It sounds like a great job – hey, what’s not fun about making drinks and small talk – but bartenders find precious little satisfaction in their work, at least stateside, according to this article (thanks to M-Dawg for the link).
Bartending ranked among the 10 least gratifying jobs, with only 26 percent of mixologists surveyed reporting the job as “very satisfying” (laborers, except construction, ranked as the least satisfied, at 21 percent, while clergy and firefighters were at the opposite end of the spectrum, at 87 and 80 percent respectively).
In a way, I guess it’s not surprising that bartenders might be dissatisfied as they have to: 1) listen to many patrons gripe about their jobs and thus start to wonder about their own, 2) handle mafan people like me and my friends, and 3) watch as bar-goers add Sprite to a 100-dollar bottle of wine. Wait, I think I’m getting my countries confused here….
Beijing bartenders have it the worst. No tips, little chance of moving to an ownership position (with some exceptions that prove the rule), and an unruly crowd–both local and expat.
Hence my new rule–no more making friends with Beijing bartenders. Eventually they tell you how unhappy they are, which makes drinking not so fun.
Hi YX,
A few bartenders make it out and open their own places – like Echo and George did at Q Bar – but it’s not an easy job, that’s for sure.
Cheers, BB