"Just" a waitress

I've gone to college and obtained a degree and even have an impressive resume. After I graduated college, I moved to Atlanta and got a job working for a huge well-known corporation, where i edited websites for a living. I hated sitting behind a desk, as I like being busy and moving a lot, so I quit and started a pet sitting business. I did that for 2 years. The only reason I gave it up is b/c I moved back home to FL and where I am, a pet sitting business is not possible. But I loved that job. It was fantastic. Best job I've ever had and i miss it. right now, I'm waiting tables at a place I worked at all through college. And I really, really enjoy it. I love moving around, talking wiht people, having a flexible schedule. And the company I work for (a corporate restaurant all over the country) is really great--I like working for them.

The problem is, I get embarrassed when I run into people I know. And b/c it's a relatively small city (smaller than Atlanta, definitely, but still big enough to be a city), I run into people often. They all ask what I'm up to, and I tell them I wait tables at XYZ restaurant. But then I immediately feel the need to tell them that I went to college and have potential but that I'm doing this for .... reasons.

I've worked for this company since 2002. I left in 2006 and now I'm back. So I am qualified to be a trainer for the restaurant (if someone gets hired, I teach them and let them follow me on my shifts, wchih include waiting tables and workig in the kitchen). Yesterday I went to a trainer certification class. It was great! Two corporate trainers from a store in Tampa came to teach us how they train and how their restaurant is successful b/c of the way their restaurant trains people, and it was very helpful and informative. I already work with great people, but of course, like everywhere, there are slackers and overall lazy people who don't last long anyway. But the bulk of the people I work with have been there for years like me.

Anyway, watching these 2 people and the "Learning Manager" (a woman who travels the country to set up these training courses and acts as a liaison for corporate and each store) made me want to be a better "teamworker" (what they use instead of employee). They weren't enthusiastic in a cheesy way-- you could tell they really enjoy what they do. I'd love to do that. I'd love to travel and train others on how to keep our restaurants running smoothly and happily. I'm happy waiting tables. I'm happy talking wiht my guests (over "customers") and letting them have a nice time out. I like the company I work for, very much so. So much that I came back after 3 years of being gone.

So my question is how do I get over the embarrassment of admitting I'm a waitress to others who know me, when I actually enjoy my job and don't need to be embarrassed? How could I advance myself in my job to be at the level of the people who ran the seminar yesterday? I don't necessarily want to be a manager for the restaurant, as I don't want authority over others, but I really like the idea of helping others and teaching them and training them.

Hope I'm making sense!

If you love what you do then there is no reason to have to explain what you do or why you do it.

Some people like being mailmen, others enjoy trash collection and you enjoy waitressing.

Its not often you find people that truly enjoy what they do. That is a rarity. Be blessed you have a job that you enjoy. The same people that you want to explain it all to, probably hate their jobs.

If you want to be a restaurant trainer, have you thought about getting in touch with the two people who trained you yesterday? or asking your manager what steps you would need to become a trainer?

I know how you feel about telling people about your job. I have a hard time telling people I just got laid off. People look at you funny, tell you they feel bad for you, but then there is this uncomfortable "silence". But, you are happy with what you are doing, that is a rarity. Like MG said, most people hate their jobs and wish they were doing something else. Finding a person who truly enjoys what they are doing, is a rarity.

So my question is how do I get over the embarrassment of admitting I'm a waitress to others who know me, when I actually enjoy my job and don't need to be embarrassed?

Have more self-confidence - you don't have to prove anything to anyone.

I've known waitresses with more character and who were more fun to interact with than people I know that make $80,000 a year. The ones who enjoy what they do really shine through and often make my day.

you don't owe them anything. you're happy in your job,sound like you work hard, and have aspirations to move higher which is more than some people in supposedly more "prestigious" fields can say. also waiting tables is not an easy, anybody-can-do-it job (sure you don't need formal training but not everyone has the multitask skills, speed and coordination-myself included). i don't get why so many people look down upon it.

yesterday i had a table start chatting with me and i told them i have a degree in english and they asked what my plans were when i got it. i told them i've always wanted to be a book editor and such but right now i'm really enjoying what i do. they said i'm definitely good at it and i have the personality for it and i look like i love my job. it was quite a compliment to me, not taht i am good at it but that i like what i do and am suited for it.

Have you considered restaurant management? Most corporate chain restaurants only want college folks for managers. You plenty of experience and love the service industry, so I think you would love to manage a restaurant. Like others said, try the corporate trainer gig. Then you have the banquet service industry in tourist filled Florida. I did a loan for a banquet manager like 12 years ago and she made over $100K a year doing mostly weddings and seminars for Holiday Inn. The hospitality industry has a lot of college educated jobs that pay well.

I don't want to be a manager. I really don't. I don't want authortiy over anyone. Our managers (and the ones I've worked for since 2002 at that restaurant) have all been employees who did a good job and they moved up. Many are older and some have been my age or so (20s to 30s). Sometimes they bring in an outsider but not often. I just don't want to be one...running the place doesn't interest me. I like the training/guiding/mentoring angle but managers aren't necessarily that where I work.

Be proud of being a waitress. You guys work very hard and I appreciate everything you do! I was a waitress right after high school and I know how hard it is. You love your job, people need to know nothing else. Most of them probably don't.

There will always be people that will judge what you do. You just have to realize that you don't exist to please other people. As long as you're doing what makes you happy, it doesn't matter what other people think. They don't pay your bills. You do.

Have you ever thought of trying to apply to the more expensive restaurants? I think they get paid pretty well.

