The life of a mixologist is filled with challenges and perks. A career as a bartender can be financially rewarding, but a job behind a bar comes with great responsibility. You must know how to make hundreds to thousands of different drinks, and serve customers quickly in a high-volume environment. Bartenders made up 3.9 percent of food service employees in 2008, boasting over 373,000 workers nationwide. The occupation is expected to grow 6.2 percent from 2008 to 2018 (U.S. Department of Labor, 2009).
How Do I Begin Bartending?
Without bartending experience, it is unlikely that you will land a job as a bartender. You can start by getting into the business as a server, bar-back or cocktail server. Restaurant and cocktail servers learn to sell alcoholic beverages to customers, while bar-backs assist bartenders behind the bar. Both experiences offer a stepping stone to a career as a mixologist. The other possible route is to attend bartending school. These training sessions can cost close to $1,000 and provide you with essential knowledge, but this training doesn't guarantee you a job in the industry. Many bars and restaurants require that you become certified by Training for Intervention Procedures (TIPS) before tending bar. This program teaches bartenders about the responsible sale and consumption of alcohol to help prevent drunk driving, underage drinking and excessive intoxication.
The Life of a Mixologist: A Typical Day on the Job
You job as a bartender is part social and part sales. You must keep guests at your bar happy, engage them in conversation and treat your regular customers exceptionally well, but you are also selling a product. The more you sell, the more tips you are likely to make. If you are working at a bar in a restaurant, you must also fill drink orders for waiters and waitresses in a timely fashion. Bartending can also be a physically demanding job. You will be moving quickly in an environment where wet, slippery floors are common. You will also be on your feet for most of your shift.
Alternative Mixologist Careers: Where Can My Bartending Experience Take Me?
Some bartenders end up working for liquor companies or restaurants, conjuring up innovative new cocktail mixes and other alcoholic creations. Bartenders have also been known to transition to the sales or management side of the business, and others are intrigued by the science of beer, becoming master brewers. Your experience behind the bar could eventually lead you to many profitable and interesting careers in the hospitality industry.