Most jobs in the restaurant industry require you to obtain a state alcohol license so you can legally serve adult beverages to customers. This might seem like a cumbersome step in your hiring process, only making it harder for you to get started at your new job, but this license can actually help you get ahead if you’re interested in a food and beverage career. Most people will enter this industry as a server or bartender, but those aren’t the only roles in the trade. There are plenty of ways for you to move up in the culinary and put your license to good use to make some good money.

Bartender

You might not think there’s a solid salary bartending, but once you have your TABC license or whatever state certification you need, you can hit the ground running and make up to $1,000 a night in the right location. Yes, bartenders work on tips, but if you’re manning the bar on a busy night and you’re great a mixing drinks, you could be raking in big tips in no time. Of course, there are a lot of factors beyond your own personal skills that contribute to how much money you can make. Things like the location of your workplace, how many people typically filter in on a given night, and the price of drinks can all help bolster your odds of turning a tidy sum.

Beer Taster

If your talents lie more in drinking than serving, then consider becoming a beer taster at a brewery. These people specialize in noticing the little things in a brew and offering suggestions on how to improve it. For this job, you need to be well-versed in the way different types of brews, such as lagers, IPA, or pilsners, should taste, and able to pick out individual aspects of a complex flavor profile. Tasters have a huge responsibility to keep the standards of a company’s brews as high as they can be, as well as representing the tastes and interests of potential customers.

These are two great ideas for entry level positions that could one day take you all the way to working at a distillery or brewing your own beers or wine. Once you obtain a state license, the sky is the limit in the world of alcoholic beverages if you aren’t afraid to take your chances and go for it!