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The great thing about bartending is that it brings in extra cash, which all of us need from time to time. Many people are lured into bartending jobs by the promise of being in the limelight of every party and the central focus of everyone who wants to have a great time. Yet, you also have to take into consideration the negative aspects of this job that you may not enjoy quite so much. Bartenders do have to do unpopular things sometimes, such as working the late nights while others are partying and cutting off drinkers who have had too much.

Think about the negatives of becoming a bartender such as how stressful it can be. Think about it, and realize that you will have lots of customers who will need to be served immediately, but you will also have a boss who wants and needs you to bring in money. You will have to tell customers when they have had enough – even if they don’t agree with you and want more.

As a bartender, you have to rely on your memory a lot. There will be multiple customers before you at once and you have to remember what they each ordered. You will have to remember how to make a wide variety of drinks on the spot and you will be required to memorize pricing for the bar you work at. Then there is the issue of underage drinkers, which you have to constantly be looking for if you want to keep your job. Finally, never forget that bartenders largely work for tips and those tips are not always as large you may want to believe. In fact, some bartenders make very little money at all.

While mixing drinks doesn’t seem like a demanding job, it does require a lot of skills. You will need excellent communication skills to deal with customers and math skills to add up the tab for each customer and quickly hand back the proper amount of change. You will also have to work with others behind the bar, especially when there is a large crowd around the bar area. Finally, your personality has to be considered. A great bartender is someone who can remain calm under any amount of pressure and who can keep a smile on their face no matter how they may be feeling inside.

Choose a bartending school that is right for you and where you can start to learn drink combinations immediately. Going to bartender school can be the difference between making and breaking your career. Many bartending schools can teach you in under a week with seven hour lessons per day.

Having a certificate from a well-known bartending school allows you to have the advantage when it comes to looking for a job. You must know how to mix drinks, the different bartending tools used and which glasses are used for what drinks.

Obtain a job as a barback or waitress if you decide to skip school as this may be the only way to gain experience and note it on your resume. If you get a job as a barback, which is a bartender’s assistant, you’ll learn the ropes quickly and prove that you know your stuff. This can make you a bartender in no time.

On a final note, whether you attend school or not you will have to get a license if your state requires it. Go online and check your state’s guidelines. If you do need it, the test can often be taken online.

One of the myths of getting bartending jobs is that you need to know someone. Well, now you do. Brian has helped people from coast-to-coast learn how to become a bartender and get their first bartending job.