Does experience in bartending compensate at all for not going to bartending school?

I will be 18 soon and currently work as a host at a sports bar. However about a month after I turn 18 I will be moving to Orlando for school. I was hoping to train and bartend for a month where I currently work so I could use that experience to find a job as a bartender where I'll be living since they make so much and I'll have so many more expenses. I don't know if being trained and having a little experience will help me get a job as a bartender else where or if I'll be starting from square 1 since I haven't gone to bartending school. I just want to know if this is my best option or if I should just go with serving.Does experience in bartending compensate at all for not going to bartending school?
I partially agree with some of the answers given to you.



I own a bar catering company in Los Angeles, http://labarman.com. I know for certain that in California you must be 21 to be a bartender. I am virtually certain that is the rule elsewhere as well.



Now, I agree that a bartending school will not teach you how to tend bar. Law schools don't teach lawyers how to be lawyers either: they provide the foundation. If you have absolutely no experience behind a bar I think bartending school will help in a couple ways. First, you will at least get the fundamentals of mixology. Second, you will have to memorize a ton of cocktail recipes; many of which you will use, most of which you won't. I've been a bartender for over 20 years and I've never made a Pink Lady.



I'd also caution you to examine your motive for wanting to tend bar. Bartenders that "make so much" are talented people with a passion for what they do. We make it look easy because few people are more organized than a bartender. If you use something you put it back where you found it because you or the other bartenders need to know where it is when it is again needed. When very busy, there is no time to think about a recipe. You better to know it!



On the other hand, it can be the most fun job you will ever have. You might have to continue serving until you are of age. In the interim, begin networking with the bartenders you work with now. If you can legally bar back, jump on the job. You won't be able to server cocktails but you will be behind the bar and be able to observe and learn.



Thank you for asking the question because I've been thinking about writing a book on the subject.



Hope this helps.Does experience in bartending compensate at all for not going to bartending school?
yes, if you can identify your liquors right away and know what a jig, shot, dash, ounce, is. How much of such to add of hard liquor before adding the sugary stuff (sprite, 7up, juice). And especially helpful if you know how to make a few of their number one mixed drinks, like example: margarita, bloody mary, screwdriver..Does experience in bartending compensate at all for not going to bartending school?
Yes. Experience is the best thing to have. They hire people with experience over going to bartending school.Does experience in bartending compensate at all for not going to bartending school?
Don't go to bartending school unless they are required by the laws in your state. Mostly they are a waste of money and don't teach you what it's like behind the bar. Especially when things get crazy, busy, you have a nut for a customer.

Not all bartenders make a ton of money. I depends on the place, location, clientele etc. If you are the bottom person on the totem pole, you will get the crap shifts at first.

Tell your manager of your interest in becoming a bartender. I don't know of any state that lets an 18 year old pour a drink or even be a bar back.

You can continue serving and learning more.

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