Is it Worth it to Go to Bartender School?
A Look at the Pros & Cons of Attending Bartender School
More then a year later I must ask, was it a wise investment?
Sure, Class was a lot of fun. I made a lot of friends and got some behind-the-bar experience. I am TIPS certified now which means I am able to tell how drunken people are and know when to cut them off so that (hopefully) nothing bad happens. Probably the best thing I derived from the experience was the knowledge of alcohol - what everything is made from, where it's from, the history of everything, how to properly pour a pint, how to tell if it's good wine, how to light a shot on fire.
Being a Waiter first seems to be the best way to become a Bartender.
Most places want to hire from within due to the managerial nature of being a bartender. A manager puts a lot of trust in a person when they put someone behind the bar for them. They are in charge of hundred's, or depending on the bar, thousand's of dollars worth of alcohol. Look for schools that provide job placement or at least help with it - because going to school first is definitely not the easiest or cheapest way of becoming a bartender.
Drink recipes vary from place to place.
As you travel from place to place you learn that the recipes for the drinks you learned in bartender school aren't always made the same way. It's not that everyone else is wrong, it just depends on the local crowd and what they want in terms of drinks and the recipes get bent to the consumers will. This means that the money I paid to go to Bartending School and learn about drink recipes really didn't mean a whole lot besides the behind-the-bar experience because the recipes change based on locale.
Although 18 year olds can bartend, employers don't like them to.
I've also learned that despite the fact my bartending school told us how 18 year olds are allowed to legally tend bar in the vast majority of states in the U.S. What they should've told us at school was that most employers want 21 year olds because then they don't get in nearly as much trouble if you are caught drinking while on duty. Another reason, in case there is an emergency need for a certain kind of alcohol - so that you can make the run to get it and legally buy it.
For me, it was worth it. I had a blast, and although I wasted my graduation gift money getting a certificate for bartender school and then never got a job as a bartender- it was the most fun I had all summer. Plus now I can show off and get good wine when I go out on a date; or get calls from all my friends when they need to know recipes.
Published by Michael Holt
Married 23 year old, just graduated college with a BBA in Economics and I am moving to Eugene Oregon to find a home with my wife! View profile
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10 Comments
Post a CommentI've been a bartender for almost six years and I'm PA RAMP certified (my employers provided the classes.) I've never gone to bartending school, though. In my personal opinion, I think it just may be a waste of time and money. (Sorry...) The best way to become a bartender is simple - just get behind the bar. I was trained this way - on a Friday night. That was interesting. My "trainer" took off on me. LoL I've trained a few bartenders this way, but I didn't take off. I stayed and helped when they needed it. You can usually tell which ones will make it as a bartender and which ones won't after a night or two...
There are a few things that i happen to disagree with in this article. It most likely has to do with regional differences, but i just recently graduated from bartending school myself. Yes, it hasn't been easy to get a job yet, but i haven't been turned down for the reasons you really mentioned.
It's true. It is harder as an underage bartender to get work. There are many places that do prefer that you be 21 or older, and some that prefer 25 and older. However, there are also places that are happy to see someone who is younger than 21. A good bar manager can read an interviewee. They know which underage bartenders are gonna drink on the job and which ones aren't. To the smart ones like me, we know that drinking on the job has many many bad reprecussions and won't do it. We ruin our whole bartending career, get fined, could potentially shut down the establishment we work for. etc. In my experience through job interviewing and asking questions and watching bartenders, a good bar manag
Check out my article explaining how everyone lies about what happens next after graduating
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/800087/high_school_graduates_everyone_lies.html?cat=9
I went to bartending school too, while I was unemployed.....the best offer I got was for waitressing (at TGIF's), after which I could move up the ranks to bartending eventually. I wish my bartending school had told me that no one gets hired as a bartender outright. What a waste of $350.....
Good article! I've often pondered bartending though never made the move.
I always wondered about bartending school. Good article! Thanks.
hey Joseph, lol I always wondered why people went to bartending school. In Ohio we never even had places that required a BT license until Dave and Busters showed up. Just about all of them hire from within so everyone usually has to pay their dues as a server before moving to the bartending realm. This was fun to read, I haven't even thought about bartending for awhile, I quit after 12 years of doing just from being burnt out and seeing everyone drunk all the time.
This author always writes very informative and insightful articles. I enjoy reading most everything this author publishes. Thanks again for your interesting thooughts.
Great article. I enjoyed reading it. Its nice to see an insiders opinion.
Awesome article, I'm really enjoying your content. I'm nineteen myself and contemplating 'tending.