Mixologist vs tender

The differences between mixologists and tenders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a mixologist, becoming a tender takes usually requires 3-6 months. Additionally, a tender has an average salary of $33,595, which is higher than the $25,161 average annual salary of a mixologist.

The top three skills for a mixologist include wine, bartending and excellent guest. The most important skills for a tender are customer service, mix drinks, and POS.

Mixologist vs tender overview

	Mixologist	Tender
Yearly salary	$25,161	$33,595
Hourly rate	$12.10	$16.15
Growth rate	18%	3%
Number of jobs	53,872	25,199
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Average age	34	40
Years of experience	2	6

Mixologist vs tender salary

Mixologists and tenders have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Mixologist	Tender
Average salary	$25,161	$33,595
Salary range	Between $15,000 And $40,000	Between $24,000 And $46,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between mixologist and tender education

There are a few differences between a mixologist and a tender in terms of educational background:

	Mixologist	Tender
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 35%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Mixologist vs tender demographics

Here are the differences between mixologists' and tenders' demographics:

	Mixologist	Tender
Average age	34	40
Gender ratio	Male, 44.2% Female, 55.8%	Male, 56.6% Female, 43.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.1% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 20.2% Asian, 3.5% White, 64.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 3.5% White, 64.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	8%	4%

Differences between mixologist and tender duties and responsibilities

Mixologist example responsibilities.

Book VIP tables and provide high quality service.
Count down all registers in VIP sections.
Open new restaurants and bars across the country.
Cut fruit for garnishing as well as ingredients for cocktails.
Operate POS terminal without error totaling approximately $20k in sales on a weekly basis.
Keep records and enter all the items of food and beverage in the POS system.

Tender example responsibilities.

Train and manage all new bartenders achieving significant results in their productivity and knowledge.
Receive formal bartending training under the number one rate bartender in southern Florida.
Weigh materials to be charge into furnaces using scales, remove impurities from surface of molten metal using strainers.
Start as bar back and work up to bartending shift, bartender and server, fast pace, high volume bar/venue.
Clean taps and lines, switch out kegs, and service keg line fobs to ensure the best quality beer pour.
Provide topside support for commercial dive operations.

Mixologist vs tender skills

Common mixologist skills

Wine, 31%
Bartending, 11%
Excellent Guest, 7%
Cleanliness, 7%
Drink Orders, 5%
Fine Dining, 4%

Common tender skills

Customer Service, 23%
Mix Drinks, 15%
POS, 8%
Craft Beer, 8%
Bartending, 7%
Fine Dining, 6%

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Mixologist
Mixologist vs Tender

Updated January 8, 2025

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