Pros and Cons of Working as a Brewer
You think about becoming a brewer but want to get additional information about job prospects, working conditions, salaries, educational requirements, working hours and much more?
Great! Stick with me since I will show you all the pros and cons of being a brewer in the following article.
Table of Contents
Brewer Job Profile
Job Description | Brewers brew beer and sometimes other drinks and make sure that the brewing process is done in an efficient and hygienic manner to guarantee high quality of the end product. |
Salary | $47,000 per year on average, most brewers make between $38,000 and $56,000 per year. |
Job Security | Brewers have decent job security since demand for beer is high and brewmasters also have a pretty specialized knowledge so that they are not easily replaceable. |
Job Satisfaction | Many brewers are pretty happy with their jobs since brewing is just their passion. |
Work-Life Balance | Brewers have decent work-life balance since they rarely have to work on weekends or at nighttime. |
Physically / Mentally Demanding? | Working as a brewer can be physically demanding. |
Future Outlook | Decent since demand for beer will likely stay high and good brewers will always be needed. |
Requirements | You don’t necessarily need a fancy degree for becoming a brewer, even though it can help you find a decent job and to get promoted quicker than your competition. |
Advantages of Being a Brewer
- Brewers often don’t have to work on weekends
- You don’t have to work in the late evening or at nighttime
- Brewery workers have pretty decent work-life balance
- Brewers don’t have to deal with lots of stress at work
- Most brewers don’t suffer from sleeping problems
- Brewing can be a passion
- Trying delicious beer is part of your job
- You see the results of your labor as a brewer
- Brewers don’t have to work in a classical office job
- Brewers can stay fit at work
- Brewers have decent job security
- Decent future outlook for brewers
- You don’t necessarily need a degree for becoming a brewer
- You can avoid student loan debt
- You are not at great risk of burnout as a brewer
- Many people will envy you for your job
- Brewers can work indoors
Brewers often don’t have to work on weekends
One advantage of being a brewer is that you don’t have to work on weekends most of the time.
In turn, you can make nice weekend trips with your family or just use the time to relax in your garden while bartenders and many other people often have to work on Saturdays or even Sundays.
You don’t have to work in the late evening or at nighttime
Becoming a brewery worker can also make sense since you don’t have to work at nighttime and can rather hang out with your favorite people after work and you will also come home from work rather early.
Brewery workers have pretty decent work-life balance
In general, since you will not have to work long hours and also don’t have to work on most weekends, you will have a pretty decent work-life balance as a brewer and will have more than enough time to spend with your loved ones.
Brewers don’t have to deal with lots of stress at work
You will also have a rather relaxed workday most of the time as a brewer since you will have to deal with as much time pressure as people working in private equity or other demanding jobs where you have to finish huge workloads within a rather short period of time.
Most brewers don’t suffer from sleeping problems
Since you will not have to work in the late evening or at nighttime, you will also be able to maintain a healthy sleeping pattern as a brewer and will not be at great risk of suffering from sleeping problems.
Brewing can be a passion
Many people also work in the brewing industry since this is really their passion and they just love to brew beer and other delicious drinks.
Hence, if you are passionate about this industry, your job will not even feel like real work to you but rather like a hobby from which you can make a living.
Trying delicious beer is part of your job
Another upside to working as a brewer is that you can also try delicious beers on a daily basis and if you are a beer lover, chances are that a brewer career will be quite interesting and exciting for you and that you may also have a great time at work.
You see the results of your labor as a brewer
While many other people who work in classical office jobs just prepare presentations and don’t see real results of their work, you as a brewer can see the progress and the end result of your efforts every day which may keep you motivated in the long run.
Brewers don’t have to work in a classical office job
You can also avoid sitting in front of a computer for your entire workday as many other people have to do and can rather work with your hands and feel like you are doing something useful.
Brewers can stay fit at work
Since you will work in a physical manner and have to carry heavy bags with ingredients from time to time, you will also be able to stay fit at work since you can burn lots of calories and don’t need to go to the gym as many other people just sitting in office chairs often have to do.
Brewers have decent job security
Another benefit of becoming a brewer is that you will also have pretty decent job security.
You will just be pretty specialized and will have lots of knowledge most other people don’t have and it will therefore be pretty hard to replace you.
Consequently, chances are that you will not have to worry about getting laid off much for the foreseeable future.
Decent future outlook for brewers
Since beer is consumed all over the world and demand for beer continues to stay high, many brewers will be needed for decades and this industry may be booming for many years to come from which you can benefit as a brewery worker since you will have more than enough to do.
You don’t necessarily need a degree for becoming a brewer
While you can get a degree in brewing or related sciences, it is not a prerequisite for working as a brewer in most breweries and you may therefore be able to start your brewer career without having to spend lots of time and money on college.
You can avoid student loan debt
While many of your friends may have to go to college to get their dream jobs and may have to take on significant student loans, you may not have to deal with those issues as a brewer and can rather start your brewer career right after finishing high school.
You are not at great risk of burnout as a brewer
Since brewers usually don’t have to deal with lots of stress at work, you will also not be at great risk of burnout as a brewer and can rather spend your workday in a pretty relaxed manner.
Many people will envy you for your job
If you tell your friends about your job as a brewer, many of them will also be pretty envious since brewing is considered cool and you will therefore have a pretty high standing in your circle of friends.
Brewers can work indoors
While scaffolders and many other people often have to work outdoors during times of bad weather, you as a brewer can spend your workday indoors and can even enjoy a nice drink during work.
As you can see, there are many reasons for becoming a brewer.
However, it is still not all upside and we also have to talk about all the drawbacks of a brewer career in the following so that you can much better decide whether you still want to work as a brewer or rather want to go for a different job instead.
