to properly address, socialize and calmly work with live situations builds keen mental readiness outside of work. Keeping an equanimity while working is crucial, it holds the class of the restaurant while also maintaining the idea that everything is calm, cool and under control. 

A busy restaurant means balancing many tasks at once. This develops decisiveness. First, no matter how busy or slow, it is best to prioritize the most urgent tasks. For example, it is important to get timely matters, like running food or drinks, completed first before something that is less dire. 

Working in the food service industry means sometimes dealing with a difficult, impatient or even rude customer. The best way to combat these situations is to simply stay calm, apologize and try to quickly resolve whatever concern they have. The common expression “the customer is always right” may not always ring true; however, the key is to make them believe that it is. Life as a whole means dealing with difficult people, adapting to this now will prepare adolescents for future, troubling interactions.  

One of the nice things about waitressing is there is an immediate reward or response. Of course, there is money to be made in waitressing; however, it is indicative of the experience and the appearance in which the server provides. It teaches the server to learn quickly and to adapt to situations. There are so many productive benefits to serving other than simply money: interacting with people of all ages and all personalities keeps the job entertaining. Each day is something different.