THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 19, 1996 TAG: 9601190110
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CARIN PRESCOTT CAMPUS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 117 lines
AT ABOUT 3 p.m. on any typical school day, Steven Byrd gets into his car, which he makes the payments on, leaves college, where he pays his own tuition, and drives home to his apartment where he pays his own rent.
It all adds up, but Byrd, 19, never breaks a sweat when it comes time to pay the bills. That's because he, like many college students, spends evenings waiting tables and makes between $70 and $100 in tips each shift.
``It's about the only job that offers hours to work around my school schedule where I can make decent money,'' say Byrd, head waiter at the Hunt Room in the Cavalier Hotel in Virginia Beach.
Waiting tables is a viable vocation for many people, but for college students it is a job that can turn into a trap.
According to the latest data available from the U.S. Census Bureau, 60 percent of all college students work. There are no statistics on how many of those are waiting tables, but throngs of college students are attracted to the fast money that waiting offers. While the daily influx of cash may provide instant gratification, many college servers fall into a rut and put off pursuing careers. Some are still standing tableside years after graduation.
``Most people get into it in college. When they graduate they make more money there than starting something else,'' said Rick McCarthy, 34, bartender at the Hunt Room. ``I know a lot of people who graduated from college but took a few years before they started on a career.''
McCarthy, who has a master's of science degree in film, admits that it's hard to give up the restaurant business after six years. He goes home with tips totaling $150 or more on weekend nights and finds it hard to pursue jobs in his field that offer less pay.
``I've had the opportunity to work on small films for no money,'' he said, ``but I can't do it because I have to pay the bills.''
While McCarthy isn't leaving the tips behind, other local servers currently enrolled in school are gambling with their futures.
Byrd, a sophomore at Tidewater Community College in Virginia Beach who is studying to be a certified public accountant, would rather work a job within his field of study than wait tables. That's in a perfect world. But with $900 of bills to pay each month, he's found it impossible to work as a business intern, too.
``I have to stick to waiting tables,'' he said. ``A $5 an hour job just isn't going to do it.''
Without experience in the accounting field, Byrd may find it difficult to find an accounting job after he graduates from college. Putting off the real world could hurt in another way. Although Byrd is making about $15,000 a year waiting tables, an entry-level accountant can make nearly twice that. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, 1995 college graduates who were offered jobs in accounting made an average salary of $27,900 in the United States.
For now, Byrd only sees himself waiting tables at the Cavalier. Dressed in his uniform of black slacks, white dress shirt and silk tie, Byrd welcomes guests, suggesting a selection from the wine list and pointing out the most romantic feature in the restaurant - a fireplace fully equipped with marshmallows and roasting sticks.
It's a long way from the world of the CPA.
Flexibility, but . . .
Although the job offers students flexible hours and fast cash, the late nights do tax school work.
``I've worked until 2 a.m. and had to get up for a test at 9 a.m.,'' said Lisa Lewis, 24, a waitress at Kelly's Tavern in Ghent and a junior at Old Dominion University. ``I'm not an A student, but I've been able to handle both.''
``I could make A's but I'd have no social life,'' Byrd said. He's satisfied with his B's and C's.
Lewis knows she could make better grades if she didn't work so late, but to her, $100 a night is worth it. With bills averaging more than $700 a month, she's found that waiting tables is the most lucrative job she can get. She's been doing it for six years.
``For the money, this is the best thing,'' Lewis said. ``But I don't want to do this for a living.''
For that reason, Lewis is working toward a degree in business management and plans to one day own her own restaurant. According to the salary survey, Lewis will probably break even if she makes the move. The average salary of a recent college graduate in the hotel/-restaurant management field is $24,021 a year.
Overcoming inertia
Even with diplomas hanging on the wall, some college grads are waiting tables instead of working jobs within their fields of study.
``I've always been trying to find a job in my field,'' said Mychel Newton, 25, a 1994 ODU graduate who works at Hooters. ``But this is what you do to pay the bills.''
Two years ago Newton graduated with a bachelor of science degree in sociology and started working at Hooters while she searched for a job in the criminal justice field. Now, with a masters of science in sociology, she continues to search for a job that pays more than the $300 a week she makes as a Hooters girl. So far she's found that the salary of an entry level position in criminal justice is about $16,000 a year, which is about the same money she makes waiting tables.
She admits that in the past she didn't aggressively pursue her career in criminal justice, but plans to now that she has a master's degree.
``I think it's a sad statement that you can make more money waiting tables than with an education,'' Newton said.
Dressed in her Hooter's uniform of skimpy shorts, T-shirt and tennis shoes, Newton's style of waiting tables differs from the fine dining service given by Byrd. But even in the noisy atmosphere where large TV screens dominate, Newton manages to earn the same amount of money as Byrd.
She is determined not to let the restaurant business turn into a trap and she refuses to let customers treat her with disrespect.
``I am educated,'' she said. ``I let them (customers) know I'm not some blond bimbo serving food.'' MEMO: Carin Prescott is a senior at Virginia Wesleyan College.Carin Prescott
is a senior at Virginia Wesleyan College.
ILLUSTRATION: Color photos by D. Kevin Elliott
[Mychel Newton]
[Steven Byrd]
KEYWORDS: WAITER WAITRESS INCOME SALARY by CNB