Drinknation Forums

[The Archvillain Bartender]

I've been asked recently if bartending school was worth it. I've never been to a professional school myself, so I wondered for those of you who had whether or not you thought it was worth the price?

[SwizzleStick]

Let me start by telling you that I am indeed a bartending school instructor. I currently teach at Cimarron College of Bartending in Oklahoma City, OK. I have been an instructor for just over a year now.

I have been a professional bartender for a dozen years. I have worked at restaurants, hotels, country clubs, high volume dance clubs and local pubs.

I was trained by Cimarron College about twelve years ago after trying the route of waiter and bar back. I soon realized that if I did indeed make it to bartender it would take a long time. Even then, I would only know a fraction of whatever the guy who trained me knew (which might not be much). So I looked in the phone book and saw only one school in Oklahoma. I paid $600 and took the 2-week course. Within a week of graduating I had a job at the Brass Rose restaurant.

Even though I worked a more "profession/traditional" job during the day, I have always continued to bartend evenings and weekends.

I started teaching because I love bartending and I am currently pursuing two more college degrees (journalism and criminal justice).

The debate on whether or not to attend a bartending school has gone on for years. Bartenders who never went to one will argue that school is a waste of time. Those that have been to a GOOD school will argue that without school they would not be a bartender today.

As with any school, there are good ones and there are bad ones. I can only speak for the one I attended and now work at.

Things I would look for when considering a school;
1. How many years have they been in business?
2. Are their instructors active bartenders or just instructors?
3. How many years of experience do their instructors have?
4. Will they let you sit in on part of a class to observe?
5. Will they let you retake the class in the future for free?
6. Do they offer REAL job placement?
7. Do they charge you or your employer for job placement?
8. Do they offer open lab times for current and former students?
9. Do they interview potential students before enrolling them?
10. Will they let you look through their teaching manual/book/materials etc.?
12. Do they offer financial assistance?

If the school lacks very many of the above, I would be hesitant to enroll. Some schools do very little teaching, base pass/fail on participation and will not let you take the class again for free.

There really are only 2 ways of becoming a bartender.
1. Start as a waiter or barback and try and move your way up.
The down side is that fewer bars use barbacks and there are probably several waiters ahead of you waiting for training. Also, the training will almost always be substandard.
2. You take a bartending course from a GOOD school and either find a job or be placed in one within weeks.

I never understand the arguements against going to a GOOD bartending school. As a matter of fact, I have never heard an arguement against bartending school that was realistic.

Yes they are expensive. We charge $900 and are one of the most expensive in the country. Our competitor only charges $650 - But I would put my graduates up against theirs any day of the week. I will not hesitate to fail any student that would not be a good reflection of our school. I fail about 1-2 out of each class (or I should say, they fail themselves).

If you have any questions about bartending school. Ask away and i will try and address them the best i can.

[DrDubbleB]

I just graduated on Friday from a bartending school, and I have to say that I (and my friends this weekend) think that it's worth it. I can't wait to get a job in the future; there are a few places I will check out myself before using the placement program. I agree with SwizzleStick though, the school I went to offers everything he mentioned, except for financial assistance (to my knowledge, they very well might, I did not ask).

[The Archvillain Bartender]

SwizzleStick, that's some good stuff. You should write it up as an article for your journalism class and get it published in an industry magazine It's a good summary of the issue, and I have to say I agree with all your points. I've never been to a pro school myself, but I certainly think it's worth it.

DrDubbleB, you'll have to let us know what you do with your graduate status. Good luck with a getting a job... tell us how it goes.

[SuperJeff]

I recently attended Cimmaron college.( I think swizzlestick was my instructor) and I can say that what I learned in two weeks seems to be more than the bartenders I have talked to. The range of drinks covered was so varied that I feel I could work in any situation. It took about a month to find a job but now I have two diffrent offers.
I would say it was well worth it.
Thanx Video Vigalante

[The Archvillain Bartender]

Nice! Congrats on the job offers, and props to SwizzleStick for his teaching!

[DallasJeff]

