Inside the Industry: March

Industry news

It really has never been a better time to become a skilled barista. The industry has an undersupply of baristas and are paying well for workers who know their stuff! Below I have outlined a few key points in gaining those extra few $$$ as a professional barista.

How to get a job in the first place?

The key to attaining that higher wage is knowing the tools of the trade and how to use them. Yes, you can work in a cafe and get years of experience, though often you only learn on one machine and one school of thought.

If you are finding it tough to get a job as a barista and have done your share of time in courses there are a couple of options:

1) Look for somewhere to practice your skills –

At Black Market Training, we offer baristas time on the coffee machine. You can book slots of time to be by yourself and work through shots or latte art which will help your nerves and build your confidence before the cafe trial.

2)  Start your career first as a waiter or dishwasher –

Often the fastest way to become head barista is from the inside. You will find you will actually get to see how the whole system works first, then often get opportunities that are not even advertised. This is where I would start.

3) We recommend a solid barista course that uses commercial equipment and teaches the fundamentals of latte art and grind adjustment

If you work your way through the above you are sure to get a great start as a barista in the industry.

Tips for choosing a barista course

1) See if the company runs cafe’s themselves

2) See if the instructors work as baristas

3) What is the cafe? Is it a specialty coffee shop that is busy and using fresh roasted coffee

4) Do they mentioned fresh roasted coffee in the course?

Most cafes in Australia use fresh roasted coffee and it’s a lot harder to work with fresh beans, than stale. You will need to choose a course that implements this in the course modules.

How much does a barista in Australia get paid?

The following are examples of Pay Rates for Baristas per hour in Australia:

• Trainee Barista Under $20
• Barista Assistant $20-$22
• Shift Barista $22-$24
• Head Barista $25-$30

We can help you improve to the next level of skills through either a basic, advanced or private barista course here is Sydney. We run our coffee school in both Newtown and a barista course in Wollongong, at Black Market Roasters Thirroul.

At Black Market Training, we offer both physical barista courses on real commercial equipment and online barista courses. Head over to our barista courses page to book a coffee school course and we’ll see you behind the bar.