UNITED STATES—If you’re looking for a way to make extra money, bartending might be the perfect job for you. As a bartender, you can work as a full-time employee or part-time. You may have many different options of places to work at like a hotel, restaurant, bar, club and more. Or, you can even work at different events like weddings, parties, banquets, etc.
Typically, bartenders don’t get paid much per hour, however, bartenders can potentially make a lot of money in tips. Depending on where you work, “one day on a weekend, you can make like a hundred and twenty bucks,” said Parisa Mohamed, an instructor from the National Bartenders School in Hollywood, California.
In order to become a bartender, you have to get a license by enrolling in a bartending school, completing the necessary classes and passing the exams. At a bartending school, you’ll not only learn the different ingredients that compose the most common drinks at a typical bar, you’ll also get hands on training in mixing drinks. These schools tend to look very closely to a professional bar, which is beneficial for you if you chose to become a student.
As a disclaimer, mixology schools don’t use real alcohol for training purposes. I know, I know, this sucks right? But, the bottles are usually real and the contents of the bottles are filled with liquid mixed to mimic the real drink. For example, in order to look like regular vodka, the bottle will most likely be filled with water since vodka is clear.
According to Mohamed, another interesting benefit to becoming a bartender “is that you grow people skills.” “As a bartender, you’re probably seeing about 20 to 50 different people a day, so if you bartend for a year, you’re meeting all different personalities and in the future you’ll know how to deal with people…especially when people get drunk, they show their true selves,” said Mohamed.
