Bartenders in the Big Apple (New York, York: sales, mover, how much)

[newmover0000]

Hi, im 25 and am planning to move to NY to be a bartender

My plan is to work in NY and get some experience bartending and try to save enough money to move to L.A about a year later.

why NY first, because you dont need a car in the big apple it will save me money because i wont have to buy a car. what i want to know is how much they earn and how much tips they get

also their are lots of jobs for people without bar experience.if yuo have anything you want to add about NY or the west coast or even L.V feel free.

i look forward to hear from you.

[NJ Chutzpah]

If you are a Hawt chick you will make money anywhere

Especially bartending in manhattan

Competition is fierce, and cost of living is so high, having a car will not really offset much

Better to bartend at night, and have a day job

[slowloris]

competition is ruthless. I know a lot of real attractive girls who are great bartenders that have issues getting steady work.

[drkman]

It seems to be easier for a pretty woman to get a bartending job in Manhattan without experience. If you can luck up on getting a job in one of the "in" spots, then you can make a good amount of money during your shift. Personally, I would bartend as a second job and have something else that is bringing a steady income while gaining experience as a bartender. Not only must you learn on the job but you are in a better position when you have a steady clientale that looks specifically for you. Since you are only planning to be in New York for a year that is really not a lot of time to build up a clientale base and to become a really good bartender, so if money is the motivating factor, bartend but explore other options as well.

If you are a guy, it seems to be a little harder to get a bartending job as some bars will want you to be a bar back while you are learning the art of bartending. If you are a buffed dude and not inhibited, you may have luck in the gay or gay friendly bars, as well as the bars that cater to a twenty something crowd. For a guy I would suggest the same thing as I stated earlier. Make bartending a second option until you gain experience. Bartenders come and go in some of the places at an amazingly fast frequency.

Best of luck to you.

[newmover0000]

hi all thanks for your posts. just a few things

im a man, i never taught that would make a difference

and do and of you have experience bartending or are you writing what you think it would be like

[stevey]

I'm a New York bartender. Been working in the field about a year and a half to subsidize being a student, if only a little bit. Being a guy makes ALL the difference and having experience is ABSOLUTELY necessary - or the ability to lie about it is.

Out of every 5 bartending jobs that you'll see on craigslist, 3 of them ask for women only. The work is hard to get, basically. You're better off trying to work for a catering company - even there, you're not guaranteed steady work and the pay is subpar, by bartending standards. I worked three gigs with a catering company in a span of about 3 weeks and only walked away with a paycheck for 280 bucks. I lucked out and got a steady gig with a catering hall. However, I've met a whole lot of people who aren't so lucky. Here's the straightest answer you're going to get - if you're not good looking and/or charismatic and quick on your feet, you won't get a job.

Experience is ABSOLUTELY necessary. You can't just walk into a bar, say you like drinking and that you'd like to work there. Many restaurants and bars look down on you even if you don't have NYC experience. You might be able to get a job at a chain place, maybe as a waiter, but in New York, it's all about how fast you can move and how much you can do - and how long you've done it. You can lie about it, but when push comes to shove, if you're not pulling your weight and doing what you have to do, you're out the door. They will not train you.

Sorry man, but unless you've got an in bartending somewhere, I'd hesitate to put all your eggs in a hopeful basket. Those jobs where they say you don't need experience? Likely that they're bartending schools that will make you pay for training and then hire you to their own catering company. Bartending school students are not the hottest tickets on the block. Unless they're hot.

[newmover0000]

thanks stevey
well ihave experience in sales so i guess what ur sayin is stay at that as a main job and try for bartending seperate.
sure ill see when i get to NY if i have to ill do the bartending school

[NooYowkur81]

Originally Posted by newmover0000

hi all thanks for your posts. just a few things

im a man, i never taught that would make a difference

and do and of you have experience bartending or are you writing what you think it would be like

It makes a huge difference. For men it is much harder just to find a job in bartending.

[stevey]

Be careful - I did bartending school and lucked out, but for many, bartending school can be a big ol' waste of money. Seriously. You wouldn't be guaranteed work. It'd be best to get some on the job experience where you're at right now. I mean, it sucks to have to stay where you are to get experience but it's worth considering. Also, line up a job before you get here. It'd be damn near impossible to line up a bar job, but try and line up a sales job. They're opening up a new mall uptown on the FDR drive, you might want to try and get some contact information there.

But back to bartending. Look at any ad on craigslist - most of them say 'bartending school graduates need not apply'. It's a profession where you have to work your way up, and getting a spot at the bottom of the ladder is freaking hard.

It's everybody's dream to come to New York and work in these interesting professions, but it doesn't work out like it does in movies. Trust me. It's who you know and if you come to New York without any contacts in the industry, you're fairly screwed.