Quote:
Originally Posted by Avaritia
Do you have any friends / contacts in the service industry op? How does it work over there with wages/tipping?
Tipping is quite rare in Australia. We might tip a waitress by letting her keep the change when we buy a drink, but that's about it. I probably averaged less than $2/hr in tips as a pizza delivery driver for over 4 years. Also it's illegal for gambling dealers and cashiers to accept tips.
Minimum wage is around $18/hr and you typically get penalty rates for working at undesirable times (after midnight, on weekends and on public holidays), which means you might actually average around $25-$30/hr for many service jobs. I received less than that though.
The downside though is that the economy isn't great at the moment, so many jobs are quite competitive. A lot of young people want to work as bartenders, for example, but only the most social and most attractive looking ones will get hired.
I have a few friends that work as poker dealers, bartenders and waiters/waitresses. They do alright for themselves. Many of them drive BMW's, go overseas every year, etc.
But a good poker player should be able to earn more than a poker dealer or bartender imo. Plus we don't have to pay tax on gambling winnings.