Learning to bartend can be a smart way to boost your earning potential. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, bartenders enjoy relatively high levels of employment across every state in the nation. Taking a bartending course can thus ensure you’re always able to find a job, regardless of where you live.
However, taking a traditional in-person bartending course isn’t the only option available to you. You might instead consider taking an online bartender course. The following guide will explain the reasons doing so may be the right option for you.
Reasons to Take an Online Bartender Course
Finding a quality in-person bartender course in your area that matches your schedule and budget might prove difficult. Luckily, in the digital age, learning new skills via the internet is quite common. According to McKinsey, rates of enrollment in all types of online courses have increased substantially in recent years.
An online bartender course could offer several benefits you may not have considered. They include the following:
Choosing the Ideal Instructor
When you take an in-person bartending course, you must accept certain limitations. For example, you don’t have the freedom to choose any instructor you wish to learn from. Instead, you must choose from the instructors in your area. You’re out of luck if you believe none of them are qualified to deliver the quality training you’re seeking.
Such geographical limitations are non-issues when you take an online bartender course. Choose to learn bartending online, and you can take a course with an instructor who makes the right impression on you, regardless of where they may live.
Setting Your Own Learning Pace
You may have a busy lifestyle. Finding time to attend live bartending classes can be a major challenge if so.
This is another problem you don’t need to concern yourself with if you learn how to bartend via the Internet. Although there may be some exceptions, typically, when you take an online bartender course, you get to set your own pace of learning.
Online learning naturally allows you to fit the course into your daily schedule more easily. It may also allow you to spend more time digesting what you’ve learned before moving on to the next lesson.
Saving Money
It’s not uncommon for online courses of any kind to be more affordable than their in-person counterparts. Because educational institutions and instructors don’t need to pay as much for physical space, they can pass the savings on to their students.
You’ll also save money taking an online bartender course by not having to spend money traveling to and from classes. Between gas prices and wear-and-tear on your vehicle, attending live bartending classes may involve additional costs you haven’t considered.
Comfort
You may enjoy a bartender course to a greater degree when you can take classes from the comfort of your own home instead of traveling to them. If you’re more comfortable and have a generally positive attitude during a class, you might be more likely to retain what you’ve learned.
The Opportunity to Practice
Depending on the nature of the online bartender course you enroll in, you may need to buy certain supplies for your own home to complete certain lessons.
This may add to the cost of a class at first. In the long run, though, buying these supplies will help you optimize your bartending skills.
When you take an in-person bartender course, you may only be able to practice what you’ve learned during lessons or at your current place of employment if you’re already a bartender. Neither of these options is ideal.
If you can only practice your skills during lessons, the amount of time you have to develop said skills is limited. If you’re practicing new bartending skills while at work, you run the risk of upsetting customers, your employer, or both, particularly if you haven’t perfected those skills yet.
Being able to practice in your own home is a much better option. Both during and after a lesson, you can practice what you’ve learned virtually as many times as you wish, allowing you to take full advantage of a class.
Impressing Employers
True, an employer who appreciates the fact that you took the time to enroll in bartending school may not care very much whether you took classes in-person or online. They might simply find it impressive that you care enough about your work to take a class on the subject.
Just remember, when you take an online bartender course, you have the option to search for a course that will genuinely deliver a strong return-on-investment. If you take a mediocre in-person course, your employer won’t stay impressed for very long should they learn that you didn’t actually learn much from the class.
On the other hand, perhaps you took the time to find a reputable online course. In this case, you may have developed the types of skills that a potential or current employer will find truly remarkable.
Expanding Your Perspective
Sometimes, in-person bartender courses focus on helping students develop the skills necessary to make the types of drinks that are most popular in their geographic areas. That’s a significant limitation if you think you might plan to work somewhere else in the future.
An online bartender course may offer you a broader perspective. By learning skills that may apply in other settings, you can be confident your skills will transfer should you ever move.
Cultivating these skills could benefit you even if you don’t relocate. If you have skills and insights that many bartenders in your area lack, you could stand out among the competition when applying for jobs. You may even be exactly what a potential employer is looking for if they want their bar to be unique for the area.
Protecting the Environment (and Yourself)
Not all the benefits of enrolling in an online bartender course relate to your career. Others may simply appeal to your values.
Like many, you might be the type of person who strives to minimize your carbon footprint. This is another reason to consider attending bartender school online instead of in-person. You’ll consume fewer resources if you don’t have to travel to classes, knowing you’re doing your part to protect the environment.
To some extent, learning how to bartend online may also keep you safer. Yes, as a bartender, your job will require you to work around people, but as you prepare for your career, taking classes online can minimize your chances of getting sick from one of your fellow students. You don’t want to miss a valuable lesson because you caught someone else’s germs!
Networking Opportunities
Attending in-person bartending classes may give you the chance to network with people in your area. However, because you may move some day, it might be more helpful to make professional connections with people from other parts of the country. An online bartender course gives you an opportunity to do so.
Choosing an Online Bartender Course
Clearly, taking an online bartending course offers several benefits. That doesn’t mean all online bartending courses are equally beneficial. To choose the right course for you, keep the following tips in mind:
- Determine whether you wish to take a general bartender course, or whether you’d like to take a course that allows you to specialize in a certain aspect of bartending.
- Set a budget and look for a course that you can afford. Just remember, spending more money on a reputable course instead of spending less on a poor-quality course will pay off in the long run by improving your earning potential.
- Check for reviews to find out what past students have to say about a course before enrolling in it.
- Make a list of must-have qualities for an online bartender course. For example, perhaps you’re specifically taking an online course instead of an in-person one because you want the option to set your own learning pace and review course materials whenever you wish. Find a course that fulfills these types of goals and expectations.
- Find out if a course offers a license or certification. Although technically there are no universal licenses or certifications that bartenders must have, earning one can nevertheless make you more attractive to potential employers.
- Learn what types of supplies you may need to purchase for a course. These may add to the overall cost.
Finding the right bartending class for you can help you earn more money as a bartender over time by adding to your skillset. Luckily, it’s no longer necessary to take in-person bartending classes. Take an online course, and you can get the same (or better!) education that you could get elsewhere, all while enjoying the many unique benefits covered here.