Bartending Salaries & Tips - How Much Does a Bartender Earn?
Bartending
has reached a record level of popularity since the movie Cocktail, starring
Tom Cruise, and the long-running Cheers television series have shown that a
bartending career offers excitement, challenge and good clean fun.
Bartending - A Recession-Proof Career!
Bars are always busy. People enjoy the bar atmosphere
when they are celebrating good times, or to lift their spirits during
the bad times. With this in mind, bartending has been referred to as a
"recession-proof" career.
A career in bartending offers so many choices -- so many
built-in-benefits -- that hundreds of people are giving up traditional
careers, or augmenting their income with part-time bartending work
Wages and Tips - How Does That Work?
Typically,
a bartender earns a low hourly salary of $5.00 to $8.00 per hour, plus
tips.
Tips are where a bartender earns the majority of their income. Studies
have shown that a bartender's tips should be equal to 2 to 4 times their
hourly salary. As an example, if a bartender earns $6.00 an hour base
pay, their tips should average out to $12.00 to $18.00 an hour in
additional income.
A bartender in an average bar will typically earn $15.00 $30.00 an hour
between their wages and tips. A bartender in a high volume establishment
or resort area can earn $50,000 to $75.000 per year.
A bartender is required by law to claim their tips as income. The
establishment withholds taxes on these tips just like normal income, so
a bartender should not owe money at the end of the year if they claim
the correct withholding exemptions.
The secret to making the most money as a bartender is to work in a bar
that is busy, serve as many drinks as you can while providing good
service, and get the best shifts by being polite, professional, reliable
and honest.