The time to complete bartending courses varies and can range between 30 hours and 6 weeks depending on the qualification, with a median time for completion of 2 weeks or 40 hours. The cost to attend most bartending schools is between $200 and $700 based on the credentials, with a median price of $500.
Many bartending schools offer lessons in almost 20 qualifications, with the most sought-after qualifications being Certified mixologist, Mixology Certification, and Bartender’s License.
Why Do People Attend Bartending Schools?
Career bartenders go to bartending school to know how to build, blend, and serve drinks at a bar to their customers. The majority of recognized bartending schools provide forty-hour bartending training. These courses can be completed in 10 four-hour sessions.
Students can get a taste of the industry before they acquire their certification by enrolling in classes at a bartending school.
The Cost of Attending Bartending School
The price of attending a bartending school, whether for mixology or a bartending program, is the first consideration for any prospective student. In comparison to other certificate programs, classes at a bartending establishment don’t require as much time. Taking bartending training can be completed in only a few weeks.
The cost of attending a bartending school is far less expensive than attending a certificate program at a university. The price ranges from $200 to $700 for a forty-hour bartending school course. The fees, enrollment, materials, and other supplies are all covered by the money you’ve paid.
Online Bartending Programs
However, costs range from $80 to $150 for online bartending classes. Materials, bartending equipment, and instructional films may or may not be included in these expenses. Online bartending courses should be approached with caution since many of them lack the proper state accreditation and licensing.
According to many, watching films and reading recipe books isn’t enough to teach bartenders the nitty-gritty of bartending.
Who Benefits from Online Bartending Courses?
The best bartending schools should feature on-site instructors who can illustrate and correct students’ mistakes. It’s best for folks who currently work as bartenders or waiters to take online bartending classes because they require a guide to practice on their own.
The Flexibility of Bartending Schools
Enrolling and paying for school at a bartending institution has the significant benefit of allowing students to take courses for as long as they need to polish their abilities and expertise. Moreover, this may be seen in the final exam that students must pass. In addition, several bartender schools offer their pupils schedule flexibility, making them perfect for those who have another job or might be in university.
As an example, someone who works as a server at night can take bartending training in the morning. Because of the program’s versatility in scheduling as well as payment, it is far less difficult to deal with.
Benefits and Drawbacks of Visiting Schools
People feel differently about whether or not bartending schools is a good idea. There are several bartenders as well as managers who believe that those who have received a certificate from an approved bartending school are better equipped than those who do not. Bartending can only be learned on the job, according to those who oppose attending a bartending school.
Somewhere in the middle of these opposing viewpoints is the genuine truth. A bartending school, on the other hand, teaches the fundamentals of bartending in a more methodical and orderly fashion. Bartending skills and formulas are explained in-depth, and a certificate assessment is performed after the course.
If you’re applying against those who didn’t go to bartending school, this can give you a leg up. Many bars don’t hire new staff because of this, so those opposed to bartending school have a valid argument as well.
Importance of Working up the Ranks in Bartending
People who’ve worked their way up the levels, from servers to bartenders to bar managers, are typically the ones they choose.
Practicing bartending in an actual bar is also necessary to develop your skills. You’d like to have a professional qualification and gradually build up while holding one, wouldn’t you? Your life will be much easier as a result of this.
Your ambitions should influence if you should register for a bartender course or not. A bartending program might just be the best way to get started if you’re hoping to land a job at a big bar and make a career out of it. You’ll be taken more seriously by establishments, and you can work as a waiter if you want.
A bartending certificate will help you land an interview or promotion to be a bartender.
What Can You Expect To Learn From a Bartending Course?
A bartending school’s curriculum is determined by the sort of school you choose to attend. Bartending courses can be taken from the comfort of your own home at any time. However, the greatest you can get will simply teach you the fundamentals of bartending.
Bartending is a physically demanding and time-consuming profession that necessitates extensive training and practice.
Courses in bartending can run as little as a few weeks to as long as five weeks, with lengthier courses providing a deeper understanding of the craft of bartending. For a few weeks, you’ll learn about bartending gear, how to create drinks, how to use a POS register, what kinds of liquors you should keep in your bar, and how to handle a bartender.
Other elements such as table service, bartending skills, and more complex beverage recipes are included in the more comprehensive courses. Some of these more advanced courses may need shadowing a real bartender at a real establishment. Attending a bartending program is best done in a physical setting, as this is where you’ll learn the most.
Even if they are cheap, online courses are not suggested for serious bartenders. Aside from their lack of state accreditation, they typically provide free online lessons that you may easily access. A physical bartending program can cost a fortune, so do your research to determine if the institution is accredited in your jurisdiction.
The Best Reason to Attend Bartending School?
You’ll learn a lot about the bartending industry as a result of attending bartending school. You can learn everything you need to know about bartending in just a few weeks.
- Menu engineering,
- Restaurant and bar technology,
- Audio-visual equipment
- Bar inventory management and other topics are taught in some bartending schools
The themes and responsibilities of a bartender that are taught in a bartending school are significantly more broad than those that are taught to new employees at a bar. In a bartending school, you’ll learn the following:
- Slangs and Jargon of the Bar
- To set up both the front and back bars,
- Maintaining and operating a bar’s equipment
- Drinking habits, history, and varieties of booze
- Keg sizes, styles, and varieties of beer
- Psychology of the buyer
- Regulations that apply to the industry
- Awareness of the dangers of alcohol
- Etiquette
- The use of physical methods, including simulation and practice exercises
- Maximizing the sales and gratuities of happy hour drinks by upselling
- Glassware
- Keeping the bar clean and in good working order
- Management of money
- What any bartender should know about mixing drinks, from the basics to the more complex concoctions
Experience From a Bartending School Counts
Being a bartender is the best way to gain bartending expertise. Although you can’t acquire a job without any experience, you can’t get any experience without being employed first! It’s time to go to bar school.
Using real liquor bottles of all sizes, you’ll have a blast imitating pouring, mixing, and creating cocktails. They can be filled with water, or they can be empty. It all comes down to the exercise.
If you can’t find a job as a bartender because no one wants to hire you, attending bartending school can help you land a job faster. If you decide to take an online bartending course, this benefit will be less accepted. With no real-time input, they’ll still cover the practical techniques like normal pours as well as how to pour beer.
Finding a Bartending Job after School
Helping new graduates put together a professional résumé, practice interviewing, and help them find work is common practice at many bartending schools. Even tricky bartender interview questions can be prepared with their assistance. The better a bartending school appears, the higher its rate of job placement is.
Therefore, make it a point of duty to check out the school’s accreditation before enrolling in its program.