Career choices explored – Bartending 101

There are far more employment options out there for a good bartender than simply slinging pints down at their local bar. Almost every restaurant that serves alcohol employs bartenders, even if you never see them, hotels large and small need a good bartender or two at the least and obviously for nightclubs they are a must.

At first the question ‘what is a bartender’ sounds like a rather silly and naive one. After all, everyone knows that a bartender is the guy or gal who serves up their drinks at their local bar, restaurant, tavern or in fact anywhere drinks are being formally served. What many people – those who have never worked in the industry for sure – do not realize is that there is a lot more to being a bartender than simply mixing a few liquors together in a glass or pouring a beer without spilling it.

In fact a bartender has many other duties, and therefore must develop many other skills. They are called on to be a well-groomed customer service rep, a host, an emcee, an enforcer, a financial manager and even, on occasion, a sort of amateur therapist! And all of those things are in addition to actually having to know how to make a drink every time, making becoming a bartender a little more complex than many might think.

Where Can a Bartender Find Work? 

There are far more employment options out there for a good bartender than simply slinging pints down at their local bar (although that can be a very enjoyable and lucrative job) Almost every restaurant that serves alcohol employs bartenders, even if you never see them, hotels large and small need a good bartender or two at the least and obviously for nightclubs they are a must.

Some bartenders go a different route though. Convention centers, cruise ships and even airports and railway stations are all places a bartender can find work. It’s a very flexible career and one that can, if the right opportunities come along, take a person off on all kinds of adventures.

How Old Do You Have to Be to Bartend? 

Although the legal drinking age in the US is now a uniform 21 years old oddly enough the legal age to bartend in the United States is not uniform at all, it varies from state to state. In more than a third of the 50 states an individual can actually begin bartending at the age of 18. It may seem a little illogical, that a person too young to drink many of the beverages they serve can still legally think about becoming a bartender, but the laws are a throwback to the days when the legal drinking age in the US was 18 years of age and have simply never been changed.

This having been said while it may technically be legal for someone in their late teens to become a bartender there will be certain establishments who will be unwilling to consider them. A younger bartender is therefore more likely to gain employment in a situation which is tightly monitored – in a hotel for example – than in a bar or nightclub.

Do You Really Need a Bartending License? 

Some may think it’s a little strange to think that one may need a license to mix a martini in public but it many situations that is the case. Can you get a bartending job without one? In many states yes, you certainly can. That job however may not be one of the more lucrative available. Many larger bars,nightclubs and certainly hotels and resorts either outright require that candidate hold a bartending license in order to be considered for employment at all or will look far more favorably on those who are licensed over those who are not. And in a few states licensing is mandated by the state and the decision whether or not to require such a thing is taken out of the establishment’s hands.

But going back to just why a bartender would need a license to do something as seemingly mundane as serve drinks. The most important reason is a legal one. The simple fact is that, these days especially, a bartender, even one who works in the tiniest neighbourhood bar, has a number of legal responsibilities. They must not serve minors, they must cease serving persons who are visibly intoxicated and in some states they also have responsibilities to help ensure that intoxicated persons do not drive when leaving the establishment they work out. A bartending license course teaches candidates about these things, something that makes them far more attractive to lawsuit wary businesses.

Then there is the actual business of how to bartend. In theory bartending sounds easy, but the reality is very different. And although they will still need plenty of on-the-job experience in order to become really good, a bartending licensing course such classes will give them some very useful basic knowledge that will serve them well when looking for a first job in the industry.

How Much Do Bartenders Make? 

This is the big question that many of those considering bartending want answered, and that is very hard to do. In terms of guaranteed wages in most states many beginning bartenders are paid, by their employers, a salary that is known as ‘tip minimum’, an hourly rate lower than a state’s regular minimum wage, as it is expected that the majority of their income will come from tips. Which is where things get tricky.

Many bartenders make a very good living because they make great tips. How much a bartender can make in tips depends on two things, the types of patrons they are serving and the level of their own skill. In other words it’s a real variable. You cannot even predict where the best places to work are in regards to tips. Sometimes a bartender working in a small local; tavern will make far more than one working in a larger hotel or restaurant. The one thing that generally holds true though is that for a good, skilled bartender whose people skills match their mixology skills the job can be a very lucrative one indeed.

How to Get a Bartending License 

You may have seen – and if you have any interest in becoming a bartender you certainly have – adverts for bartender licensing courses. You may, if you are looking into bartending as an employment option, have found that most states and municipalities themselves do not make holding such a license mandatory in any way. In addition, many employers do not ask for such a thing either. So with that in mind, why would you ever spend any of your hard earned money pursuing such a thing?

The fact is, somewhat sadly, is that there are real problems that can potentially – and often do – affect a bartender in regards to their patrons as they go about their job. Most relate to behaviors that begin after someone has had a few drinks and their observance of normal social constraints becomes dulled by alcohol and they begin to act in a way that they probably would not under normal circumstances and all too often that behavior isn’t pleasant. And it is the bartender who is at the front line of the trouble, and in some cases may even be held personally legally responsible if things get too far out of hand.

A bartending license course, which may be taken as a part of a broader bartending certification course offered by a formal bartending school or as a standalone offering on or offline is designed to educate bartenders and would be bartenders in all of nuances and aspects of this side of the job. Usually such a bartending license course will cover all of the following:

Liquor Laws – In addition to laws that apply nationwide – such as the requirement that patrons by 21 or over to drink alcohol – each state has its own set of liquor laws that every bartender needs to be aware of, and the fact is an employer is rarely going to fill a new employee in on them as they expect that they will already know. Many bartender licensing courses not only cover these laws but also offer practical ways to implement them; for example, in the case of dealing with a minor attempting to purchase alcohol how to spot a fake ID and how to refuse service in a firm, yet still polite, manner.

Alcohol Facts – It is considered, in most states, to now be a bartender’s responsibility to recognize when a patron is overly intoxicated and refuse further service to the customer at that point for both their own good and the good of others. Learning about the actual properties of alcohol and how its chemical makeup affects people can help a bartender better recognize the signs that it may be time to intervene.

Intervention  – Intervening in a difficult situation is not always easy for a bartender, and dealing with, and diffusing, difficult situations is definitely an acquired skill. A good bartender licensing course will offer practical advice and guidelines for dealing with intervention situations that can be carried easily into a working situation.

Bartender License Cost and Considerations 

Just how much a bartender license will cost you to earn varies a great deal. Some online courses are considerably cheaper and offer the added advantage that they can be taken at any time and usually from the comfort of your home, rather than having to travel to a formal classroom.

A bartender’s license may also be included as a part of a broader bartender certification course, the type, of course, that also offers training and education in practical bar procedures and bartending skills, in which case it’s individual cost is harder to calculate.

When you are weighing up the pros and cons of taking such a course it’s worth knowing that while they may not require licensing many employers, especially larger hotels and restaurants, will often give preference to a candidate who does hold such a certification as they too are legally and financially responsible for what goes on in their bars so an applicant with advanced knowledge in this area is often the more attractive prospect over one who doesn’t.

Once earned, a bartender’s license is good for life. It does not expire and it can’t be revoked. And no, you don’t need one in order to get a bartending job, but having one will make you a better bartender thanks to what you learned to get it and a better employment prospect as well, meaning it’s an investment well worth considering.