Question for Bartenders?

Question

I'm thinking of becoming a bartender, and I need some advice from current bartenders, please. I know basically nothing about alcohol. I can read a book that has every cocktail known to man, memorize it and take the test, or I can shell out $500 for school where they will teach me everything I need to know, and help me with job placement. I have never had a job, other than a camp counselor 4 years ago, so I have nothing to put on a resume. That's where the job placement part comes helps.
Also, I live in a college town, next to one of the biggest cities in the country. There a hundred of bars within 20 miles of where I live. So I am (hopefully) not going into a job field where I will not be able to get a job in based on my environment. (I worded that sentence awkwardly but I hope it still makes since.) Do you think I could make decent money in a city like this? I also have free weekends and my classes end at 8 p.m. so I am free anytime after that. I this a good schedule for a bartender?

So if any bartenders who did or did not attend bartending school read this, I would really appreciate your advice! Any information is helpful!

Answer 1

Let me give you BOTH sides to the argument here.



A little backdrop... I'm a former bartender... met my wife when we were both bartenders... and we went on to own our own bar before selling for a profit in 2008. My wife had no schooling apart from the "school of hard knocks" where she learned by jumping in feet first in a very busy well known bar. I had originally come from years of service in the military and government... so I put myself through a well known bartender academy in Phoenix before getting my first bartending gig.



I can tell you that SHE was much better in the weeds on her toes because she had so much experience...... but I was better when it came to catering to the higher end clientele who wanted me to invent something with their name on it or hand make a brandy old-fashioned at their table. Make sense?



So...... given both our strengths and weaknesses....... I recommend GO TO THE CLASSES for bartending...... but then ALSO start SMALL and PART-TIME until you build some real experience and learn from others before really diving in and trying to work at the money spots. With that method, you'll eventually be able to cater to clientele across the spectrum and you CAN make VERY good money bartending at the right spots.



Cheers!

Answer 2

The bartending jobs in top bars and clubs are highly sought after. You can make a lot of money in a shift at these places. But they are not going to hire newbies. I am not a current bartender, but I never went to bartending school. I got into it through my connections in the restaurant business.



Making drinks is only part of the job. You need to set up, break down, handle cash, deal with customers, work the register. Plus, you may know a drink, but you have to be fast when you make them, lining up 5-10 drinks at a time in some places, making them all right, and then knowing who gets which one. If you have none of this type of experience, it is going to be tough to get a job, no matter how many bars are in the area. School would probably be good for you.

Answer 3

I've been bartending for about 6 years now, and never went to school. However, it wasn't easy to get there. I was a server for 2 years before I got the opportunity at a newly opening restaurant chain to start bartending after waiting tables only a few months there. You may want to try serving first as its easier to get into (Though you may find yourself a hostess first.) A lot of the skills it takes to wait tables carry over to the bar, and there's good money to be made there too.



That being said, you are much more likely to be hired on with no experience behind the bar as a female, especially in a college town. If you are going this route, try small bars that have a lower volume of customers first, they are going to be more apt to hire a pretty face to drum up patronage, experience or no. My biggest piece of advice once you get behind the bar is to attach yourself to the best bartender there. One with not only drink knowledge, but product knowledge, and who knows how to work the bar and genuinely takes pride in their job. (Not every bar has one of these bartenders.)



As for school, I don't recommend it. For experience on a resume, its better than nothing, but not much. There's no substitute for real bar experience (Or fresh juice.) Most of the bar school graduates I've worked with seemed to forget everything they ever learned once they got behind a real bar, and when they started to remember, much of what was taught to them was not how it works in the real world. (A Sex on the Beach does NOT have Midori or Chambord.)



Also, pick up a copy of Miss Charming's Guide for Hip Bartenders and Wayout Wannabes. Its got some great stuff for beginners and pros alike.