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Thread: Take the job... or dance?

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    Moderator Aurora_Sunset's Avatar
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    Default Take the job... or dance?

    So my current vanilla job as a server was ok while it lasted, but the place was mostly a summer resort that was planning to stay open during the winter for the first time... buuuut 3 weeks into that little experiment, they realize it’s not working and the restaurant is only open on weekends now anyway, with me getting about 20 hours and making maybe $50-60 in a 12-hour shift... so not worth it and definitely not enough to keep me afloat. So I was preparing to go audition at a club about an hour away tomorrow night and just go back to dancing. But I was also applying for bartending jobs, as I went to bartending school a few months ago and have been upset that I couldn’t put it to use. Unfortunately, the bartending school I went to is in the city an hour away, so the only job listings they post on their website are for the same city, and the bartending jobs around here are about as worthless as my current serving job... I got an interview the other day at a really nice hotel up in the city, the guy said that I would have to start as a server to learn the menu and system and work up to bartender but that I would make $80-120 a shift regularly, even as just a server. I know it’s not “stripper money” but it’s still way better than making half of that in a double shift, like I’m doing now, and I’m sure the bartenders make more. But he was hesitant about hiring me because I have such a long drive, and he didn’t want to hire me only to have me leave a couple months later when I decided the drive wasn’t worth the money, so I figured it was a lost cause and wasn't holding my breath. I got a message from him today asking if I was still interested in the job.

    I really do want a bartending job, and since I’ve had no luck in my town, the city an hour away is really my only bet, and I’m thinking the bartender at this hotel probably makes really good money... on the other hand, he’s right that I really don’t want to drive all the way there and back 5 days a week - especially since “working up to bartender” could mean a few weeks to... never, if they later decide they don’t need any other bartenders. So I could be stuck driving all that way for a stupid serving position forever. If I danced, it’s the same drive, but I’d only have to make it 2-3 days a week, depending on when I worked and how much I made, and I’d definitely be making more than I would at the other job...

    I don’t know what to do... I spent a lot of money on bartending school and have been dying for a job in it, but this isn’t exactly a real bartending position right off the bat (if it was, I'd take it), and I don’t want to waste my time on something that may never happen and then end up doing as the guy feared and quitting after a few months because I don’t think the commute is worth it... but I’d feel kinda stupid giving up the only real offer on a job that could lead to bartending that I’ve gotten in 6 months to go dance instead, especially since I've been telling everyone how I'm trying to get a bartending gig. I’d rather bartend than dance but in this situation, I feel like it might actually make more sense time/money-wise to dance instead of doing the “legit” bartending job... But I’d still feel dumb giving it up. Blah! What would you do? I need to figure out by tomorrow whether to call him back and accept or call him back and deny and then go audition at the club...

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    Default Re: Take the job... or dance?

    I'm driving an hour one way four days a week for school right now, so I can tell you that that kind of commute gets old very quickly. To me, 80-120 a shift isn't worth the two hour commute, but that's in part because my car gets pretty bad gas mileage. I couldn't deal with the restaurant scene long term, but all of my friends who have been employed at them for longer periods of time have said that it's often a totem pole sort of situation in which the newest employees are not offered the best positions until they have put in the time. However, in Texas, bartending school is not required to become a bartender, so depending on your state's requirements, getting that training on your own can give you a leg up over the competition, and being an attractive female isn't going to hurt your chances either...

    Is there some way you can work the club 2-3 days and then find a bartending job closer to your home? That way, you're working on your bartending experience but still bringing in enough money to finance your lifestyle. There's not a lot of money in serving where I live (similar situation as yours), but there are a lot of shittier bars around town that will employ attractive younger females to bring in more men during the week. Also, if you're not in classes right now, you could check restaurants that have bars and see if you can fill in any spots behind the bar now that many younger people are back in classes during the daytime hours.

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    Veteran Member The_Ecdysiast's Avatar
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    Default Re: Take the job... or dance?

    Wow, Aurora I also attended bartending school back in April of this year & have been aching for a bartending gig as well. I've done work for a catering company & private parties, but really would like an actual bar, or club. I also work as a waitress, along with stripping.

