Hi Richard! A lot of places in Boston like to hire bartenders who are already TIPS certified. This is a program that deals with teaching the responsible service, sale, and consumption of alcohol. The certification (which you can even get online!) for serving at a restaurant is only $40, and certainly can give you a leg up in the business. Here's a link: http://www.gettips.com/

If you don't have the funds to get certified on your own, you should tell interviewers that you are interested in pursuing your certification. I think they'd absolutely appreciate that kind of proactive determination in a bartending candidate.

The only other thing I'd say about bartending in Boston is that it's a lot of politics. Most bars want to hire experienced bartenders. It's very hard to start bartending if you've never done it. A great way to get involved in it is to start as a server in a restaurant and make it clear to management that you'd like to move up. Many restaurants prefer to promote within their staff as opposed to hiring outside people.

I hope that helps!