u/Swimming-Map-5588

i got hired at a restaurant as a server in june. emphasis on as a server. as in i recieved my apron and little folder for checks. when i was completing training though, the documents said "host training" which i pointed out, and they said its fine as they use the same training modules. when it came time to begin training, they said that i would train as a host first (cross training) so that i could learn the section rotations and menu and whatnot. so im two training shifts in, still hosting, and a manager comes up to me and says "weren't you hired as a server?" i said yes, i was and i thought that all servers had to do this. he shook his head and said that they would train me as a server soon.

another week had passed. i brought up server training again, and the manager told me now that they were tight for hosts and had enough servers, and that once they got a new host, i would be moved up. job market is tight now so i take it and stay because getting this job in the first place took me weeks.

they've moved around 3 people up to server (from to-go mind you, which is the step above hosting that i haven't even been trained for), and hired one server with no previous restaurant experience. i am still hosting months later. i'm a pretty good host, as im typing this i have a shift in 20 minutes as the only host until closing in a high volume restaurant, so im pretty sure they just want to keep me where they know im good.

is this common for restaurant management to do to people, and i should keep waiting it out, or is it a sign that this place is shady and i should get out and look elsewhere?

sorry for the aggressive title but that's my central question lol. i just had my first day training as a host, first time working in a restaurant. for some reason it slipped my mind that i'd be making significantly less than i would if i were a server. i get that, servers do more, but im making $10 an hour in NJ for bussing tables and hosting. i do like hosting, it's like those video games where the customers come in and you place them somewhere. i have fun on the ipad and with rotations, its just the pay is utter shit and that's not good for me as a college student in new jersey.

hosts on this subreddit, do most of you dislike this job? is it sort of just a transition that no one is really happy with? i plan on training for server eventually, but what makes people want to be hosts at this point compared to servers? what is there for me to look forward to? i don't mean to degrade anyone's job. again im a host so its friendly fire. i just want to know if theres an upside to this because since i got home im feeling down on myself even though i should be excited about starting at a restaurant.