    Honestly though, at my server job before this one, they actually hired me from my BARTENDING school and said I'd only be serving 1-2 weeks just to get familiar with the restaurant, etc...cool, I understood. One week turned into 2, and 2 weeks turned into a month, and so on. Then guess what??? They bump ANOTHER server to bartender instead of me - I was PISSED & decided to leave. So my $0.02, don't waste your time. Now if it was barback, or cocktail waitress, some type of support bar staff, I'd say think it over....but other than that, it's not worth it.

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    Default Re: Take the job... or dance?

    Quote Originally Posted by tuesdaymarie View Post
    I'm driving an hour one way four days a week for school right now, so I can tell you that that kind of commute gets old very quickly.
    That's what I'm worried about. If I was pulling in stripping money, I wouldn't mind the commute 2-3 days a week, but I kinda hate serving as it is, so I feel like I'd really hate driving all that way to deal with a job I hate in the vague hope that they bump me up to bartender. And since he specifically brought up his worries that I'd leave shortly because of the commute, I'd feel really shitty doing exactly that...

    Quote Originally Posted by The_Ecdysiast View Post

    Honestly though, at my server job before this one, they actually hired me from my BARTENDING school and said I'd only be serving 1-2 weeks just to get familiar with the restaurant, etc...cool, I understood. One week turned into 2, and 2 weeks turned into a month, and so on. Then guess what??? They bump ANOTHER server to bartender instead of me - I was PISSED & decided to leave. So my $0.02, don't waste your time. Now if it was barback, or cocktail waitress, some type of support bar staff, I'd say think it over....but other than that, it's not worth it.
    Thank you for your story! This is exactly what I'm worried about. Even at my current job, all the bartenders got hired as bartenders right off the bat and there's a guy there who's been there about 3 years as a barback and really wants to be a bartender. But they've been training 2 girls who were servers the past year to be bartenders instead and they don't need him... just because one of the girls is a bartender's sister and the other girl is the bartender's best friend so she basically got them the job. I'm worried something exactly like this would happen to me...

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    Veteran Member innes's Avatar
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    Default Re: Take the job... or dance?

    Do you have the option of moving at all? I have an hour transit ride to get to work, I work 3 or 4 days a week. It's a long ride BUT I know I'll be moving closer next May so it's kind of like ... okay, I can live with it for now. I'm not sure your living situation so I don't know if that would work but if you can see yourself moving, and kind of see the end of the hour long one way commute then it might work out okay.

    I'd say go for it. Yeah, if you quit right away you'll feel bad about it, but there is always that possibility.
    InnesX

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  9. #6
    Moderator Aurora_Sunset's Avatar
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    Default Re: Take the job... or dance?

    ^^ Yeah I was thinking of moving up there next year, but my lease here just started. I won't be out of it until July. That's still about 9 months of making that drive - and through all the winter months too...

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    Default Re: Take the job... or dance?

    I used to commute from Colorado Springs to Denver to dance, and during the winter months that drive easily turned from 60-90 minutes to 90-120 minutes. Even with stripper money ($200+ per shift) it wasn't worth it to me.

    Plus, serving sucks, and unless they PROMISE you, guarantee you, a job bartending in the near future, I wouldn't do it.
    "You can close your eyes to reality but not to memories -Stainslaw J. Lec

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    Default Re: Take the job... or dance?

    It doesn't seem worth it to me. I can't even justify the commute where I live to a bigger city to dance...because even though the economy sucks in the strip club where I work in a small town, it isn't THAT much better two hours away...not enough to justify all the gas money. Maybe if I just went up for the weekends or something, but that doesn't work with my schedule currently. I am planning on moving up there soon, though, so that's something to look forward to!

    Good luck with whatever you decide to do - commuting is rough!

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    Default Re: Take the job... or dance?

    As far as the true costs of commuting one hour guess 100 miles round trip 4 days a week, even with 25-30 mpg you're still out $40-$50 a week = $2000 - 2500 a year for gas alone. You're also racking up 20,000 miles per year on your car ... which indirectly 'costs' you an extra $2000 a year in rapid depreciation of resale / trade-in value. And you can probably throw in another $1000 at minimum for tires, brakes, oil changes and other normal 'mileage related' auto repairs.

