Anyone work in the industry?

[Chris Gonzalez]

How's it going? Not sure if this is the right forum to ask, but I have a question for anyone who currently works in the industry.

I'm currently deployed in Afghanistan and after this deployment I'll have less than a year left in my contract. The Army's given me and my wife some great opportunities(she goes to school full time, we have a fairly large amount of money saved), but my body is hurting bad(28 years old in the infantry), and the time away from each other has it's negative effects. So I'm getting out and pursuing my dream of working in a brewery. I have a very basic understanding of homebrewing, but I'm passionate about learning more.

My question is: Should I apply for a low end job at a brewery and work my way up(willing to just clean)? Use my Post 9/11 Bill and finally get a degree so I'd look like a better applicant, and if so what field or degree do brewery's typically look for? Or work at a brewery and go to school full time?

Side note, we're purchasing a home in Colorado Springs so there's brewery's just about everywhere.

Cheers!

 

[Qhrumphf]

If your body is already hurting enough to be a driver for career change, brewing ain't the industry for you. Lots of lifting, climbing, crouching, crawling, squeezing, extreme temp changes, and long physical hard days. Plus the chemicals and the cleaning. Homebrewing has a lot of the same, but much easier small scale.

It's also a very difficult industry to get into. And it's not a good paying one either.

Not trying to discourage you by any means. Just making sure your expectations are realistic.

Unless you're damned sure brewing is your calling in life (I was and am and love working in the industry), Id stick to brewing at home.

An alternative alley, if you don't mind working retail, is working for a homebrew shop.

 

[jdauria]

Several guys in my club work in the industry, only one has moved their way up to brewer (at Castle Island in Mass) from entry level cannning line/tank monkey jobs. They will all say the same, low pay, hard work, long hours, dangerous chemicals, risk of getting scalded, etc...but they will also all say they love it.

 

[Chris Gonzalez]

So would it be beneficial to get a degree of some kind? I'm all about hard work, and it's something I know I'll enjoy waking up to every morning.

Thanks for the replies, yall.

 

[yeahfairly]

Most commercial Breweries posting job opportunities for a brewer are looking for Chemistry, Biology or Brewing Science related degrees + 2 years of experience. There are trade schools out there that offer training, usually 16 week courses (in the $10,000 range). They offer class room and on the job training in working commercial breweries (Eastfield College outside of DFW and Brewing & Distilling Center in Knoxville Tennessee are two that come to mind). You could probably use your GI Bill for either. Look up Colorado Boy on the internet. He isn't too far away from Colorado Springs. He has a 2 week emersion course for people wanting to open their own Micro Brewery. You might want to do his two week course. It may help you decide if this is something you want to pursue!

I've been in Afghanistan since 2009.... Maybe we have crossed paths! Good Luck to You!