Mike Pelz said he has one of the greatest jobs in town, but it has sometimes gotten in the way of his schoolwork.

Pelz, a senior industrial technology major, has been working at Molly’s Eatery and Drinkery, 1022 W. Lincoln Highway, for two years, doing just about every job the establishment offers.

“I was a cashier at the liquor store, a bouncer, a DJ and now I’m a bartender,” Pelz said.

Earlier in Pelz’s college career, his jobs sometimes affected his schoolwork, but now he schedules his classes for the afternoon so he can sleep later.

“I definitely made the right adjustments, [school and work] are definitely two tough things to have together,” he said. “It’s very tempting to go out when you have a test in the morning.”

Bartenders are usually the last ones to leave at night after cleanup, Pelz said. They usually don’t get out of work until 3:30 or 4 a.m., and sometimes later.

Being a bartender, Pelz sees a whole range of personalities, but said in all instances, it seems as though people are trying to get something off their chest.

“A lot of people hit on us because everyone’s attention is focused on us,” he said. “You get to be personable with everyone for a tiny instance.”

Besides meeting lots of different people, tips are also a perk of bartending.

The largest tip Pelz ever has received was $50 for one drink served to an older woman seated at the bar. Pelz said the woman was being nice and didn’t expect anything in return.

“A lot of alumni tip really good because they know your situation – trying to pay through college,” he said.

Pelz’s favorite drinks to make are shots of all varieties, but says he himself is more of a beer man.

“I’ve made a million different drinks; at least one time a night where a customer orders a drink and no one has ever heard of it because it is something another bartender has created,” he said.

Bartending isn’t all fun and games. Pelz, like all bartenders, had to train before he was allowed to bartend.

“All my other jobs here were training. I barbacked for four months; stocked beer,” he said. “Bartenders take a test every six months on pricing and how to make different drinks.”

Pelz expects to graduate in December 2005, after which he plans to go back home to find work.

“I’m going to probably go back to Spring Grove and go work for my dad, who is an engineer in a plastics production plant,” he said.