The most ridiculous part of this whole thing is that bartending schools know that they can’t guarantee their students a job and they’ll only tell you this towards the end of their course. If they won’t help you get a job, what’s the point? That’s why most working bartenders discourage attending these schools. If you don’t have any, landing a job is difficult – this is where bartending classes are “ supposed” to help you out.īar managers don’t place any weight on these courses because mixing drinks in a classroom setting is completely different to mixing drinks in a real bar. It seems that the biggest problem with bartending schools is that they convince potential students that they’ll be able to more easily become a bartender if they attend one of their schools.Īs I’m sure you’re aware, one of the difficulties aspiring bartenders face when they’re looking for work is that most bartending jobs require the applicant to have experience. So I started looking into different programs, I read reviews, I scoured the bartending forums, and I even spoke with a friend who worked as a trainer at one of these schools. How could learning the theory of alcohol and how to mix drinks not be useful for an aspiring bartender? For that matter, any bartender! So when I found out that bartending courses existed, I was genuinely interested in them. In my opinion, education is one of those crucial factors that separates those that succeed in this industry and those that don’t. And for the next couple of hours, she got some REAL bartending experience. I was up-front and told her that I couldn’t give her a job, but I also said that she was welcome to stay on for a couple of hours and experience what it’s really like to work behind a bar. She clearly wanted to become a professional bartender (enough to spend a large chunk of cash on school), so I felt obliged to show her the ropes. She obviously wasn’t good enough and I didn’t want to waste anyone’s time. That’s something only experience can teach you.Īnyway, at this point, I would just send an unsuccessful trial home. Unfortunately for her, school just can’t prepare a beginner for what it’s actually like to work behind a busy bar. Even outside of my bar, she would struggle to find a bartending job. And despite having attended one, it was obvious she wasn’t prepared. Yet, here this girl was, a bartending school graduate. You could start earning an income straight away. The fact that you don’t need to go to school was one of the reasons why I thought bartending was such a great profession. It’s how I learned and how everyone other bartender I’d worked with had learned as well. I’d always assumed that bartending was learned on-the-job. I’d never even heard of bartending school before, let alone ‘graduates’. She said, “ No, I haven’t… But I’ve graduated from bartending school.” My Introduction to Bartending School So I asked her straight up, “ Have you ever worked behind a bar?” When she arrived, she was confident & happy, and after briefly talking with her, I thought she showed promise.īut, less than 30 seconds into the shift, I questioned whether she’d ever even stepped foot behind a bar before! One day I had a girl come in for a trial shift. That meant hiring good staff and since I was the manager, it was my responsibility. It was a tough bar to work behind and we needed a strong team. I was first introduced to bartending school when I was managing the bar at a busy restaurant in Melbourne. And no amount of schooling can replace that. The reality is, bartending is learned & mastered on-the-job.
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