Dave,
I have been a bartender for several years in Clubs, Ski Resorts and now in
Casinos. I started by attending a bartending course, spent several thousand
dollars and learned alot..personally.
The question you have to ask yourself is what kind of bartender do you want
to be or rather where do you want to work. The small clubs that I applied to
right out of School didnt want a school trained bartender for two reasons,
first; They think that they know everything. I did, I knew how to order
liquor, design a bar, fire codes for bars, everthing execpt what to do when
you have 50 people screaming at you to get them their drink. second; smaller
bars and clubs want to train you for their place, their way. The Ski Resort I
worked asked me several questions about the school I went to, asked about the
type of classes that were offered and what my GPA was.
If you know nothing about drinks, service and bar operations... go to the
school, but depending on where you want to work, add or subtract it from your
resume'