You want to pursue your music, write your screenplay, or dance in front of hundreds of people—but you still need to make a living, right? Bartending can be the perfect solution, combining flexible hours and steady pay. Not only that, tending bar has so many facets, and each facet has its own set of transferable life and job skills.
Skills That Bartending Helps You to Build
Bartending really is a job like no other. You are working in a fast-paced environment which requires you to remember multiple orders and be ready for anything, as well as effectively communicate with others.
Working Under Pressure and Time Management
Working under pressure is a skill that bartending will teach you—and fast. You’ll not only need to recall drink orders, but remember who ordered them in the blink of an eye and without spilling a drop, all while staying calm and keeping a smile on your face. Not an easy task!
Bartending will also help you to master time management. You’ll likely be working strange and long hours, and may need to be flexible enough to cover more than one job at the last minute if someone calls in sick. You will also quickly learn how to serve many customers simultaneously.
Communication, Trust, and Loyalty
Communication is another skill you’ll learn in bartending. After all, it is a social profession. The picture of a bar patron sharing their sorrows with the bartender is a very real and frequent occurrence. The great thing about bartending is that you will be communicating with different people from different backgrounds not just every day, but perhaps even at every minute. And the more you do it, the better a communicator you will be.
You’ll also learn much about loyalty and trust in the role of bartender. You will be the one in charge a lot of the time, and so it will be up to you to earn the owner’s trust. You’ll also earn the trust and loyalty of regular patrons. As well, as time goes on you’ll find you’re increasingly loyal to your workplace and your role within it.
Self-Confidence
Few jobs will give you a better crash course in self-confidence than bartending. Customers expect you to know your job and get their orders right. Some may even entrust their deepest secrets to you, while others may do their best to cause trouble. Regardless, you must be prepared to handle any personality, order, or confession with confidence, authority, and grace.
Ultimate Flexibility
Despite its strange hours, unexpected situations and hectic pace, bartending will give you a wide range of freedoms. You will be paid an hourly wage, but the really interesting aspect will be the tips you receive. Unlike other jobs which limit your hourly wage, bartending gives you far greater control. You’ll be able to practice your music, write your novel, or paint your masterpiece with the flexible of your bartending job.
Go Anywhere
Once you become a bartender, you can be a bartender anywhere. This can open up a wide range of opportunities for you. Perhaps one year can be spent in a pub, and the next on a cruise ship. Attending bartending school in NYC can literally take you around the world.
Experiment to Your Heart’s Content
The longer you are a bartender, the more experienced you’ll become at making drinks. And the more experience you gain, the more creative you can get. This can mean inventing something entirely new, or simply bringing a classic cocktail back to life for a special promotion.
There’s Always Work
Job security is another benefit of bartending. Why? Because people will always drink, whether they’re having a good day or a bad one. As long as establishments exist for this purpose, bartenders will always be needed.
Training to be a bartender and getting your bartending license in NYC doesn’t take years, nor does it cost a fortune. Plus, the skills you’ll learn are what every employer is looking for, and putting them on your CV will put you at the top of the list should you go looking for another job. But with all the perks and benefits of bartending, why would you want to go anywhere else?