Thinking about going to bartending school is it worth it?

How much do bartender's make? Is it easy to get a gig as a bartender. I live in Jersey Right outside of philly. I know that there is a bartending school in cherry hill, how much do bartenders make?Thinking about going to bartending school is it worth it?
Don't waste your money!! I started at a restaurant with no experience and within a few months I was teaching my manager a few things!

Books are the best way to go! Just learn how to pour (don't try free-pouring until you've learned more about it) and you can make anything.

Try applying at restaurants and small bars first, train under someone and learn as much as you can. Without experience you'll get laughed out of any night clubs unless you are drop dead gorgeous or allergic to liquor.

Experience is valued much more by an employer then a diploma from a Bar School.

So start our small then go up from there!

As for money, you won't make much at first. If you get a job in a restaurant you'll get paid hourly ($7-$9/hour) and all or a percentage of your tips.

I don't get much in tips (just because no one eats at the bar so I don't get many customers unless we're really busy) But I make a pretty good living!

If you have a good friendly outgoing personality give it a try! But you have to learn how to make your drinks right and make them fast because it won't matter how witty you are if you make a Cosmopolitan that tastes like rubbing alchohol you won't make a penny.

Go for it! It's an experience you will never forget!Thinking about going to bartending school is it worth it?
I'm not sure how much they make but did help pay me to put my daughter through bartending school so she could supplement her college fees, sorority, car and apartment. She did well - you have to have the right personality to deal with customers, and definitely know your drinks - she graduated from UNC Chapel Hill, did post grad work and is now employed with a very reputable company doing her favorite thing (interior design) living where she loves it, Ft. Lauderdale, having left home - the beautiful mountains of WNC. She learned a lot from the job (part time of course ) - - good luck and be careful.Thinking about going to bartending school is it worth it?
DON'T GO!!! It is the biggest waste of time and money ever. Buy some books and study drink recipes. Apply to smaller places in which you can start at and get experience and if nothing else be a bar back for a shorter period of time.Thinking about going to bartending school is it worth it?
I haven't bartended in a few years but at that time I made $8 an hour and averaged $100 a day in tips. This was a very small country town so I would imagine a bar in a big city would pay much better. Personally, I think bartenders make great wages and is a great job, if you can deal with the drunks and fights. Just remember to CARD and do not drink while you are on duty.

Nobody I know ever went to school to be a bartender. We were trained on the job.

Good Luck! :)
N323 is right. Apply at local bars not chains. Buy some books and read them. I had a friend who got the school paid for by the bar he was workingg at. But the best bartenders I have ever had have all learned from experience.



What you will make all depends on where you work. I worked at a small club. I was making $300 - $500 a day workin concerts at the bar. I made around a $100 on your average busy night and far less on dead ones. This is in tips mind you. You wont get paid squat in wages.