How to become a bartender

[Armada]

To be a good bartender you have to be good looking and charasmatic, or very very charasmatic and okay looking. You can make 100k+ per year tax free if you're at a busy & expensive place, but there's only a few positions like that available, and you have to be really good at your job.

[Squirrels.Gone.Wild]

Screw school! Just watch "Cocktail" over and over.

[No5Butcher]

I highly doubt that.. The average is $18,000 in the US as a bartender.. The highest I've ever heard of is $60,000.

[DOOM]

I did it for 5 years, it was great money (as a second job) and I got to meet allot of people. I started out as a porter, the guy who stocks the fridges, glassware, ice, and booze. I worked up to bartender, in a club it's a fairly natural progression to learn where everything is and what you go through in a night. I never obtained any certification as I wasn't looking to make a career out of it. I didn't meet too many people who had it. Mixing drinks isn't rocket science, most people drink the common mixes etc. It's one of those things like riding a bike, I still remember the recipes many years later.. even some of the random stuff. I've come in handy for weddings etc where I could offer myself up. All you really need is Foodsafe and to keep it up to date.

Barntending helped create allot of good memories in my early twenties. Every summer I think about how much extra I'd be making. Shoot for porter first, they'll have you doing more in no time.

[DOOM]

I was a bartender (in Vancouver) all the way through my early 20's while in University, and still did it part time for a few years after graduating. I worked at a few restaurants and lounges, and a couple of night clubs. Honestly, it was one of the best times of my life - but you can only do it so long.

Firstly, don't waste your money on "bartending schools". Nobody cares that you have it, and no one will hire you because of it.

Some places will hire you directly as a bartender without experience, based on your personality (i.e., you have charm and charisma). Earls used to do this, not sure if they still do. Or, you're an extremely attractive woman - this can also get you the job.

If this doesn't apply to you, best bet is to find a job at a bar or a restaurant, as a busser or bar assistant, and work your way up. If you're a hard worker, and are competent, you will get moved up - but expect to do a minimum of a year and more likely 2 years, before you're promoted. This is much easier done at restaurants, primarily because there are more entry level jobs available to get your foot in the door; it is also generally easier to get promoted within a restaurant than at a night club.

If you are outgoing and are a "people person", you will like the service industry even if you're just starting as a busser. It's fun, your co-workers will be great people to hang out with, and you will always have cash on hand because of tips. However, you will probably do a lot of drinking and partying, which is why many people can only do it for so long.

Anyways, feel free to ask some specific questions, I'll try to answer if I can.

[Squeak]

I highly doubt that.. The average is $18,000 in the US as a bartender.. The highest I've ever heard of is $60,000.

[Offensive Threat]

I know of higher in Vancouver.

Person worked at a non-union hotel in Vancouver. Worked 10 hour shifts at $18 an hour ($27 for the two OT hours)

And got about $250 a night in tips.

So cleared $100,000 a year.

[Mastaj]

Fun fact: EVERY SINGLE PERSON who tells you what their tips are tells you the top end of what they make as their daily average. Might make $250 on a long weekend Friday night a few times a year and its "Oh, yeah, I make $250 every night" . Its just the way people are.

[Squeak]

Fun fact: EVERY SINGLE PERSON who tells you what their tips are tells you the top end of what they make as their daily average. Might make $250 on a long weekend Friday night a few times a year and its "Oh, yeah, I make $250 every night" . Its just the way people are.