So, how do you get into bartending?

[desura]

I figure it might be a fun job, get to meet people. How do you get into it?

 

[IronWing]

Watch Cocktail until you can recite the lines.

 

[Ns1]

paging TallBill.

 

[Imp]

Having friends in the barkeeping/restaurant industry.

And being able to read a recipe book?

 

[shortylickens]

Well, it probably requires more training than being a police officer.


:awe:

 

[smackababy]

You generally start by being a bar back I believe. Work your way up from there.

 

[Sonikku]

Watch Deep Space 9.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Depends on where you live. Small town where the clientele is mostly fat guys in greasy ball caps and skanky women who fall off their bar stools? You need to know somebody. And then you'll only make about $10/hour on the best nights, because those people tip worse than teenagers on an allowance.

But in a place where it's lucrative, like a city or colleg town, you'll most likely start by being a server and/or bar back for at least a year. And even then it helps to know someone or be a really good looking woman. I've seen guys spend years trying to catch on as bartenders and then only get the slowest shifts of the week. While hot little 21 year-olds who don't know the difference between rum and whiskey get hired just to attract the sausage crowd.

 

[JEDIYoda]

buy a bar???

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Having friends in the barkeeping/restaurant industry.

Big help there. Without an in you're going to bust your ass as a bar back for a long time, then if you get promoted it will only be for the crappy shifts than none of the more senior/better people want.

 

[twinrider1]

Are you a 21-40 year old woman with a decent figure? No? Good luck.

 

[sdifox]

Become an actor. Then you can be a waiter or bartender.

 

[Humpy]

You need a cocaine addiction and at least two ex-wives to even get a foot in the door at a decent biker bar these days.

 

[Imp]

Are you a 21-40 year old woman with a decent figure? No? Good luck.

Dude.

Two words: gay bar.

I get so much gay interest that I know that I can do the gay bar circuit before having to resort to getting on my knees.

 

[CraKaJaX]

Meet people? Installing Pokemon Go is the only answer here. It's the only way this country knows how to interact at the moment. Unless you count flipping the bird or something on the highway.

 

[Cappuccino]

I go to alot of bars with my uni friends and all the bartenders I've meet or seen are very good looking. If your ugly then you have no chance. My experience.

 

[videogames101]

buy a bar???

yep

 

[TallBill]

Are you a 21-40 year old woman with a decent figure? No? Good luck.

Pretty much this.

It is a lot more difficult to get into as a man. Start bouncing or bar backing or serving and luck out.

I served tables for about a year before I started picking up shifts. Can be physically demanding if you're at a high volume bar, and quite a bit of social skills for slower paced service. Nothing too technical for most bars and you kinda pick up stuff along the way.

Sex with beautiful women gets tiring after a while though. ()

 

[TallBill]

Having friends in the barkeeping/restaurant industry.

And being able to read a recipe book?

Eh, in my experience having friends would only help if you already have experience.

And yeah you need to memorize a decent amount of recipes, all depends on your bar and area. Once you serve a drink once or twice though you should try to remember it. Social skills can overcome almost any problem though.

 

[mrrman]

I figure it might be a fun job, get to meet people. How do you get into it?

Why, kind of a dead end job....known many people in this field who failed and after a while they hated it

 

[Oyeve]

Become an alcoholic. I know 3 bartenders and all 3 are recovering alcoholics.

 

[John Connor]

Get a drinking mixing App and learn. At the same time go to bartender school. You'll need to learn how to juggle those highball glasses.

I'd recommend a casino though. Not a restaurant or bar.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Why, kind of a dead end job....known many people in this field who failed and after a while they hated it

It's almost the definition of a dead-end job. No benefits (not even paid holidays), and the most you could hope for is some kind of management job in the bar or restaurant business, which doesn't pay particularly well. In reality, if you actually stay in the business past the age of 30 or so, you better be hoping to some day become an owner of a bar or restaurant.

Become an alcoholic. I know 3 bartenders and all 3 are recovering alcoholics.

A very real occupational hazard. Some of the biggest alcoholics I know are bartenders, but it's nowhere near 100% of them. You also have to ask whether it's the job that tends to create alcoholics, or whether alcoholics are naturally attracted to the job. I think it's more of the latter.

 

[TallBill]

Lol I made a shit load more bartending than I do in the military. Enough to pay for my own benefits. Management sucks and makes less.

 

[Bubblehappy]

Find a place that's a bar with food, and start in the kitchen. Make friends with the bartenders. Watch what they do. Ask them if you can help after you are done with your kitchen duties. Do a good job, and offer to help bar back late nights. They will appreciate the help and likely tip you out to a degree. That's how I did it.

Oh, and the book "Bartending for Dummies" has some really good information in it believe it or not.