New York Bartending School

What exactly is a ’Bartending License’ and do I need it to get a job as a bartender? A Bartending License (also referred to as Bartending Certification) is NOT required to work as a bartender in most states!  So let’s clear this up once and for all! All bartending schools MUST be licensed by the state (in NYC the New York Bartending School is licensed by the NY State Department of Education). For more info you can click the link below: http://www.highered.nysed.gov/bpss

Bartending Schools that are not licensed by the State Education Department are closed down after the Education Department gets wind of them. Unlicensed schools don’t put any money into their schools in regards to facilities, equipment, training and resources; because they know that their time in the bartending school business is limited on how fast the education department acts to close them down. Often unlicensed bartending schools try to skim around this law by calling themselves agencies and associations. In regards to the bartending certification, all State licensed trade schools offer a certificate (diploma) as required by the State Education Department. Unfortunately due to every Tom, Dick and Harry issuing bartending certificates without any real training, it has little meaning to most employers. You can even get a certificate on-line for under $50, not that it will do you any good; please don’t go waiving it in front of the manager when you go looking for a job, unless you want to be laughed out of the bar. Don’t forget, a bar manager will ALWAYS try an applicant behind the bar before hiring, regardless of experience. A good place for the on-line bartender certificates and all other diplomas from unlicensed scam bartending schools is the bathroom wall!

Certification is not required by law in most states; however, that it does not necessarily mean that is not a requirement by some establishments, for example, we are finding that at our South Florida bartending school location (New York Bartending School of South Florida) an unusual amount of owners/managers are requesting certification for new employees. Not sure why! Exceptions aside, in general, a certificate is not going to help you land a job in most establishments, and especially here in New York. Certification is only as good as the training you received from the school you attended; certification without the necessary training is like rowing a boat without a paddle).  So what’s my point?  When looking at bartending schools, don’t think ‘certificate’, think ‘TRAINING’…..because that’s what is going to land you that bartending job! The certificate may help, quite often it will not! Personality, knowledge, confidence and efficiency behind the bar are the attributes that the manager/owner is looking for in a bartender. Bartending is much more than being able to make a few drinks! Bartending schools have received a lot of bad publicity in the past, and most of it is simply due to licensed bartending schools with poor training (unfortunately just because a bartending school is licensed does not mean that they provide quality training), scam fly-by-night schools (unlicensed bartending schools; they move on and change their name after they have been closed down); college/university bartending classes - students sitting at desks while an instructor make as few drinks is not exactly hands-on training; on-line bartender certification training (certification hype; zero hands-on training), and job leads that do not exist.  No you don’t need a license to bartend! What you do need is the right training! So do some research when choosing a bartending school. Makes no difference if a school has been around for 30 years or 1 year, it’s all about the training. Copyright © 2008, New York Bartending School, Inc