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Career Advice on How to Become A Bartender

General Career Information

Let’s not mix our words. We’ll save the mixing for the drinks.  Here is some information about bartending for your career planning or job search. People become bartenders for one of three reasons.  The first reason is you like to party.  Simply stated, you love the idea of being around “the sauce” all day.  The second reason is that you are attractive, usually an attractive woman, and realize that if you flirt even the tiniest bit with brain dead men, you will receive a decent tip.  Of course, many of these men will tip you far more than they thought they did when drunk.  But its not stealing… Well, not exactly anyway.  While there are exceptions to these first two rules, let’s not play games. These are the two biggest reasons people choose bartending for their careers.  Finally, some people do become bartenders randomly or out of necessity.

As a bartender, you tend bar, and that means pouring lots of drinks for alcoholics, soon to be alcoholics, “social drinkers” (whatever that is) and people pretending not to be alcoholics.

 

Career Facts:

Bartenders don’t always work in bars.  Bartenders are often found working in restaurants as well, which makes for a much different overall climate.  Bartenders are generally expected to be a little more alert than many other employees at a restaurant for example.  After all, no one has a good day if an underage drinker is served.  Employers expect their bartenders to be older than the legal drinking age.

Clearly bartenders need to know how to mix drinks and keep the orders flowing.  It can take a considerable amount of time to learn how to mix a wide-range of drinks and have them turn out well.

 

Career Opportunities and Job Outlook- Average:

The job outlook for bartenders is about average, with a thirteen percent growth expected overall by 2016.  While the job growth is expected to be about average, the number of new bartenders entering the workforce should be pretty impressive with nearly one million new jobs being created.
 
Job Outlook is Fair
 

A Day in The Life:

The average day for the average bartender is all about pouring drinks, making sure that everyone pays their tab and not serving any minors.  Bartenders often have to work well with waitresses, waiters and other staff.
 

Average Salary:

The average bartender can expect to earn about $8 per hour, with the top ten percent of bartenders earning about $13.50 per hour.  Of course, the exact numbers are hard to pin down due to the factor of tips.
 

Career Training and Qualifications:

There are no specific requirements or training to be a bartender.  The real trick is to be able to mix a good drink and do so quickly.
 

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