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 Message 20244 of 22774 in Behind the Bar
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Subject: Should I go to Bartending School if I'm already bar backing?
From: Cameron MD
Posted: Tue Dec 18. 2007, 10:11 UTC
I've been bar backing at a wedding/banquet place for a couple of months. I 
know my way behind the bar pretty well now and know how my bar works. The only 
thing I don't know is how to make drinks. I've been reading a bartending book 
that came out last year trying to learn drinks, and have been using Bar Sim, a 
computer program, to help me learn drinks as well. My boss has also started 
quizzing me on what are in drinks when there aren't any customers.

Most of the threads on here shit on people that go to bartending schools, but 
one of the bartenders at my work that just got hired went to a school and said 
that the place he went was really good for learning drinks. One of my bosses 
said I should go to a school to learn drinks and so that I'll have that and a 
good amount of time bar backing on my resume when trying to get a second job. 
I only bar back part time at the place I work at now and I'm having trouble 
even finding another bar backing job (I got this one through a family 
connection).

I'd like to make a full time career out of bartending and eventually try to 
move to a major metropolitan city near me and work as a bartender at night 
clubs and upscale restaurants. I know I need to start networking with 
bartenders in my area and getting more jobs, but I still don't know how to 
make drinks well enough to even cover for a bartender if they need to go to 
the bathroom (I thought I could last weekend, the first person that came up to 
the bar asked for an apple martini and I had no clue what to do, I do know but 
that was a real kick in the teeth).

The bartender at my work that went to the school also said that the place had 
a good job placement program, but I know he got the job at our bar through a 
family connection. So I was wondering how reliable the job placement would be. 
I know most schools say they CAN'T guarantee job placement but usually have 
90% placement right out of the school. Are schools usually reliable in getting 
even another bar backing job right after graduating?

So, when it comes down to it, I want to go to a bartending school to learn 
drinks, for the job placement, and just to have it on my resume that I made 
sure I had everything down pat before I started serving the drinks. Do you 
think it is worth the 400 - 500 dollar investment?


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