mike geary: i want to change careers into bartending i live in San Francisco, California what certifications are well respected in California? is it something i can do online? i was led to believe i can get a cert for around $50....is this true?|||Sweetroll is absolutely correct! Here's a little secret bartending schools don't tell you... NOT ONE STATE REQUIRES BARTENDERS TO HAVE A BARTENDING CERTIFICATION/LICENSE! It's BS. You do, however, have to be a certain age to do so. (P.S. please never use the word mixology/mixologist. It's pretentious & unnecessary.) There are people who make drinks & there are bartenders. Bartenders take the time to learn the craft. They learn wine, beer & liquor making processes besides drink recipes. I honestly believe any goon can make a drink, but a bartender will take the time to learn the origin of drinks & history of alcohol in general. If you're serious, I recommend picking up a few cocktail books and studying them thoroughly. Buy pourers and practice your pours (using an empty bottle filled with water.) Learn different wine making processes, differences between beers & learn the different types of spirits and their uses in cocktails. Learn how to properly serve wine (pairing, presenting bottle, whom the serve first, etc.) Also, learn to upsell. I would recommend you start out as a server first. Most restaurants promote bartenders from within and don't hire bar school grads because a LOT of information they are taught is incorrect. The majority of bar school grads I know are not bartending and the majority of bartenders I know, did not go to school. We started serving (or even hosting) and worked our way up.|||You don't need to be certified in CA. Don't go to one of those dumb schools either. They dont teach yo any thing. Establishments don't hire anyone from these schools. You don't get a good gig right away. Try working as a bar back and pay attention.