Bartending School....worth it?

I'm thinking about going to bartending school. Its just a 40 hour course spread over 2 weeks and its about $500. I'm seriously thinking about going, but I also work at a resturant that always boasts about "promoting from within". However I think its going to take me forever to become a bartender there. Anyway, has anyone ever taken a bartending course and have been treated seriously when looking for a job? I really want to take it, but I don't want to waste my money. I'd hate to put down the money and no one hires me.

no.

its a scam.

just buy the books.

Oooh, I've been interested in this as well. Can you really get hired from just reading the books and practicing at home, or do you need some sort of credential? Because I make a mean mixed drink, but I don't have any papers to back it up.

It's like any other hardcore job. Just read the books, practice at home. Then show off your skills during the interview.

Cool cool. Yeah, I've never worked anything other than retail. Every bit of advice helps!

[Edited on Mar 22, 2006 by _DictionaryGirl_]

I took a bartending school at my college. It was especially helpful in securing catering jobs on campus, but it also seemed to impress restaurants when I was applying for serving positions. But I never actually tried to get a full-on bartending position.

go to the school of busting your ass as a barback until someone quits or gets canned.

It's 2:30am and I have been reading Law and Economics theory for eight hours.

Oops.

I've known a handful of people who've gone to bartending school only to try to get a job and be told they have to "work their way through the ranks." It definitely falls under scam when it comes to situations like that. Just easier to get a job in a bar and work your way up.

just go hang out in a bar long enough to...
know...
i'm sorry... did you have a question?

Like teaching someone to play duck hunt on nintendo, then throwing them in the middle of world war II.

That's what I say.

Check out the Bartenders group, there's several threads about it. The consensus among the pros is that it's pretty pointless.

Nimmers are you saying that I wouldn't be an excellent war sniper? Because I'll have you know that I get 10000 points every time and I always stand with my gun at least a foot away from the screen!

This is what I would do.

I went and it was good to get tip certified and all the other stuff needed certification here in MA, but I ended up learning more as a barback. If you have the cash, do both, I say.

Imagine the booze you could buy with that $500 and the fun you could have with that two weeks.

Errr...you don't know what you're talking about.

sure he does!

Damn, wish I'd thought of that.

I spent $300 and it took 4 years for the "certificate" to pay off. Honestly, I did learn a lot in the class but it really didn't help me get a bartending job. Well... helped a little tiny bit. 4 years later.

i have a bartending degree from a school... and honestly all it does is looks good on a resume...

they want real experince from a bar...

but if you have server experince they like that and they are more willing to do it if you have both the degree and the server exp...

or you could just get a serving job, then ask to barback and get trained up. I learned by doing, and though I can't make all kinds of fancy drinks, I'm more likely to get another job tending bar than someone who came from a bartending school, mostly because I can handle the rush without getting flustered, and I don't act like a know-it-all (most people I've encountered from schools tend to think they know what they're doing after bartending school, but really, they are only able to make fancy drinks on a slow shift).

You know a good place to start if you can? Any B.D.'s Monoglian BBQ that has a bar, because you can start as a server train as a bartender, get one or two bartending shifts a week. You won't get the tips that most bartenders do, because people generally don't sit at the bar unless the place is packed, but you'll get the same wage as the kitchen and cook staff, rather than a server's wage, plus tip share, plus any tips you do get.

Apparently an excellent way to meet women, so i'm told.

Take all the money you considered spending on bartender school and use it to buy the most expensive bottle of scotch you can find.

GO.

this is a smart man.