How do I get into bartending?!
Answers: I've heard that most of the schools are scams and also that you don't need a bartending license. I don't know what to believe or what to do. I would love to bartend part time, but I don't know how to get started. Can you help?
if you are in a big city go to a bar and ask if they need a bar back, it is sort of an apprentice. You will learn the ropes and get your foot in the door. when someone calls off you are the first call. If you are in a small city just go and apply. They will teach you and you will be on your way. remember to not be embarrassed if you don't know what is in a drink. If they can't tell you what is in it they don't get it. Good luck and it is alot of fun.
you could probably go to a bar and ask the bartender there if he can train you if you dont want to go to those schools.
Go to bars and ask if you could be an assistant and then watch and learn.
Do NOT go to one of those schools. The best way to learn is to just go to a bar and ask for a job and learn it that way. My roommate was a bartender and she asked me to help pour beer one night but of course, people started ordering drinks. I would just ask my roommate what was in the drink and then I'd make it! By the end of the night, I had $80 in tips and knew how to make quite a few drinks.
Check this link out they teach you how to be a bartender and help place you. Also it may help to move to a location that is either tourist or bar friendly.
http://www.bartending-school.com/scdx.ht...
You do not need a license anywhere to tend bar. The most you'll need is a food-handlers certificate, which you can earn in less than a day at a class put on by the health department. Not every state requires even that much.
Bartending schools are a scam. I went to one "sample class" and it's fun but expensive and ultimately useless. Get a bartending book and learn the basics -- a martini, a cosmo, a margarita. Most places you'll work at will have their own method for anything more complicated.
Apply to be a cocktail waiter or a bar-back. In a week you'll be speaking the language of booze.
Yes, bartending schools are pointless and a waste of your money. You are much better off starting in a bar as a cocktailer and moving your way up. A lot of cocktail servers help out while the bartender goes on breaks and the bartender will teach them when they are slow and bored. It's much better to learn hands on, and depending on where you work the POS/Micros, etc system might have a drink list you can refer to if you forget how to make drinks. There is always a "bible" tucked somewhere behind a counter, too. Also, don't be afraid to just ask people what's in the drink they request. If they don't know what's in it, they shouldn't be drinkin' it in the first place.
Depending on what state you live, you need a liquor license to bartend. I live in Washington so you need to have a Class 12 and a Food Handler's.
I was a bartender for 7 years, and the place I worked also had waitresses...sometimes the company likes to hire within...and that is what ours did. I was a server for 1 year and then they approached me and asked if I wanted to bartend...And I said I know nothing about it...but they train you for a week and send you home with their bar book and study away...do not waste money on bartending schools..they are a rip off....you learn more on your own and through the customers....and mistakes are still drank ha ha
You just need to go into these places and apply on the application for a bartender, they will ask if you have experience, and sometimes the personality will out weigh the no experience...It is very fast paced job and can become stressful...but the money IS FABULOUS....we also had tip share and the waiters and waitresses had to give tipshare to the bartender and hostess and expediter...for tipshare oh MAN that brought in the bucks for doing nothing...I walked out daily with 180.00. and on the weekends 500.00 It is all in your personality and the regulars...and of course the location of the establishment..
It depends on where you live. I would never go to a school. Most drinks have more than 1 receipe. It would be too confusing to learn the drinks all over again. Most times if you start as a server somewhere and have the right looks, you can be promoted to the bar. TGI FRIDAYS has one of the most extensive bar training ever. This is a huge benefit! Just a little bit of training at a FRIDAYS will take you a long way.
check out www.totallyfreebartending.com, for starters. apply as a cocktail server, to learn the ropes, while making great money. it will also give you a better idea, if you are cut out for the business. bartending is very hard work, it is a physically & mentally demanding job. if it is for you, ask to work a few shifts as barback, picking up pointers from the bartenders. then fill in on less busy shifts. then move on to bigger & better bars/restaurants.