Some people recommend bartending as a way to keep their lives organized while having fun.

Some students have found it to be a balancing act that is not for the faint of heart.

Junior Nick Gerkin said, while it may not be hard for him to bartend, it can be time-consuming balancing school, his job at Quarters Bar and Grill and the army, where he is an enlisted soldier.

His favorite part of the job is meeting people.

“I’m not in a fraternity or live in a dorm and being a bartender makes me feel more associated with the campus life,” Gerkin said.

The pay at each bar varies.

Most of the wages round out to $4.25 an hour, not including tips, Gerkin said.

Gerkin said the money can be good or bad depending on the night.

“On Homecoming, I worked for a couple hours and made $500,” Gerkin said. “On nights like this [Monday], I could be here for six hours and walk out at the end of the night with only six bucks.”

Senior Kelsey Gilroy, bartender at Beckett’s, agreed. She works 20 hours a week and said Tuesday isn’t going to be as busy as Friday.

Some of the busiest days are opening weekend, the weekend before summer break, Homecoming and St. Patrick’s Day.

“It’s crazy opening weekend with the riots,” Gilroy said. “It’s cool though to see all of the alumni come back. We even play the Beckett’s song and people dance on top of the bar.”

Junior Mike O’Connell, bartender at The Attic, said the job can be hard when he gets off work late and has to get up early for class the next day.

Gilroy also agreed working late and getting up early for class is a struggle.

“It’s worth it, though. You meet a lot of cool people,” O’Connell said.

Senior Bobby Albino, a bartender at SkyBar, said his job entitles him to be a people person because the environment is fast-paced and isn’t for someone who can’t handle customer service.

As a night person, Albino doesn’t have a problem with working late and having early classes.

“You just have to have good time-management,” Albino said.

As for having fun, bartenders find ways to entertain themselves and customers while working.

Quarters once had a former employee who used to take shots off other people’s bodies whenever he lost a game of pool, Gerkin said.

While O’Connell likes serving his friends and classmates, he said it also depends on how drunk they are.

“One time we had a guy order five flaming Dr. Pepper’s,” O’Connell said. “He ended up spilling some of them on the bar top and went to light the drinks because the alcohol is flammable and he lit the whole bar top on fire.”

While serving classmates and professors is fun and may sometimes be dangerous in O’Connell’s case, Gilroy’s favorite part of her job is the bar’s atmosphere.

“You don’t miss a lot since you’re not drinking,” Gilroy said. “You still get to see all the drunks out and tell them later that they made a fool of themselves.”

Even though bartending entails a busy schedule, these students recommend the job.

O’Connell said bartending keeps him out of trouble.

“I recommend it. It’s good pay too,” O’Connell said. “Just make sure you don’t take on more than you can handle.”