During the global rise of Starbucks a barista became the new face for part-time work, but recently the growth of industry benefits and competitions has challenged that idea and many in the workforce have made their expertise into a career.
This pattern of barista popularization was showcased in the ABS 2016 Census with a result of a 23% increase in bar attendants and baristas. This was among the largest growths in industries, and this pattern was continued in reports across the world.
The popularization of the World Barista Championship is another excellent example of this shift in the nature of the barista industry. The World Barista Championship, which began with a small following in 2000, grew influential enough to have increased Asia’s coffee consumption after the 2007 Tokyo competition. Now over 60 national barista champions from various countries compete every year to win the title. In the most recent Glassdoor Earnings Report it was stated that baristas were the No. 1 job for wage growth, with September itself seeing a whopping 5.6% wage growth. Compared to other industries, that’s a staggering hike in wages.
With so much recent growth it’s also important to take stock of the longevity of the coffee industry. The practice of coffee making existed as far back at the 10th century, and now has permeated the world, with as many variations as there are cultures who adopted its consumption.
Fast forward to today, and the industry shows no sign of slowing down or being replaced. Even in 2017, where much of the workforce faces huge changes after continuing technological integration, multiple studies have shown that this has done nothing to curb the need for baristas.
It seems simple: People like coffee.
Luckily, it seems that the economy is finally responding to this need. And, to the glee of baristas, that’s causing a huge upward shift in both their credibility and paycheck.