4 Reasons to Be a College Barista

4 Reasons to Be a College Barista pexels.com If you love coffee, pastries, and interactive work, being a barista could be the perfect part-time job for you. As college students, we live and thrive off of caffeine and cafés conducive to doing homework, so why not be an integral part of that experience for fellow students? Being a barista is an extremely common job for college students because it’s accessible and engaging. It’s not just sitting in an academic office all day or bussing tables at the cafeteria; instead, it’s an opportunity to stay social throughout the day and learn how to make some killer drinks that will surely impress anyone you meet. If you aren’t convinced yet, here are a few more reasons why being a barista in college is a great experience. 1. A learning experience Every day on the job is a new learning experience. Sure, you learn the recipes for a bunch of drinks in the first few weeks, but you continue to learn even after you’ve memorized the steps and ingredients. Coffee shops are constantly cycling out drinks throughout holiday seasons and special events. Throughout the year, you will learn how to make so many different kinds of drinks that you’ve never even thought about before. The recipes you learn on the job are a great base for you to experiment with as well. Using what you have learned at work, you can start to create your own fun drinks for you and your friends to share. 2. Meet new people Being a barista isn’t just about making coffee and toasting pastries, it’s about interacting with customers and enhancing their experience. As a barista, you are in a prime position for meeting all kinds of interesting people. You will interact with countless people every single day, and may even begin to form bonds with regulars. Remembering someone’s go-to drink is a great way to make someone feel taken care of and a great launching pad for a friendship! If you are a people person or are just interested in meeting and learning about other people, being a barista is a great way to do that. 3. Transferable experience The skills that you learn on the job as a barista are extremely relevant to any other industry as well. If you aren’t looking to stay in the business of coffee, you can still apply what you learned as a barista to your specific professional life. Because you are constantly meeting people, you build strong social skills that are beneficial in any workplace that involves other people. Stellar customer service skills are an essential part of many jobs and one that you can acquire working as a barista. Being a barista can also be extremely stressful so you will learn good stress management, and how to maintain good customer service while under pressure. You will learn how to work quickly in a rushed environment, which will help build strong time management skills. In short, being a barista helps to cultivate all kinds of valuable skills that extend far beyond just coffee. 4. Free coffee If this one doesn’t convince you, I don’t know what will. The average person, and especially the average college student, spends so much money on coffee that you could save completely by working there. In fact, you not only save coffee money, but you MAKE money. Coffee shops usually have pretty decent pay, depending on which one you work at. It might not be a livable full-time for life job, but it pays well as far as a temporary job goes. Many coffee shops will also let employees take home extra coffee beans, which is another great money saver for when you want to make a pot at home. Coffee bags can get pricey, so being able to take home bags for free is a major perk. While sometimes challenging and stressful, being a barista can also be incredibly stimulating and even fun. Jobs that keep you moving and engaged are much more fulfilling than jobs that involve static, boring work that doesn’t have any direct reward. Being a barista is instantly rewarding every time you give someone a drink you know is going to get them going for the day, or at least bring some warmth into their life.