Monday, February 20, 2012

Is bartending school a good idea?

I really need a job and I heard that bartenders make good money. I have a few friends who went to bartending school (costs about $500) and said that it was really worth it and they help you find a job afterwards, but I have also read online a lot of people saying that bartending school is a scam and most bar managers don't care if you have the certificate or not. The problem is I don't know anything about alcohol or how to make drinks ... why would a manager hire me then? At the same time, it is very expensive and I don't want to end up paying a lot of money for no reason. How likely is it that I will get a job if I go to bartending school? Have you had any personal experience with this???Is bartending school a good idea?
If you want to go, then go. It's your choice.Is bartending school a good idea?
I wouldn't waste my time. I'm a bartender. I know a lot of bartenders. I don't know of any that went to bartending school. I know 3 people who went to bartending school. Those 3 all worked at Starbucks. Only one of them ever worked at a bar, and that was only for a month. If you don't know anything about booze, I recommend waiting tables, and in the mean time study and learn your drink recipes. Come back in a year and if you're nice, I'll hire you. :)
My friend just finished bartrnding school and hasnt been hired after 2 months and numiorus applications put in. She found a different job until she can find a bartending job.Is bartending school a good idea?
Go for it. How we americans love our drinks. You would always have a job.
Going to bar-tending school will not get you a job as a bar tender. I attended a 6 week 60 hour bar tending course, I've worked as a server for 3 years, bar-tended for a year and a half and managed for a year. Bar tending school did not get me the job and would never have gotten me a job. I was told this by numerous bar managers when I was looking for a bar-tending job and then later found it to be true when I became a bar manager myself.



The ideal candidate for a bar tending job has the following:

1) have a minimum of 1-2 years bar tending experience in a high volume bar.

2) if no experience, have ample experience in the food service industry. (minimum 2-3 years)

3) be a young attractive female (preferably at least 5'9'')

4) look intelligent (especially observant and situationally intelligent)



If you are unlucky enough to not have these qualifications (as I did not), there is still hope. The other way to get a bar-tending job is to move into that position from another in the same restaurant. If you work in a restaurant and prove that you can handle a heavy customer load you might be able to start working in the bar area and get some shifts either bar tending or bar-backing. Often the route to bartender, especially for men, consists of proving oneself as a bar-back (stocking beer, liquor, fruit, glasses, picking up used glasses and washing them and wiping down the bar and tables) and then picking up the bar shifts that no one else wants. These are often day shifts in the middle of the week. Eventually you might be able to get to the friday and saturday night positions that'll pay your rent in a 6 hours.



Bar-tending is as much if not more about managing the bar environment than it is about mixing a drink and that you learn on the job.Is bartending school a good idea?
The problem is even when you come out of bar tending school you really know nothing about having to work a 8 hour shift from 8pm to 4am in the morning serving 6+ drinks per minute start to end. To get into really really nice work places you need a crap load of experience and generally have to be really good at what you do. When you first come out of bar-tending school you'll probably find the only places that will hire you are your low end cheap drink bars and clubs, and believe me when I say before you have the experience to even apply for a job in a nice casino or hotel bar you will have had a augment with a hobo might stab you. Even though the first year or so can be rough I found bar tending a real fun job, I did it to pay my way though uni. Also if your not a night person you might find bar-tending pretty hard. Most of the work you'll get is between 5pm-3am. If you really want to do it of course you should give it a go regardless of what people on chat boards say. To finish I'll say that to be a good bar tender you have to be very chatty, very outgoing, and be able to talk to anyone and everyone you may meet at any moment. Because if you want to work on a bar you'll be meeting every kind of person imaginable.
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