2023 Latest National Barista Average Salary! Does the Barista Profession Have a Promising Future?

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National Average Salary Report Sparks Discussion

This week, a topic with high discussion热度 on Weibo was the average monthly salary across various regions in China. According to the "Chinese Enterprise Recruitment Salary Report" for the fourth quarter of 2022 released by Zhaopin.com, the national average recruitment salary in Q4 2022 was 10,558 yuan.

After reviewing this report, netizens from various regions couldn't sit still! Many netizens expressed that in each region, people with such monthly income account for at most 10-20%, while most others' monthly income is only half of the reported data, or even less. After coffee professionals saw this report, their first reaction was to search for the national average monthly salary of baristas.

Barista Salary Statistics

According to data from 938,822 samples of barista positions nationwide on Boss Zhipin over the past year, the average monthly salary for baristas nationwide was 4,200 yuan (statistics include 4 first-tier cities, 15 new first-tier cities, and 30 second-tier cities).

Among them, the top 10 ranked cities are: Shanghai (6,024 yuan/month), Beijing (5,756 yuan/month), Shenzhen (5,246 yuan/month), Hangzhou (5,183 yuan/month), Suzhou (4,622 yuan/month), Nanjing (4,923 yuan/month), Ningbo (4,694 yuan/month), Guangzhou (4,495 yuan/month), Jinhua (4,428 yuan/month), and Wuxi (4,335 yuan/month).

Among the employed baristas, 78% are under 24 years old, and 16% are aged 25-29. Among them, 77% have worked for 1-3 years, while only 6% have worked for 3-5 years.

Barista Career Challenges

A previous barista survey predicted that in 2022, the proportion of baristas aged 26-35 would show an upward trend, even becoming the largest age group. Against the overall backdrop of relatively young baristas, the profession was showing characteristics of gradual concentration in more mature age groups. In terms of salary, there was expected to be an increasing trend in the proportion of those earning 6,000+ yuan per month.

However, looking at the distribution of barista job seekers nationwide over the past year, this prediction did not materialize. On the contrary, more and more people in mature age groups have chosen to change careers, mostly due to issues with salary and development. With the current average monthly salary, it's difficult to meet the daily expenses of those in mature age groups.

Low barista income is almost a chronic problem in this industry. It can be said that barista salaries have been low for nearly a decade, with even a sense of regression. On the surface, there seems to be annual growth, but the increase in daily expenses has skyrocketed, which is why more and more baristas feel increasingly strained.

The coffee sector is extremely hot, and this industry has become one of the main focus areas for investors. Funding has also accelerated store expansion for various chain brands, allowing more consumers to develop coffee consumption habits. So why are barista salaries still so low? Because of the lack of professionalism and comprehensiveness.

Industry Challenges and Opportunities

Nowadays, there's a phenomenon in coffee shop recruitment: chain stores that need a large number of staff don't consider barista professionalism, so salary settings are usually not too high; while independent coffee shops that do consider barista professionalism, due to recent intense competition among independent cafés and failure to adjust business models in time, have low overall profitability and therefore cannot offer higher salaries.

Low salaries also lead to high employment mobility in this industry. Very few people can calm down to learn and understand the industry under such trends and environments. Although there are many baristas, the proportion with professional expertise is very small.

At the same time, this environment leads more and more people to believe that the barista profession doesn't require much expertise - just knowing how to make coffee is enough. However, this limits everyone's promotion opportunities, with only two final outcomes: impulsively opening a coffee shop without truly understanding the coffee industry, or changing careers.

Career Development Path

Do baristas really have no room for advancement? Obviously not, because the entire industry chain is moving upward, but not enough comprehensive talent has joined. "Barista" is just a general term, and they do more than just make coffee. Comprehensiveness includes not only technical value but also commercial value and management value.

However, many coffee shops still recruit baristas according to the standards of a waiter, only requiring that baristas know how to make coffee, not that they have a craftsman spirit. At the same time, the industry's education and training for baristas are lagging behind, and there's room for improvement in baristas' knowledge, product content, and service aspects.

It's like an infinite loop, with each link interconnected, so the current situation and salary of baristas are closely intertwined. So can baristas really break through this situation? Yes, but they cannot just focus on coffee brewing techniques.

Too many people choose the barista profession because they love drinking coffee and like coffee. So when becoming baristas, everyone is very focused on expressing themselves behind the bar counter.

But the bar counter is like the boundary of a comfort zone. If you don't step beyond it, you'll never know there are so many interesting things in this industry. Although stepping out means facing many things you don't like, if you truly love the coffee industry, want to continue moving forward in it, and hope to get higher-paying positions, taking that step beyond the bar counter is very important.

"Barista" is just a general term - you can be a technician, an educator, or a businessperson. But regardless of which role, if you want higher returns and salaries, professionalism is indispensable.

(Hey, I'm getting off topic!)

Whatever you do, you must first establish professionalism and plan your future before starting this job, rather than taking it one step at a time.

Being a barista is not a dead end, and baristas can make money. If you can put aside the "beautiful" filter for baristas from the start and earnestly understand the development of the entire industry, I believe everyone can find a suitable position for themselves.

Image source: Internet

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