I've never thought about applying anywhere else b/c I really like where I work. I like the restaurant itself. It's not necessarily a money thing. I make good money (if only I budgeted better to actually hang on to it!). I mostly just like where I work.

I wait tables and I love it.

The restaurant I work at...we make such good money that about 80% of our waiters HAVE degrees and don't want to leave...flexible schedules, part time if you want and a social job with an average of $120 a shift....what more could we want.

If I wasn't so interested in nursing, I wouldn't mind waiting tables forever...honestly. I will probably still wait tables a night or so when I am nursing and have kids. Different social job and great coworkers....I love it too.

I like my closing shifts. I make about $70 each shift, which is only about 5 hours long. We're a bar and grill so we don't have too high of prices but it works out. I like it b/c we're busy enough to make money but not so busy so we can talk to our customers and such if they want to. I work in the kitchen a lot too as the middle man for the cooks and servers. That's a fun job.

I don't have much to add really. But I think it's great that you enjoy your job.

When you start looking at how much you make hourly as a waitress, it's amazing! hahaha

If you love your job, screw what other people think. They don't know what kinda life you lead and who knows....I have a couple people that are envious because I love my waiting job and they are in careers that they hate and may make more than I do, but admit that I make GREAT money for the little hours I put in.

You have managed to do something that many people only dream of--finding something that you LOVE to do, that you can get paid to do. Be proud that you are doing what you love, and are not compromising to follow a career path that you think others think you should (whatever that might be). Don't feel like you have to justify anything. Hold your head high, and let your enjoyment and excitement about your job show through when you chat with people about it.

I was a waitress one summer in college, and while I loved the people, man it was HARD work. Excellent servers/waiters/waitresses impress the hell out of me with their abilities to multi-task efficiently, handle situations with grace, keep up a friendly banter, etc.

A couple decades ago when Intel was growing rapidly, they had many long time employees - company stock holders - who made quite a bit of money during the growth and stock splits. One guy was Mr. Willie who had been on the custodial staff for some years. Even though he was probably worth over a million dollars, he kept working there as a custodian.

It really comes down to your own sense of self-worth. If you're trying to define it by college degrees or skill sets, then you're not defining it in the right way. A person should feel their own worth in the contributions they make every day of their lives, no matter what their occupation. Imagine a world in which all the waitresses and all the janitors quit their jobs and decide they need to do something more "important". It's a world that wouldn't work. They can't just be cut out like that, and if they can't be cut, then their true worth is priceless.

Formally educated people don't, and never have, impressed me. People that try to work their way through this life with their heads rather than their hearts just seem to miss out on the most important things. And from a male perspective, when I'm looking at a woman, I find her true beauty shows in her presence, compassion, patience, and love of others. Her occupation means nothing to me.

I guess I feel like this because my dad puts way too much emphasis on education and the first words out of his mouth when I talk about anyone at all are "what do they do for a living" or "where did they go to school?" It gets really old...when my sister told him she wanted to be a teacher, he said "You'll starve to death". It's been ingrained in me that education and success=worth from the very start.

. Formally educated people don't, and never have, impressed me. People that try to work their way through this life with their heads rather than their hearts just seem to miss out on the most important things. And from a male perspective, when I'm looking at a woman, I find her true beauty shows in her presence, compassion, patience, and love of others. Her occupation means nothing to me.

Well, I'm very formally educated and I work most often with my head. I don't think I've missed out on much at all! The point of this thread isn't "Waitress good, Education bad", it's that we should all do what we love. I'm finishing up my Masters and I ADORE what I do for a living! I don't look down on anyone who works for a living, there is a certain inherent nobility in earning your keep. Hersmudders loves being a waitress and that is what she should be as long as she feels that way. I enjoy working in education and that is what I will do as long as I feel that way. Joy in work, whether is be digging ditches or curing cancer, is what life is all about!

I think it's great that you love your job. However, have you thought about exploring something else that has more stability? I'm only asking because I'm in customer service and they're realllly cutting down. It sucks, but I'm also in school so it doesn't affect me as much. It's worrisome for people who rely on jobs like this for a living.

You're not "just" a waitress!! its a very important role, and im not lying.

if you enjoy what you do, and youre proud of it, that'll overshine being "embarrassed" about it. if you have pride in what you do, show it.

...at least you have a job lol

I was in a similar position, I have a BSc and MSc. While completing my graduate degree I realized I did not enjoy my field at all and could not imagine myself being happy in a career in that field. So I went into retail. Well retail found me. I took the job because after grad school I needed something to pay the bills and soon realized I enjoyed it and was good at it. So I did it for about four years. Initially I felt obligated to make excuses and explain that I had a lot of education. I think it is because I felt people looked down on me and couldn't imagine someone CHOOSING such a profession. It is frustrating when you have customers talking down to you, but you know you are more intelligent and educated than them. In the end I finally came to the realization (like many of the posters here are affirming) I had a job I enjoyed. I liked going to work each day - unlike the final year of my graduate program. I don't/didn't have to explain myself to anyone or apologize for my job.

Initially my parents were less than impressed. My mom would continually send me postings for positions in my old field. I know that it was all well meaning, they wanted me to live up to my potential, yaddi yaddi yadda. Finally they came around and realized I was happy, then they laid off.

If you love it and would like to advance your chosen career, my advice would be to talk to your superiors. If you have a chance, talk to the trainers that you want to be like and ask them how they got to that position. Take any opportunities that your managers present you - especially if they are leading you in your desired direction. Hands on experience is invaluable.

Good luck!