If you want to become a bartender, you will need to attend a bartending school. While attending a bartending school, you will learn how to mix and prepare a wide array of alcoholic drinks. You will also learn other skills necessary to become a successful bartender, such as how to properly store alcohol and care for the glassware used for the drinks.
If you live in a large city, there is likely to be a bartending school nearby for you to attend. If you live in a smaller city, however, you may need to travel in order to attend a bartending school. Increasingly, it is also possible to learn how to be a bartender by attending a distance education bartending school.
If you decide to become a bartender by attending a distance education school, you may complete the course entirely online, or the school may send videotapes of the classes to you. In order to get the feel of being a bartender, however, it is important to get hands-on experience at a real club, tavern, bar, or other institution that serves alcoholic beverages and requires a bartender. In order to gain practice as a bartender, the school you attend may help you set up a type of internship with a nearby bar, tavern, or club. This is not always the case, however, and you may be expected to establish this arrangement on your own.
In some cases, it is possible to be hired as a bartender without first attending a bartending school. It is still necessary to undergo proper training before working as a bartender, however. In this case, the employer may provide training for you and several other new employees who have been hired as bartenders.
There are several additional characteristics that are necessary to become a successful bartender. For example, you need to have excellent customer service skills. You will also need to be able to communicate with customers who have been drinking heavily. In order to prevent liability for the establishment, you might also be responsible for telling customers they cannot have any more to drink if you have determined they have already drunk too much.