Hi. I graduated from bartending school about 2 months ago. Coming out of it, I felt very confident with my bartending skills. They did a very good job building my confident. I gained a lot of fundamental knowledge. However, when I started applying to jobs, and they asked me how much experience I had behind the bar... I was turned away very fast. I was told things such as "We're looking for someone who has 6 months experience behind a bar", and other things. At bartending school they told us that's when you should give them a good speech and trying to sell yourself, and ask for a chance. I didn't feel comfortable doing that during my interviews. One place gave me a quiz on some drinks, and my bartending school didn't teach us them. That detered them from hiring me too in my opinion. After trying to apply to those jobs, I finally called in a favor from my friend who owns a really big night club in Dallas. The owner wasn't able to give me a bartending position right away, but he started me off as a busser and told me that I will work my way up. After 2 months of bussing, I was moved up to barback (where I am now). During the 2 months of bussing, and the few weeks I've barbacked, I've learned a LOT more about working behind a bar than bartending school taught me. However, I feel that the bartending school gave me a very good fundamental understanding of mixology that allowed me to learn the ropes very quickly. Also from going to bartending school, I knew a lot of the popular drinks. Right now I'm bartending on slow nights, and still learning a lot. My main conclusion is that after going to bartending school, I was not ready to be a competent bartender. A place should only hire a bartending school graduate if they're willing to give the student a lot of training, and accept the fact that the new employee will be very slow at first. There are so many little things that they do not teach in bartending school that would inhibit performance when actually working behind a bar. The instructor of bartending school makes it seem that there are hundreds of jobs that can be gained immediately, but that is not the case. It takes either connections, great luck, or an extraordinary personality to get a bartending job with little experience. I think bartending school is best to give a person fundamental understanding of mixology, which makes training easier (once they are a barback or waiter).

[NataliasGoneCrazy]

I agree with DallasJeff totally. I've worked as a bartender for 3 years and never went to school for it, and I'm pretty damn good at it! You cant really get anywhere with bartending without genuine "behind the bar" experience. A friend of mine went to bartending school about a year ago, spent 700 bucks, and she's a secretary! The school just gave her a listing of available jobs. You can get that anywhere, just open the newspaper or get online.

[AlabamaSlammer]

After reading the post by DallaJeff, it gives me doubts on going to a bartending school or not.

I'm from San Francisco and I was thinking about going to a bartending school to learn how to bartend and aquire a nightly, second job (living in San Francisco can make anyone poor), but after reading the last two posts, I don't know now.

Do you all think it's worth it or not? I'm willing to pay the tuition fees, but if I'm not going to learn anything, or get a job for that matter, I'd rather not waste the money.

Do any of you know of any bartending schools in San Francisco that are any good?

[Darteagle]

I would say that your best bet is to get a job in a bar, barbacking if possible, and learn from the bartenders there any chance you get. Good bartenders appreciate good barbacks that make their job easier and should be willing to give advice whenever possible. Bartending school can get your foot in the door, but it cant compare to actual behind the bar experience, even if its only barbacking and learning from the people that actually work behind the bar on a regular basis.
As another poster said, a really good bartending school should prepare you to be a bartender, but the simple fact is that most dont. Most schools, while fun, dont teach you what you need to know to step in and be a competent bartender, but it might get your foot in the door and allow you to learn from there.
FYI, Ive bartended for 5 years and started off as a barback, I work at a nightclub with 8 other bartenders and none of us went to bartending school, although we have cycled through some bartenders that did go to school, and couldnt keep up.
My point is that to be a good bartender takes experience, and a two week class isnt going to completely prepare you for the fast paced bartending jobs that pay the $$$ that the schools advertise that you will make. If you do decide to go to bartending school keep this in mind, odds are you wont jump into a $200 a night job, so dont think the investment will pay off immediately. Be patient, good bartenders dont become that way overnight.

[turbosaleen]

I never went to a school and I have worked with people that have. I always have to help train the new bartenders and I will say it is easier to train the ones that have attended a school (most of the time).......
I will say this is a subject that will be very back and forth on feelings about it.. just like politics

[Janova]

Hey guys im a new to the site but i have been thinking about bartening for a while and i found this site pretty useful i think. Anyway i am a college student in FL and i was thinking that the best job for a college student would be to bartend i mean come on. I was debating whether or not to go to bartending school because i know some people who have worked behind bars or own clubs and so forth so i think i can get a job without it so i was hoping that this thred could help me. Any sugestions??

[Shippe]

You’re best bet is to do this free online bartending course, to test your potential bartending skills:-

http://www.freebartendingschool.com/

& if you get the hang of the theory side of tending, try getting a barback job in a well established & fully functional bar in your area to learn the practical side from the ground up.

[turbosaleen]

I just read the free bartending test and I can say
PLEASE don't tell me that is what they teach in schools and make people pay money to learn... If so then bartending is like street smarts.. The longer you do it or the longer your on the streets the better you will be.....
BTW just my opinion!!!!!

[missvaniitee]

I have been considering applying for bartending school here in chicago. Anyone who knows the windy city knows about the night life! anyway i frequent this club in the downtown vicinity and after talking to some of the bartenders i decided to pursue it. now the only thing that i was concerned about was the cost of the course cause its a little expensive for me, but i really want to bartend and would really like your opinions. after reading some posts i am confused about whether the schooling actually does help or not. I dont have $800 to just throw away but i also would like some hands on training. what do you guys suggest?