Disadvantages of Working as a Brewer
- Brewers have a hard time making good money
- Hard to provide for your family as a brewery worker
- Some brewers even need to work a second job
- You may suffer from old-age poverty
- You have to work in a physical manner
- Hard to make a big positive impact on people’s lives
- Many tasks are pretty repetitive
- You may get bored with your brewer career in the long run
- Not good if you don’t like consuming alcohol
- Brewmasters have a high level of responsibility
- Brewers are not able to work remotely
- Limited promotion opportunities for brewers
- Some jobs may be lost to intelligent machines in the future
Brewers have a hard time making good money
One disadvantage of being a brewer is that you will have a pretty hard time making good money.
In fact, many brewery workers just receive pretty poor wages and you may therefore envy your friends working in investment banking or other industries where they make far more money than you.
Hard to provide for your family as a brewery worker
Due to your rather low salary, you may also have a pretty hard time providing for your family as a brewer and will also not be able to afford many nice things for your loved ones.
Some brewers even need to work a second job
If you live in expensive regions where living and housing costs are high, you may even need to work a second job since you may not be able to make enough from your brewer career to even cover your basic expenses.
You may suffer from old-age poverty
Another downside to becoming a brewer is that many brewers also suffer from old-age poverty since they are not able to save and invest enough money for retirement and may get into serious financial problems once they quit their active careers.
You have to work in a physical manner
You should also know that you also have to work in a physical manner as a brewery worker.
Hence, if you are not fine with working with your hands and exercising at work, you may be better off working as a compliance officer or in another field where you just have to work with a computer all day long.
Hard to make a big positive impact on people’s lives
Another problem with working as a brewer is that you will also have a hard time making a real positive impact on people’s lives.
While professors and many other people are able to alter the thought process of many people on a daily basis, you as a brewer will just care about making good beer and will therefore not have the same big impact on society.
Many tasks are pretty repetitive
You should also know that many tasks you do as a brewer are repetitive and working as a brewer will therefore not be the most exciting thing to do and you may also lose your motivation for your job due to that in the long run.
You may get bored with your brewer career in the long run
If you are not passionate about brewing, you may also get bored with your job pretty quickly and should rather go for something that is more interesting to you.
Not good if you don’t like consuming alcohol
Since you have to try your beer from time to time, becoming a brewer is also not great for you in case you don’t like alcohol and also if you are allergic to alcohol.
In such a case, you will be far better off going for a different job where you don’t have to try alcoholic substances.
Brewmasters have a high level of responsibility
You should also know that you have a pretty high level of responsibility as a brewmaster since you have to make sure that hygienic requirements are met and that the end product will be tasty and of high quality and just minor mistakes may ruin the end product and may lead to a significant loss for the brewing company you work for.
Brewers are not able to work remotely
Another reason not to become a brewer is that you will also not be able to work from home and compared to programmers and other people who are able to work remotely, you will just be less flexible and may have a harder time managing your private and professional life at the same time.
Limited promotion opportunities for brewers
You should also know that promotion opportunities for brewers are rather limited and while your friends may be able to climb the corporate ladder rather quickly, you may get disappointed with your own career prospects as a brewer in the long run.
Some jobs may be lost to intelligent machines in the future
Since processes will become increasingly automated in breweries, it is only a matter of time until some brewers will become obsolete in the future and you may therefore lose your job sooner or later and may have a hard time finding a job in a different industry since you will be pretty specialized and will not learn many skills needed in different fields.
Top 10 Being a Brewer Pros & Cons – Summary List
Being a Brewer Pros | Being a Brewer Cons |
---|---|
Brewers don’t have to work at nighttime | Brewers don’t make really good money |
Brewers have decent work-life balance | Many brewers suffer from old-age poverty |
Working as a brewer is not very stressful | You may need a second job to pay your bills |
You may not need a college degree | Brewers don’t have the highest social standing |
You can avoid student loan debt | Tasks are pretty repetitive |
Working as a brewer is cool | You may get bored as a brewer in the long run |
You can try many delicious beers | Some jobs may be lost to machines |
Brewers have decent job security | Hard to get out of the brewing industry |
Brewers are not easily replaceable | You have to work in a physical manner |
Brewing can be a passion | Brewers have limited promotion opportunities |
Should You Become A Brewer?
While brewers have decent work-life balance and also don’t have to deal with lots of stress at work, you should also know that brewery workers don’t make really good money and also promotion opportunities in this field are rather limited while exit options are rather poor.
In the end, it is on you to evaluate all the pros and cons of being a brewer so that you can better decide whether you still want to work as a brewer or rather want to work in a different field.
If you come to the conclusion that a brewer career is not for you, you may also want to check out the following articles:
Advantages and disadvantages of working in fast food
Advantages and disadvantages of becoming a driving instructor
Advantages and disadvantages of becoming a chef
Sources
https://www.statista.com/forecasts/944461/total-beer-market-size-in-the-us
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brewing
Own research and interviews.
About the author
My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people about the different career paths that are possible in our current state of the world.
In my opinion, people often make the mistake to choose their profession solely based on how much money they can earn from it instead of doing what makes them really happy.
This is quite sad and I just want to give people a more objective picture of what a fulfilling career could look like.
I did the same when I started working in consulting after finishing my Master’s degree in Economics.
However, I’ve quit pretty soon after that since I haven’t found true meaning in my job.
Now I can do what I really love to do and I want to enable as many other people as well to go this exciting path towards happiness instead of money.
I conducted various interviews with employees to give you a good impression of what working in different fields will look like and that you can make the best possible decision regarding your future career choice.
Wanna support my blog? Share it!