    So you're talking about 'investing' $5000 a year or so in AFTER TAX money to commute this far. This means that, depending on your effective tax rate, you'd need to earn an additional $6000 - $7000 a year ( = $120 - $ 130 per week ) in order to just 'break even' on the long distance commute. And that assumes that nothing 'unusual' happens with your vehicle that could lead to a whopper of a towing charge on top of an expensive repair. And that also doesn't assign any 'value' to the two hours out of every day that are 'wasted' while driving.

    However, many people don't think of any of the related costs except the gasoline because it is the only 'immediate' expense ... and wind up being surprised when they 'suddenly' need new tires, new brakes and rotors, etc. as well as receiving a greatly reduced resale / trade-in value when their high mileage car develops 'major' repair problems prematurely and needs to be replaced. They also don't think of the secondary costs arising from spending two hours a day on the road i.e. restaurant food instead of cooking, convenience store shopping instead of planned 'bargain' shopping, extra money spent on 'stress relief' activities etc. These secondary costs don't seem like much, but an extra $30 a week spent on fast food / restaurant food, an extra $15 a week spent on higher priced convenience store items, an extra $25 a week for a 'stress relief' related R&R on your days off etc. does add up.

    IMHO from the financial side alone the additional earnings potential to justify a 100 mile round trip commute would have to be at least an extra $200 a week to make it worth thinking about. And if your planned commute involves travelling alone on desolate roads at odd hours, there's another set of 'risk factors' to consider i.e. what are your options if your car quits on the side of the road on your way home after 'closing time' ?

    ~
    Last edited by Melonie; 10-03-2011 at 10:26 PM.

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    Default Re: Take the job... or dance?

    ^ that's why it's good to invest in triple A esp since recently they're offering discount/sales offers


    Op, if I were u I'd try out the restaurant. If u really want to dance and the dancing $ in the city is lucrative, is it possible to do a little of both? 2-3 nites a week of dancing, and 2-3 waitressing shifts? And don't feel bad if u DO feel the need to quit a few months from now. Most restaurants have high turnover. I had a manager at a chain restaurant say the same thing to me, that he didn't want me being a flight risk (since I had appeared to him as a somewhat "job-hopper" due to quitting two prior restaurants in less than a yr due to moving and/or tips business going sour), but when they screwed me out of tables, tip earnings ended up being terrible, and I found myself disagreeing heavily with their tip/tax reporting policy (they wanted me to report more $ than I actually made just to save there butts, NO WAY!!), I felt free to quit and persue that salaried "real" career job offer that finally came about.

    Oh and I say try the restaurant becuz u never know, it might work out and/or prove more enjoyable then ur current waitressing job. Also it's good to have a vanilla job on the side so there arent holes in ur resume, ESP since u might want consistent work experience to show a bartending position somewhere else if such an opportunity comes up.

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    Moderator Aurora_Sunset's Avatar
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    Default Re: Take the job... or dance?

    Thanks for the replies and insight, everyone! I did end up taking the job. I asked if it would be possible for me to work doubles 2-3 days a week rather than have to commute 5 days, and he was hesitant since they're such long days (but, duh, I know they're long days), but said it would be up to me after my first couple initial weeks of training. We were also talking about me moving up to bartender, and I think because he's so aware of my long commute, that he'd be more willing to move me up - especially if I started expressing concerns over the commute - because he knows the bartending position would fit me better (12 hour shifts while making way better money than the servers, so I'd only have to work 2-3 days a week without working 16 hour doubles). So, I think I have a good shot of moving up to bartender if I show I'm a good worker, and a couple months down the line, bring it up in regards to my commute. And he even said that if I tried it and it didn't work out, I would just have to tell him and work out the rest of my week, and as long as I didn't leave him high and dry, it would be fine. So now I don't have to worry about royally pissing him off and "betraying" him if I leave and live up to his fears.

    So... we'll see how it goes. If things go well and I move up to bartender and like it, I can always do the commute for the rest of my lease which is less than a year, and then move up there. If not, well, at least I'll have a few weeks of making way better money than I am now to pull me out of the low-money situation I'm in right now.

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    Default Re: Take the job... or dance?

    I hope everything works out, Aurora & that they move you up to bartender fast! Good luck

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