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08-06-2010 , 09:30 AM

Grandezza

adept

Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 912

Are these worth the money and do they give you a reasonable chance of getting a job as a bartender afterwards? I live in Copenhagen Denmark fwiw, but would also be interested in chances of working abroad.

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08-06-2010 , 09:47 AM

Coff

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 8,929

Maybe it is different overseas, but in the States it doesnt help at all. I had thought about it at once but applied for a bartending job first just in case and I got it. As a first time bartender you might have to deal with the crappy shifts like lunch and tuesday nights for a little while, but as you improve youll get better shifts.

Or as people quit which is inevitable in that industry.

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08-06-2010 , 10:01 AM

Grandezza

adept

Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 912

So how do I get a better bartending job than I have right now? Right now i wait tables and tend a bar but only get to make cocktails weekends. Its all about networking or what?

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08-06-2010 , 10:21 AM

RoundTower

ɹǝʍoʇpunoɹ

Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 14,562

totally depends where you are. In urban Australia it's virtually necessary, in the US it's virtually irrelevant. Ask someone in Denmark in the industry.

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08-06-2010 , 10:26 AM

torq

grinder

Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 470

I can only answer in the US, but here bartending school is more likely to work against you than for you, at least on paper. It may help a bit in the real world, but don't ever tell anyone you went to a school to learn how to bartend.

I do not know about Denmark, but I imagine bartending there to be remarkably different. You really need advice from a bartender in your region.

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08-06-2010 , 10:33 AM

MacGuyV

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 22,298

I don't know much about the business but anyone I've ever asked about this says it's worthless, as others have said. Most get into it by barbacking, or they lie and say they have experience. Of course it helps to be a hot chick.

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08-06-2010 , 10:59 AM

RacersEdge

banned

Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 14,282

right - I have yet to meet a bartender who went to a school for it in the US.

I wonder what keeps these bartending schools in business here - maybe high end bars require some kind of training?

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08-06-2010 , 11:04 AM

loosekanen

USA#1, Oh Yeah!

Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 27,838

Obviously just lie and say you have experience. Read a book on bartending and make flash cards and practice the most popular drinks. If you can make the 20 or so most popular ordered drinks to a reasonable standard you can easily get by lying and saying you have experience.

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08-06-2010 , 11:05 AM

loosekanen

USA#1, Oh Yeah!

Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 27,838

Quote:

Originally Posted by RacersEdge

right - I have yet to meet a bartender who went to a school for it in the US.

I wonder what keeps these bartending schools in business here - maybe high end bars require some kind of training?

Advertising. People just go and assume they'll be placed in a job afterwards. I mean, you need school to become a doctor so obv bartenders do too amirite?

Either that or they're too lazy to learn the skill set on their own.

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