income for bartenders in raleigh nc area?

[tatumford12]

Originally Posted by ntwrkguy1

I know several bartenders that work on Glenwood, and I would say they are earning in the ballpark of $60k, if not higher. But you're going to need to find a high-volume bar to do that. And it doesn't hurt that two of the female bartenders I know are ridiculously good-looking.

I owned a high-volume bar at one point in my past, and had bartenders that would generate $400-$500 in tips a night. Sure, EVERY night wasn't like that, but that was typical for Thurs/Fri/Saturday nights.

If you are in the right environment, with the right skill set, $30/hr x 40 hours a week is not out of reach.

would you mind telling me what bar your friends worked at?

[Monsieur Boston]

This is a sweeping statement for sure, but I'd be surprised if any bartender (or anybody paid in cash) knows exactly what they make every year. I'm slightly doubtful that every penny is reported to the IRS.

[glazersight]

Originally Posted by tatumford12

would you mind telling me what bar your friends worked at?

I wouldn't target a specific bar / club or restaurant. Glenwood south is a downtown area with lots of clubs and bars, most that come and go, changing names and owners pretty regularly. I would consider the general area as one big place of employment for service industry work.

And yes I can easily believe 400-500/night on busy nights, but as was pointed out this is only going to be 2-3 nights a week, some weekends not hopping like others, then take into consideration scheduling is up to the owner with regard to how many other bartenders you're sharing the crowd with and how many of those prime nights you're able to work. Then factor in all the closing/reopening/change of ownership stuff and you can't assume you'll be working every weekend of the year, or at the same bar from year to year.

On the other hand I have heard of situations where a bartender has stayed in a location for a decade or so. I don't think that's the norm.

Good news is that adjusted for cost of living, $45-50k here is probably about the same as $60k in Seattle, so I don't think your overall lifestyle would change no matter what.