I bar tended in my friends bar a bit to see if I liked the job enough to open my own place. The best/well paying bar tending shifts go to the guys with a resume (decent bars in a big city will toss your application without multiple years of experience) and typically who have earned their stripes at that particular bar, often by starting as a bar back which pays much less. At the places where there is enough volume to make 30-40/hr from tips there is far more experience and skill required than people think. It's a demanding and exhausting job that seems more fun than it actually is, and you will be instantly found out if you don't know your way around a bar/know all of the drinks/have the skill to take multiple orders and really pump out mixed drinks.
It's a job reserved for people who don't mind menial multi-tasking work and a fast paced/stressful environment. The easiest places to work your way into it are probably seasonal tourist economies, but they also probably don't pay as well. Any big city has plenty of veteran bar tenders vying for the well paying positions. Ideally you have a friend who owns or works in a bar who can allow you to intern, because without experience you're going to be stuck with minimum wage type positions most likely.
It's a job reserved for people who don't mind menial multi-tasking work and a fast paced/stressful environment. The easiest places to work your way into it are probably seasonal tourist economies, but they also probably don't pay as well. Any big city has plenty of veteran bar tenders vying for the well paying positions. Ideally you have a friend who owns or works in a bar who can allow you to intern, because without experience you're going to be stuck with minimum wage type positions most likely.