Bartender Jobs - An Excellent Source of Extra Cash

By Brian J. Walker

Bartending is an excellent way to earn extra money. There are both positive and negative things relating to becoming a bartender such as working long nights and having to turn away customers that have had way too much to drink. Learning how to bartend can make you the head of a party, if you don't mind mixing for pleasure. There are steps to fulfill before officially becoming a bartender.

There can be a lot of stress with a bartending job. You have to strike a balance between making demanding, expectant customers happy on the spot and satisfying a boss who believes raking in the money is of the utmost importance. You have to be able to service your customers quickly while still communicating in a manner that makes them want to tip you. Throw in dealing with those who have had too much but still want more, and you have a stressful job that needs to be thought about seriously before taking.

You need a great memory to be a good bartender. There are lots of things to remember, starting with what specific drinks individual customers have asked for and how those drinks are made. You also have to remember all of the prices for different drinks offered through your bar. You may even have to deal with special drink requests and know what to charge for them. You also need to be conscious of drinkers who may be under the legal drinking age, since serving them drinks could cost you your job. You have all of that to worry about, and in the end you are working for tips. You never know how well you will be tipped or if you will be tipped at all by some people. Tips can be quite rewarding in some bars, and extremely bare at others.

While mixing drinks doesn't seem like a demanding job, it does require a lot of skills. You will need excellent communication skills to deal with customers and math skills to add up the tab for each customer and quickly hand back the proper amount of change. You will also have to work with others behind the bar, especially when there is a large crowd around the bar area. Finally, your personality has to be considered. A great bartender is someone who can remain calm under any amount of pressure and who can keep a smile on their face no matter how they may be feeling inside.

Choose a bartending school that is right for you and where you can start to learn drink combinations immediately. Going to bartender school can be the difference between making and breaking your career. Many bartending schools can teach you in under a week with seven hour lessons per day.

Those who don't attend a good bartending school tend to have a more difficult time finding jobs, since employers are looking for people who already know how to mix their drinks, which tools should be used, and who understand that different drinks require different types of glasses.

So, what if you can't afford school? You could always start your career as a barback, which is an assistant to the bartender. This position allows you to learn all of the necessary skills so you can eventually become a bartender yourself. Waitressing in an establishment that serves drinks could also be an entrance position.

Remember to get licensed. Some states require their bartenders to be licensed in order to serve alcohol. You must find out if it is necessary in your state to get a license. You can't start serving alcohol until you get this. If you are required to take the test, study from what you know. You can probably take the test online. - 31805

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