Imagine getting paid to host daily or nightly parties, week after week, month after month, year after year. You have a budget, and you don’t have to use your own home, but you do need to set up, clean up, and make sure everyone’s having fun.
Dream job or nightmare? Fun for a while, maybe, but how long could you keep doing it?
It’s not an idle question. A friend recently shared with me some concerns a local taproom employee shared with him, including low and unpredicatable tip-based pay, stingy benefits, and a lack of opportunity for advancement. While such arrangements may be fine for younger workers with fewer expenses and expectations, the source lamented that older workers like himself are stuck in poverty — unable to, say, buy a home or afford an apartment in Portland without roomates.
I visited a few local breweries and inquired about pay, benefits and career aspirations. I promised anonymity in exchange for candor, so forgive the lack of identifying details like where we were or what we were drinking.
I was prepared for a deluge of complaints. The hours can be brutal (as can be the customers), the benefits are lame, and the rent really is too damn high. But while some said this source’s concerns resonated with them, they all said their jobs were more lucrative and more satisfying than I’d imagined they’d be.
Managing a tasting room is not a 40-hour-a-week job; estimates shared with me put it closer to 50 or 60 hours per week. That’s why it’s a salaried position, one...
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