Reasons for NOT taking an Online course:

NO LEGITIMATE CERTIFICATION:  My schools are licensed and regulated by state education agencies, so my certificate has credibility when you apply for bartending work.   Licensed schools adhere to State guidelines from proper facilities for training, such as instructors that have the experience to teach and job placement guidelines, and they are bonded to assure you that we will be here when you need us.

NO LOCAL JOB PLACEMENT:  I pay a full time job placement director who places my graduates, sets up appointments and interviews, provides private party and event work on a weekly basis (my grads get paid $20 per hour for these jobs). No matter what they say, you are on your own with a online course. Once they have your money and have sent you some drink recipes, that's it - basically, "Good luck and thanks for your money."

NO HANDS ON TRAINING, DRINK BUILIDING, OR POURING SKILLS:  So you know what is in a Margarita from reading the recipe. Okay, now get behind a real bar and make a real Margarita for me...what do you do first?  On the rocks, straight up, frozen, blended...which tequila do you use?  Triple Sec or Cointreau? If you don't know the answers, that tells you that licensed schools will provide you with the education and skills to really become a professional bartender and make some money. And that is only one drink out of 150 that you will learn at my schools. 

NO POURING SKILLS:  How do you to hold a liquor bottle so you pour the right amounts? How do you hold 2 or 4 bottles at one time? How do you pour 1oz, 1 1/4oz, 1 1/2oz or 2oz accurately? Can you learn these skills online? I don't think so.

PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE:  What is Dewar’s?   What is Grand Marnier?  What do the bottles and labels look like?  In my schools, you work with the actual bottles, so when you go to work in a real bar you recognize your product and feel experienced right away. This will not happen online.

I could go on and on but you get the point. Licensed brick and mortar bartending schools have been around for 40 years and there is a good reason that our programs work; you are trained to be a professional bartender and you are able to actually work and make money as one.

You get what you pay for. If you are thinking of bartending, do it right: visit our schools and make an intelligent decision based on facts. What have you got to lose? Tuition for most schools is very reasonable...graduates usually make their money back within 1-2 weeks of work. 

Cheers,

Jack McKim, Director