For most people, a part-time job as a barista while studying is a means to an end: something to bolster the bank account and boost your resume before getting a “real job.” Sam Henderson thought the same thing when a friend convinced him to apply for a job at a Starbucks in Leicester, UK, at the age of 17. He needed money for personal expenses, so he donned the green apron.
Almost 20 years later, he is responsible for all beverage flavors served in Starbucks stores in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He created the famous Cookies and Cream Frappuccino. He has a house, a passport full of stamps and an apprenticeship equivalent to a higher education course in food science paid for by the company — all from a Saturday job serving coffee.
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“It’s incredible to think that from a part-time job, I now have a life I couldn’t have imagined when I was younger,” he told Fortune.
Henderson’s story is timely. As artificial intelligence continues to eliminate entry-level office jobs, roles like barista and in hospitality are quietly becoming one of the most viable paths to starting a career — better paying, more stable, and with more room for growth than many realize. Henderson is proof of what is possible.
And he has some blunt advice for Gen Z workers who think they’re too good to work as baristas.
“I would never rule out any opportunity,” he says, adding that you never know where that path might lead. Promotions and great opportunities “can come from anywhere”.
“When you look at the hospitality industry, it’s not just the work you see in front of you. There’s a whole support network behind it,” he adds. “If you choose to work at a coffee shop, it’s a great job. If you choose to work at a restaurant, it’s a great job. But if you want to do something other than that, there are opportunities within that business.”
A clear example: although he started out taking orders and serving people shots of caffeine on their way to work, today Henderson works at Starbucks’ corporate office.
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Barista jobs are the new “trainee program”
The traditional path from college to an office job, which previous generations took for granted, is, according to most experts, broken.
Randstad CEO Sander van ‘t Noordende, whose company places around half a million workers in jobs every week, recently warned that young graduates may have better luck getting jobs as a barista, bartender or in technical professions than in the office roles they desire.
Verizon Chief Talent Officer Christina Schelling was even more direct: “There’s a path you’ve built in your head over a long time, and anything other than that may not feel good enough. But my advice is to recognize that in yourself, let go of it, and just start somewhere.”
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Schelling, who has led teams of people at Estée Lauder, Prudential and American Express, makes it clear that taking on a job in hospitality does not mean abandoning bigger ambitions — but it is a start that can open doors. And that’s better than waiting for your dream job and not working, like many Gen Zers are doing.
“The reusable skills that come from a job in hospitality or retail — conflict resolution, managing relationships, understanding and assessing customer needs, understanding the customer experience, practicing management — are extremely useful,” he told Fortune. “There’s a lot of this that’s important for whatever career you’re building, even if it doesn’t seem like the path you thought you’d start on.”
Governments are heading in the same direction. In the UK, hundreds of millions of pounds are being invested in hospitality and service roles to combat youth unemployment and direct young people into work.
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Pay is also becoming more competitive. Starbucks recently announced that it will offer baristas in the United States up to $1,200 per year in performance bonuses starting in July, in addition to expanded tips — changes that the company estimates could add 5% to 8% to net earnings, in addition to an average of $30 per hour in salary and benefits.
Meanwhile, research shows that frontline workers — from baristas to bartenders — are increasingly earning more than early-career office colleagues as demand for roles requiring human interaction grows while AI automates junior administrative jobs.
Henderson’s advice for those who disregard being a barista
Today, through Starbucks’ Beanstock share program, Henderson has financed trips to India, the United States and South Korea, invested in the purchase and renovation of his own home and is the person who decides what millions of people will drink next season — all from a job he took to earn money at age 17.
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If you end up working behind a counter, Henderson says, look at it as training, not a dead end.
He kept his part-time job while at university, moving between stores as he changed cities, because “the big advantage of Starbucks is that there are so many stores spread across the country.”
After graduating in 2011, he took a full-time supervisor role while evaluating his next move, completed a business leadership training program and advanced to store management. In 2013, I was already managing a unit during the week in central London.
Henderson’s big breakthrough came in 2015, when he entered the Starbucks UK Barista Championships — an annual competition open to any store employee — and won.
The victory opened a door, but it was up to him to take advantage of the opportunity. Through the competition, he had his first real contact with the company’s support office, was invited to act as an ambassador and participate in coffee tastings at embassies, and ended up catching the attention of a product developer in the United States, who saw him trying drinks from the secret menu.
He asked Henderson if he had ever considered working in research and development. The answer was honest: he had no training in the area. The developer’s reaction? That shouldn’t stop you. A year later, an opening came up — Henderson applied, created a new drink for the interview and got the job.
That’s why he says the key to his rise was keeping his eyes open for opportunities and putting himself forward rather than waiting to be noticed.
“One of the things for me is to be proactive — always be one step ahead and keep moving forward, even if you don’t have all the information,” he explains. In dynamic environments like retail and hospitality, this is especially important. Customer needs change, new stores open and new roles emerge.
“You need to make the best decision possible with the information you have, knowing that tomorrow this could change and you will have to adapt.”
For anyone in Gen Z who is currently out of the office job market — or who previously wouldn’t consider a role like this — his message is simple: Your job title doesn’t matter as much as what you do once you’re in, he says. Start somewhere, really dedicate yourself and, when something bigger comes up, apply.
“Don’t worry if you don’t have all the skills now. I didn’t have all the skills needed to do this job, but I had interest and passion—and I knew I could learn. Don’t limit yourself by thinking you don’t have the skill set, because you can develop them.”
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