Jobs After Waiting Tables: Alternative Careers for Bartenders and Servers

Bartending isn’t always a forever job and that’s okay. Whether you’re feeling ready for a new challenge or just looking to move beyond late nights behind the bar, there are plenty of alternative paths out there. In fact, the skills you’ve developed, especially if you've completed TIPS certification training, can open the door to opportunities both inside and outside the hospitality industry.

In this blog, we’ll explore how those skills translate, what to consider when making a career change, and which jobs are a natural fit for former bartenders and servers.

What Transferable Skills Do Bartenders Have?

When considering a career change, one of the first things you should do is take stock of your “transferable skills.” Transferable skills are things you’ve practiced in your current job that will remain valuable in a different job, industry, or setting.

The great news for anyone looking to make a career change from bartending is that bartenders and other servers have a variety of valuable, transferable skills.

The versatile competencies you’ve developed can make you a highly desirable candidate for many jobs if you know how to sell them the right way. Let’s break down just a few.

Customer Service 

As a bartender or server, you interact directly with customers in a high-pressure environment, which has almost certainly helped you develop strong customer service skills in areas like communication, problem-solving, and conflict resolution. 

This really beefs up the list of possible jobs for former waiters or bartenders – many higher-paid jobs still have customer service components where you’ll be able to lean on those skills.

Multi-Tasking 

As a waiter, you must often juggle multiple tasks, such as taking orders, preparing drinks or food, and handling payments. Your working memory and ability to shift gears are well-developed. You can apply multi-tasking skills to most careers. 

Attention to Detail 

In the service industry, even small mistakes can significantly impact the customer experience. Bartenders and servers must develop strong attention to detail to ensure that orders are accurate and customer needs are met.

Time Management 

In busy restaurants or bars, you must be able to manage your time effectively to keep up with the demands of the job. Many alternative careers – in hospitality or out of it – can benefit from a “time to lean, time to clean” work ethic. 

Teamwork

In food service, you’ve had to work with other employees closely to ensure that everything runs smoothly during a rush. This has given you well-developed teamwork skills like communication, collaboration, and cooperation.

Networking

We’ve been focusing on transferable skills that you’ll use on your next job, but you also have an important skill you can use to land one! Since socializing with people is an integral part of your job, chances are you already have a solid network of acquaintances. More importantly, you know how to connect quickly with new people.  

Which Benefits of Bartending & Serving Would You Like To Keep?

When considering what jobs are similar to bartenders, it’s a good idea to break down the benefits and aspects of your job. Knowing what parts of your routine you’d like to keep or ditch can help guide you toward the best choice of a new career for you.

Here are a few angles to evaluate.

Earnings Potential

Getting tips on top of your base pay may be a part of your food service career that you’ve enjoyed and valued. If a tipping job is important to you, you might want to take a close look at alternative careers in hospitality, entertainment, or other types of service.

On the other hand, it can be a good idea to take a close accounting of your average total pay and look for jobs where the base pay will be at least as much. If your tip game has always been weak, looking for a job with higher but more predictable pay may be a better strategy in the long run than hoping your next job will result in bigger tips.

Scheduling 

Food service jobs supposedly offer “flexible” scheduling options, but they’re often the kinds of flexibility that aren’t on your terms.

If you think keeping a “flexible” schedule is important to you, think about the specific aspects of your current schedule that are important to you. Do you prefer working nights? Being able to pick up extra shifts when needed? Being able to swap with coworkers on short notice? Pin down your preferences so you can try to keep what you like and avoid what you don’t.

Informal Work Environment

Is the relatively informal environment of bartending one you enjoy? Whether it’s the lax dress code or reduced formality, it’s worth considering which potential roles will afford you similar working conditions.

Fast-Paced Environment  

Every day in restaurant or bar work is a new adventure, and some people thrive on the chaos and pressure. If that’s you, you’ll want to look for a dynamic work environment in your next job.

Alternative Careers for Bartenders and Servers 

Anyone looking for alternate jobs for servers and bartenders can take heart in knowing that there are many potential careers that will draw on your transferable skills or share benefits with your current job.

Here are some of the leading alternatives. 

Restaurant Manager

Many restaurants prefer to promote internally. Therefore, your experience working as a server or waiter may offer more growth opportunities, allowing you more chances to reach management roles in your current company or in the restaurant industry. 

If you love the food service industry but you’re looking for more stability, more responsibility, and more pay, this may be the option for you.

Sales Representative 

The social skills you gain from bartending or waiting tables can help you succeed as a salesperson. Consider options in either retail or business-to-business (B2B) sales and find an industry where you’d be excited to focus your energy. 

Customer Service

Bartenders often make ideal candidates for customer service and client support roles. This can include anything from call centers or retail to account management at a higher level. 

Event Planner 

If you’ve enjoyed working events like weddings or business functions as a server, you may want to consider a pivot to event planning or management. While still a fast-paced environment, your role would be more to delegate versus doing things yourself.

Personal Assistant

Your strong time management, organization, and communication skills are valued for roles as personal assistants to busy professionals or executives. 

Administrative Assistant

Your customer service experience, multi-tasking abilities, and attention to detail can make you invaluable as an administrative assistant.

If you’re looking for alternative careers in hospitality, consider a job as a hotel receptionist or concierge. If you’re looking to break into another industry, there are plenty of opportunities in healthcare, business, and more.

Next Steps for Changing Your Career

You’ve already begun the first step toward a career change – gathering information on potential jobs and thinking about what fits you best. Hopefully, we’ve given you some helpful suggestions and food for thought on how to ask the right questions.

Once you’ve narrowed things down to some interesting options, you should do some research on the qualifications you need, like gaining additional career training or licensing.

Next, you’ll need to create your resume. Remember to highlight your transferable skills and accomplishments. You’ll also want to leverage these in your job applications and interviews.

Ways to Up Your Bartending Game

If you’re not quite ready to make a career change from bartending, you might choose to simply up your game in alcohol service. There are many ways to do this. You could up the fun by looking for jobs in other environments like hotels, resorts, or cruise ships. You could up your income by moving to a ritzier establishment. You could up your expertise by specializing in beer, wine, or liquor.

Regardless of how you continue, you’ll need to maintain your knowledge of alcohol laws and improve your skills in responsible alcohol service. TIPS can help! Our online courses are state-specific and often approved for use in regulatory compliance. You’ll brush up your knowledge of how alcohol affects the body and learn strategies for avoiding illegal alcohol sales. Training your whole team? TIPS Pre-Paid Passports make bulk alcohol safety certification simple, efficient, and easy to manage. Head to our website to enroll today!