Career · Food and hospitality
Barista
Makes coffee and other drinks and talks with cafe guests.
Career overview
What a day looks like
A barista takes orders, makes drinks and keeps the workplace clean and tidy. They talk with guests and try to make every visit to the cafe pleasant.
Try it yourself this week
40 minutes
Cook a dish from a recipe and write down what you'd change
- Choose a simple recipe and ask an adult in advance which ingredients you can use from home.
- Cook the dish with an adult nearby: they'll help with the stove and sharp knives.
- While you cook, write down how long each step takes.
- Taste it and write down three things: what worked, what you didn't like and what you'd change next time.
What you'll learn about yourself: Whether you enjoy the cooking itself, or care more about the result and how people react when they try it.
25 minutes
Make a sandwich or salad three times and improve it
- Choose the simplest dish that needs no stove: a sandwich, a salad or a fruit plate. Use only ingredients you've been allowed to take at home.
- Make it the first time and write down how it looks and tastes.
- Make it two more times, changing one thing each time: how you cut it, how you serve it, or the sauce.
- Write down which version is best and why. You can start with just 5 minutes — only the first version.
What you'll learn about yourself: Whether you enjoy getting the same dish just right — or quickly get bored of repeating it.
What you can do next
Next 3 months
Invent a drink
Write a recipe for a non-alcoholic drink from familiar ingredients, make it at home and note what you would improve.
In six months
Watch how a cafe works
See how the work behind the counter is organised: what the staff do and in what order.
In a year
Ask a specialist
Together with your parents, ask a barista what a shift looks like and what is hardest about it.
What it pays
No verified information is available in this section yet.
Where to study
No verified information is available in this section yet.
How to get into college
College gets you a profession faster than university. You can apply after grade 9 or after grade 11.
- Colleges accept students both after grade 9 and after grade 11. After grade 9 you study longer — about 3 years 10 months; after grade 11, about 2 years 10 months. The exact length depends on the college and the specialty.
Source: kchk.edu.kz (opens in a new tab) - About 80% of students admitted to colleges in the 2024/25 school year study on a state order, which means in state-funded places (in 2023/24 it was about 70%). But each college and each specialty has its own number of state-funded places.
Source: inbusiness.kz (opens in a new tab) - There are also paid colleges. For example, training as a nurse at ADILMED costs 450,000 ₸ per year. Check the price and conditions on the college's website.
Source: adilmed.kz (opens in a new tab)
UNT: which subjects to take for university
The UNT (Unified National Testing) is Kazakhstan's national university entrance test. You need it to get into university after grade 11.
- The UNT 2026 has three compulsory subjects: History of Kazakhstan, Reading Literacy and Mathematical Literacy. On top of these, you take two profile subjects, chosen to match your specialty.
Source: testcenter.kz (opens in a new tab) - In total, the test has 120 questions (maximum 140 points) and you get 4 hours. The format is the same as in 2025.
Source: testcenter.kz (opens in a new tab) - Profile subjects depend on the group of specialties. For example: information technology — Mathematics and Computer Science; nursing and veterinary medicine — Biology and Chemistry; electrical engineering — Mathematics and Physics; law — World History and Fundamentals of Law. The full list is published by the National Testing Center.
Source: testcenter.kz (opens in a new tab) - For creative specialties (for example, media and design), you take History of Kazakhstan and Reading Literacy through the UNT, and two creative exams at the university itself.
Source: testcenter.kz (opens in a new tab) - Some universities have their own admission rules. Nazarbayev University, for example, requires a UNT score of at least 85, a GPA of 4.0 and English at IELTS 6.0 level.
Source: nu.edu.kz (opens in a new tab)
Courses and opportunities
Opportunities near this field
- ProgrammefreeAtlas of New Professions (opens in a new tab)
Минтруда РК и Центр развития трудовых ресурсов
Who it's for: everyone.
When: reference guide, always available.
Atlas of New Professions: which jobs will appear, change or disappear in the next 5–10 years. Free to read.
Checked: September 2026
Source: atlasbt.enbek.kz (opens in a new tab)
Can you work before you turn 18?
Under Kazakhstan's Labour Code, teenagers can work, but with limits.
- Usually you can work from age 16. From 15 — if you are getting basic or general secondary education. From 14 — only in your free time outside school and only light work. If you are under 16, you need a signature from a parent or legal guardian.
Source: kodeksy-kz.com (opens in a new tab) - From 14 to 16 you can work no more than 24 hours a week; from 16 to 18, no more than 36 hours a week.
Source: kodeksy-kz.com (opens in a new tab) - Under-18s must not be given heavy or hazardous work, jobs with full financial liability, night work, overtime or business trips.
Source: mybuh.kz (opens in a new tab)
History of the career
No verified information is available in this section yet.
Well-known people in this field
No verified information is available in this section yet.