TheGuyWithTheTacoma
Well-Known Member
Working as a barback/errand runner/personal assistant at a bar/music venue was my first real job. I got that job in December 2014, and if you'd have told me just five years earlier that I'd be working in a bar and enjoying it, I'd have laughed in your face.
From 2006 to 2009, I had three different jobs, all of which were through my school's special education department. The issue with this program was that most of the students in it were lower-functioning, and a good number of them had intellectual disabilities (like mental retardation and Down Syndrome). As such, the job coaches and other people were used to dealing with subservient lower-functioning individuals. Applying the same tactics to someone like me was a recipe for disaster, but that's another story.
I spent the first half of my twenties in college. I finally got my driver's license in 2011, at at the age of 22. I got a job at Dunkin Donuts in October 2013, but quit after like three weeks without giving my two weeks notice. I left Dunkin Donuts largely because...
I worked at a deli for three or four hours in November 2013, but left after realizing the boss was a jerk.
I had been hanging out this venue called Puck since the summer of 2010. My friend's band played their quite often. The woman who end up hiring me moved here from Nebraska in late 2010 and took a job at Puck as the assistant manager in April 2011. The story of how we met is one hell of a story in itself, but I'll get to that later. She was general manager by the time we met. Now, keep in mind that she started working there in April 2011, and I got my driver's license a month later. I'd had my license for at least a couple months by the time I met her, so it was sometime in the summer of 2011.
I started coming to Puck more and more, and the new GM took a liking to me. She even started letting me into shows on weekends without paying the cover charge! In October 2012, she bought a puppy. I'd lost my dog almost three years prior and was going through serious dog withdrawal. The GM said I could drop by her apartment anytime to walk the dog, named Tully after, and I gladly took her up on that offer. In exchange, I got free food and drink in addition to the cover charges being waived. In November 2012, the GM invited me to her 24th birthday party.
Towards the end of 2014, having seen me struggle to find and hold down a job, she asked me out of the blew if I wanted to come work for her. You better believe I said yes!
She paid me out of pocket at first, and I was essentially her personal assistant. It was only was supposed to be for a summer, but towards the end of 2015 she decided to keep around and officially added me to the payroll. My official position was barback, but I was more of a runner. I was the guy with the pickup truck who ran out and got things like liquor, ice, and various supplies at a moment's notice.
The problem is that I enjoyed that job a bit too much. In addition to a decent paycheck, a 10% cut of the bartenders' tips on busy nights, I also got all the food and beer I could ever want, and access to shows for free. However, the GM herself even told me that this was a dead end job. She made great money, but she had a special talent, a gift...
Barbacking is great first job, and also an excellent source of supplemental income when you have a career, but you generally don't make enough for it to be your soul source of income as an adult. You definitely can't mortgage a house on a typical barback's salary. I now see the indefinite closing of the bar as a blessing in disguise.
I worked at a bar not because I specifically loved working at a bar, but because the atmosphere was fun. I loved all my coworkers and they loved me. I was respected and appreciated (sure, I'm respected and appreciated at my current job, but it's much more slow-paced than working at a bar).
From 2006 to 2009, I had three different jobs, all of which were through my school's special education department. The issue with this program was that most of the students in it were lower-functioning, and a good number of them had intellectual disabilities (like mental retardation and Down Syndrome). As such, the job coaches and other people were used to dealing with subservient lower-functioning individuals. Applying the same tactics to someone like me was a recipe for disaster, but that's another story.
I spent the first half of my twenties in college. I finally got my driver's license in 2011, at at the age of 22. I got a job at Dunkin Donuts in October 2013, but quit after like three weeks without giving my two weeks notice. I left Dunkin Donuts largely because...
- I made less than $9 an hour
- I had to be there at 7am
- None of my coworkers spoke English as a first language
I worked at a deli for three or four hours in November 2013, but left after realizing the boss was a jerk.
I had been hanging out this venue called Puck since the summer of 2010. My friend's band played their quite often. The woman who end up hiring me moved here from Nebraska in late 2010 and took a job at Puck as the assistant manager in April 2011. The story of how we met is one hell of a story in itself, but I'll get to that later. She was general manager by the time we met. Now, keep in mind that she started working there in April 2011, and I got my driver's license a month later. I'd had my license for at least a couple months by the time I met her, so it was sometime in the summer of 2011.
I started coming to Puck more and more, and the new GM took a liking to me. She even started letting me into shows on weekends without paying the cover charge! In October 2012, she bought a puppy. I'd lost my dog almost three years prior and was going through serious dog withdrawal. The GM said I could drop by her apartment anytime to walk the dog, named Tully after, and I gladly took her up on that offer. In exchange, I got free food and drink in addition to the cover charges being waived. In November 2012, the GM invited me to her 24th birthday party.
Towards the end of 2014, having seen me struggle to find and hold down a job, she asked me out of the blew if I wanted to come work for her. You better believe I said yes!
She paid me out of pocket at first, and I was essentially her personal assistant. It was only was supposed to be for a summer, but towards the end of 2015 she decided to keep around and officially added me to the payroll. My official position was barback, but I was more of a runner. I was the guy with the pickup truck who ran out and got things like liquor, ice, and various supplies at a moment's notice.
The problem is that I enjoyed that job a bit too much. In addition to a decent paycheck, a 10% cut of the bartenders' tips on busy nights, I also got all the food and beer I could ever want, and access to shows for free. However, the GM herself even told me that this was a dead end job. She made great money, but she had a special talent, a gift...
Barbacking is great first job, and also an excellent source of supplemental income when you have a career, but you generally don't make enough for it to be your soul source of income as an adult. You definitely can't mortgage a house on a typical barback's salary. I now see the indefinite closing of the bar as a blessing in disguise.
I worked at a bar not because I specifically loved working at a bar, but because the atmosphere was fun. I loved all my coworkers and they loved me. I was respected and appreciated (sure, I'm respected and appreciated at my current job, but it's much more slow-paced than working at a bar).
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