Question about becoming a Bartender - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

jstory · 02-14-2005, 01:38 AM

Sorry if this is in the wrong spot guys, if so please move it. Anyways my question is about becoming a bartender. I am 18 and go to school at the University of Texas at Austin. I have a friend that works at one of the bars on 6th street and i was wondering what all it would entail to become a bartender. My main questions are dont you have to go to a school or some type of job training for the job and also at the age of 18 will the TABC allow me to serve alcohol? If you were also a bartender in college please share your experiences also. Thanks for your help!

Halx · 02-14-2005, 01:44 AM

I know in California, you have to be 21 to even deliver alcohol to a table you're waiting. As far as I know, all the bartending schools I've seen require you to be 21. I would guess you have to wait a while.

Amnesia620 · 02-14-2005, 02:03 AM

Check your state's laws on alcohol serving. In AZ, you have to be 19 to serve (bartend or cocktail waitressing). It depends on your states laws and requirements.

Also, you can sign up/pay for a class with a Bartending College and in 2-3 weeks be a certified bartender or you can work for a restaurant/bar and work your way up from server (waitress) to back bar, and finally, bartender...the latter option takes much longer than certification through a school, however, some companies are more partial to training you (after promoting) so that you learn their preferences, most common drinks, speciality or rare/unique drinks, and get a feel for the ambience, customer relations. They also prefer to promote/train their employees, so that they can choose one who can learn/remember quickly and "think on their feet" in times of high volume - as well as responsibility, trustworthiness, honesty and reliability (during slow periods; low volume) in sidework and main job duties.

jstory · 02-14-2005, 05:38 AM

Thanks for the help, i know for a fact my friend that went to bartending school was 18 but then again im not sure if you can still actually be a bartender at 18.

SaltPork · 02-14-2005, 12:14 PM

jstory, the age depends on the state. In NH it's 18 for bartending, as Hal mentioned, in CA it's 21.

That aside, bartending is not an easy job to break into. There's tons of money to be had and because of that most places will only promote from within. Think about this: on a busy Saturday night in a good bar you'll probably need to make drinks for the dining room/seating area and make drinks for bar customers. Not only that, if the place serves food, you have to wait on customers at the bar which means knowing the menu as well. Bartending is an awesome job to have as long as you know everything else that's going on in the place. Ask The_Original_King for more details, if you can get a job as a bartender, jump at it, but my guess is that they'll be hard to find.

Cervantes · 02-14-2005, 12:35 PM

Bartending classes are good but nothing beats working with veteran bartenders and taking after the proffessionals.

One thing that many people don't think about when they want to be bartenders is that they spend way too much time and energy learning how to mix coctails when it is really your peopleskills you should hone to perfection.
Don't get me wrong, cocktails are an important part of bartending aswell it is just that I've run across so many schoolbaked bartenders that just can't handle the poeple and end up quitting without getting a real shot at proving themselves.

Good luck to you man.

02-14-2005, 01:38 AM	#1 (permalink)
jstory Crazy	Question about becoming a Bartender Sorry if this is in the wrong spot guys, if so please move it. Anyways my question is about becoming a bartender. I am 18 and go to school at the University of Texas at Austin. I have a friend that works at one of the bars on 6th street and i was wondering what all it would entail to become a bartender. My main questions are dont you have to go to a school or some type of job training for the job and also at the age of 18 will the TABC allow me to serve alcohol? If you were also a bartender in college please share your experiences also. Thanks for your help!

02-14-2005, 01:44 AM	#2 (permalink)
Halx Please touch this. Owner/Admin Location: Manhattan	I know in California, you have to be 21 to even deliver alcohol to a table you're waiting. As far as I know, all the bartending schools I've seen require you to be 21. I would guess you have to wait a while. __________________ You have found this post informative. -The Administrator [Don't Feed The Animals]

02-14-2005, 02:03 AM	#3 (permalink)
Amnesia620 Forget me not... Location: See that dot on the map? I don't live there.	Check your state's laws on alcohol serving. In AZ, you have to be 19 to serve (bartend or cocktail waitressing). It depends on your states laws and requirements. Also, you can sign up/pay for a class with a Bartending College and in 2-3 weeks be a certified bartender or you can work for a restaurant/bar and work your way up from server (waitress) to back bar, and finally, bartender...the latter option takes much longer than certification through a school, however, some companies are more partial to training you (after promoting) so that you learn their preferences, most common drinks, speciality or rare/unique drinks, and get a feel for the ambience, customer relations. They also prefer to promote/train their employees, so that they can choose one who can learn/remember quickly and "think on their feet" in times of high volume - as well as responsibility, trustworthiness, honesty and reliability (during slow periods; low volume) in sidework and main job duties. __________________ For example, I find that a lot of college girls are barbie doll carbon copies with few differences...Sadly, they're dumb, ditzy, immature, snotty, fake, or they are the gravitational center to orbiting drama. - Amnesia620

02-14-2005, 12:14 PM	#5 (permalink)
SaltPork Everything's better with bacon Location: In your local grocer's freezer.	jstory, the age depends on the state. In NH it's 18 for bartending, as Hal mentioned, in CA it's 21. That aside, bartending is not an easy job to break into. There's tons of money to be had and because of that most places will only promote from within. Think about this: on a busy Saturday night in a good bar you'll probably need to make drinks for the dining room/seating area and make drinks for bar customers. Not only that, if the place serves food, you have to wait on customers at the bar which means knowing the menu as well. Bartending is an awesome job to have as long as you know everything else that's going on in the place. Ask The_Original_King for more details, if you can get a job as a bartender, jump at it, but my guess is that they'll be hard to find. __________________ It was like that when I got here....I swear.

02-14-2005, 12:35 PM	#6 (permalink)
Cervantes Psycho Location: Above you	Bartending classes are good but nothing beats working with veteran bartenders and taking after the proffessionals. One thing that many people don't think about when they want to be bartenders is that they spend way too much time and energy learning how to mix coctails when it is really your peopleskills you should hone to perfection. Don't get me wrong, cocktails are an important part of bartending aswell it is just that I've run across so many schoolbaked bartenders that just can't handle the poeple and end up quitting without getting a real shot at proving themselves. Good luck to you man. __________________ - "Philosophy is questions that may never be answered. Religion is answers that may never be questioned.." - "Religions take everything that your DNA naturally wants to do to survive and pro-create and makes it wrong." - "There is only one absolute truth and that is that there is only one absolute truth."

02-14-2005, 05:38 AM	#4 (permalink)
jstory Crazy	Thanks for the help, i know for a fact my friend that went to bartending school was 18 but then again im not sure if you can still actually be a bartender at 18.