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Bartenders

How to become a Bartender

Makes cocktails and serves other drinks to customers' orders at the counter of bars and pubs.

Main tasks

Workers in this job say high school is common. From job tag's survey of people in each job, who could give several answers. It shows what workers see as common, not how many workers hold each level.

How to become one

No particular education or qualifications are needed to start. To become a bartender, you can study bartending at a vocational school and then find a job, join a hotel and move into bartending after doing various jobs, or gain experience while working at a bar. It takes a certain amount of experience to become a fully skilled bartender. At vocational schools you learn the knowledge bartenders need and practical skills such as shaking. There are qualifications such as the bartender skills certification exam recognised by the Nippon Bartenders Association. Some people aim to win prizes at skills competitions and cocktail contests. One goal for many bartenders is to open their own bar.

Ways in

Pay · Job openings · AI and this job

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Bartender?

No particular education or qualifications are needed to start. To become a bartender, you can study bartending at a vocational school and then find a job, join a hotel and move into bartending after doing various jobs, or gain experience while working at a bar. It takes a certain amount of experience to become a fully skilled bartender. At vocational schools you learn the knowledge bartenders need and practical skills such as shaking. There are qualifications such as the bartender skills certification exam recognised by the Nippon Bartenders Association. Some people aim to win prizes at skills competitions and cocktail contests. One goal for many bartenders is to open their own bar.

How much does a Bartender earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥3,790,800 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Food and drink preparatory workers, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become a Bartender?

Usually not. In this job's census occupation group, only 24% of workers are university graduates. Ways in include: Junior college (短期大学) programme.

Will AI change the work of a Bartender?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 解説系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_description_7_01.xlsx）ver.7.01 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 簡易版数値系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_numeric_7_00.xlsx）ver.7.00 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

Sources: JILPT Occupational Information Database download data via job tag (解説系 ver.7.01 and 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00, downloaded 4 October 2026), processed by Peernovo; MHLW, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025; Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2020 Population Census; MEXT, School Basic Survey 2025; MHLW, Employment Referrals for General Workers (Hello Work statistics). Figures processed by Peernovo. English job names, translations and the matching of jobs to statistical groups, schools and degree fields by Peernovo.

Updated 4 October 2026