What sort of $$$ for J1ers?

RATM

Just wondering if anyone who has done the J1 before and worked behind a bar or waiting tables what sort of $$$ was your hourly rate ? And how much on average did you clear a week on tips ?

Neamhshuntasach

Depends where you are going. The minimum wage varies state to state and a tipped minimum wage can be lower than a normal untipped wage or federal wage. Some bars/restaurants pay as low as 3 or 4 dollars an hour if your earn tips. I know California is now 8 dollars an hour as a minimum but law allows you to be paid less if you earn tips. Tips all depend on the place you are working at, how good you are at doing your job, how friendly you are and what nights of the week you are working. When i was a barman over there some nights i earned in excess of 100 dollars in tips and some i'd only earn 40. The place i worked at had servers who brought drinks down if the person who ordered them at the bar couldn't carry them. I got tipped but had to tip the servers who thank fukk only worked weekends. My hourly wage was 4.33 i think. I quickly gave it up cause it wrecked my head working till after 2 every night and the wages was so sporadic. It would be till after 4 if in NY or any other state with closing times later than 2. The worst part about the late night is that the bar could be empty during the week as 2 is the closing time every night in Cali.

RATM

Thanks for the heads up . I guess the trick is to find yourself a bar where they dont have servers and you clear everything for yourself? Im guessing the busier the place the better as more drinks served means more tips? Was it an Irish bar u worked in and also do you have to know a lot about cocktails ?

RATM

sorry I should say re:cocktails- I mean just a regular bar, not a city center flash joint. Do u need to know how to make cocktails in just a regular suburban bar?

Neamhshuntasach

No it wasn't an Irish bar but a lot of Irish came into it. The Irish wouldn't tip that much and i can't blame them because we do be out drinking more than the average American, especially when it feels like your on holidays. You'd be out almost everyday and tipping all the time would cost you a fortune. I made most of my money off Americans. You just have to be vigilant and remember who is tipping you as in order to get them to continue you can throw them a free bottle of beer or a free shot now and then.

When a place is busy yeah as a rule you make more tips. But some nights i'd have got a small crowd who would sit around the bar and tip a dollar nearly every 2nd drink or so. I remember one Tuesday i was on my own in the place and cleared 80+ bucks in tips. It was from a group of New Yorkers over in San Diego for some college thing. So it's hit and miss but generally weekends are your biggest tip earners.

I didn't work in a big fancy bar and in the 4 months or so i worked there i never got asked to make any cocktails out of the ordinary. Only simply ones like sex on the beach and long island iced teas and such. They are handy enough to make and you don't need to be throwing the shaker around like some of them do. I was asked at the interview could i make cocktails and i just told them i can make the basic stuff but i'm a fast learner.

RATM

Neamhshuntasach wrote: »

No it wasn't an Irish bar but a lot of Irish came into it. The Irish wouldn't tip that much and i can't blame them because we do be out drinking more than the average American, especially when it feels like your on holidays. You'd be out almost everyday and tipping all the time would cost you a fortune. I made most of my money off Americans. You just have to be vigilant and remember who is tipping you as in order to get them to continue you can throw them a free bottle of beer or a free shot now and then.

When a place is busy yeah as a rule you make more tips. But some nights i'd have got a small crowd who would sit around the bar and tip a dollar nearly every 2nd drink or so. I remember one Tuesday i was on my own in the place and cleared 80+ bucks in tips. It was from a group of New Yorkers over in San Diego for some college thing. So it's hit and miss but generally weekends are your biggest tip earners.

I didn't work in a big fancy bar and in the 4 months or so i worked there i never got asked to make any cocktails out of the ordinary. Only simply ones like sex on the beach and long island iced teas and such. They are handy enough to make and you don't need to be throwing the shaker around like some of them do. I was asked at the interview could i make cocktails and i just told them i can make the basic stuff but i'm a fast learner.

Cool man that clears it up for me a bit better. Im gonna try for a bar job, not sure where yet, hopefully somewhere with loads of rich heads to fire the greenbacks ( I reckon its a better laugh just working in a regular boozer )

sharkDawg

A couple of girls I went over with, were waitressing, they're atual wage was virtually non existant but they used to bring home around $1000 in tips weekly! The only real downside is that they were working evenings, nights and at the weekends too when the rest of us were out enjoying ourselves. We were in NY so you might not get as much elsewhere!

Neamhshuntasach

sharkDawg wrote: »

A couple of girls I went over with, were waitressing, they're atual wage was virtually non existant but they used to bring home around $1000 in tips weekly! The only real downside is that they were working evenings, nights and at the weekends too when the rest of us were out enjoying ourselves. We were in NY so you might not get as much elsewhere!

Yeah that's the downside to it all right. If you are just going away for a summer it's not much craic stuck working all the time. I was over there long term so i didn't mind doing it for a while. If i ever went over on a J1 i'd bring as much money with me as possible or work enough just to sustain myself. Some people try working for profit which in my opinion defeats the purpose.

cooperguy

Neamhshuntasach wrote: »

Yeah that's the downside to it all right. If you are just going away for a summer it's not much craic stuck working all the time. I was over there long term so i didn't mind doing it for a while. If i ever went over on a J1 i'd bring as much money with me as possible or work enough just to sustain myself. Some people try working for profit which in my opinion defeats the purpose.

How much do you reckon it costs to live over there per week for say food, rent and a few beers on the town? Im heading to Huntington Beach CA. which is supposed to be expensive enough I think. I might work for a bit but iv no intention in bring money home since it nearly worthless with the exchange rate. Im only interested in supporting myself while im there.

Neamhshuntasach

I lived in San Diego almost 3 years ago now but was there in November and i noticed that essential items have raised in price a bit. But food is still overall cheap. You can get some great deals if you buy in bulk in supermarkets. If you are prepared to cook your own food and not buy expensive brand foods you can probably manage on 30 dollars or so a week. That's what i used to spend in Albertsons a week. Make sure you get a club card from the supermarkets as you can get great savings on them. Beer is also cheap from supermarkets.

The lowest i paid for rent was 750 per month for rent between 3 of us. The most expensive i paid was 1400 a month between 4 of us. But this was out in Tierrasanta and was a big house with a community pool.

You can easily spend upwards of 40 dollars a night going out for a few drinks. A lot more if you go to nightclubs with cover charges.

San Diego is considered an expensive city but i think Huntington beach is more expensive

cooperguy

Thats great I had budgeted for a good bit more than that:) One question though. The prices for rent you said you paid. Is that in dollar or Euro. If its in dollar it seems really cheap. Even with your most expensive house with a pool you paid €55 a week per person!

Neamhshuntasach

That was dollars. We had to pay first month and a last month deposit up front. It was a minimum of one year agreement. You'll find the ones you get for cheaper are the ones that are long term subletting. The ones that do it temporary charge a bit more most of the time as they know they are in demand

lady-mouse

hey cooperguy theres a couple of us headin out to huntington beach for the summer but weve had no luck wit accommodation!did u have trouble findin any?a lot of it looks really expensive!