Where a bartender can go next
12 destinations recorded, ranked by how much of the target role a bartender already meets. The closer to the top of Table 1, the less there is to learn.
Bartenders serve alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks as requested by clients in a hospitality service bar outlet.
Also known as bar keeper, barman, bar woman, bar staff.
Service and sales workers 38 skills on file 12 career moves 1 above 60% overlap Closest: cocktail bartender, 74%
- 70% and above · short step
- 50 to 70% · real move
- Below 50% · substantial retraining
Table 1 · Within reach
Table 2 · A bigger jump
Possible, but expect real retraining rather than a sideways step.
- barista 45% covered · difficulty 56.3
- quick service restaurant crew member 38% covered · difficulty 61.6
- sommelier 33% covered · difficulty 63.6
- waiter/waitress 30% covered · difficulty 76.2
- hotel concierge 27% covered · difficulty 65.3
- quick service restaurant team leader 24% covered · difficulty 71.8
- night auditor 24% covered · difficulty 67.9
- hospitality establishment receptionist 22% covered · difficulty 76.3
- head sommelier 21% covered · difficulty 78.4
- venue director 20% covered · difficulty 80.8
- head waiter/head waitress 16% covered · difficulty 86.6
Table 3 · What the job itself asks for
A bartender needs 21 required skills and areas of knowledge. These 10 are the ones fewest other jobs share, so they say the most about the work.
- serve beers assisting and caring
- clear the bar at closing time assisting and caring
- display spirits communication, collaboration and creativity
- handle bar equipment assisting and caring
- maintain bar cleanliness handling and moving
- present drinks menu communication, collaboration and creativity
- setup the bar area assisting and caring
- stock the bar handling and moving
- enforce alcohol drinking laws assisting and caring
- prepare hot drinks assisting and caring
Table 4 · Jobs that lead here
The reverse view: occupations whose skills already cover much of what a bartender does. The figure is how much of this job each one brings.
Look up another occupation
Bartender is filed under Service and sales workers, ISCO major group 5. The full index lists all ten groups.
How these figures were compiled
Overlap is how much of the target role is already part of a bartender’s work. It is directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. Every entry above opens the full comparison for that move: what carries over, what is missing, and where to start. The full method.