Everything You Should Know Before Applying To Work At Starbucks, According To A Representative

Standing in line for your favorite Starbucks drink, bakery scents wafting in the air, it's hard not to wonder what it might be like to make your favorite beverages. As someone who has worked at Starbucks, I can tell you that the experience of being a barista sets you up to create your own coffees for a lifetime, and it also helps you gain a healthy understanding of what it is to work in the service industry. Of course, there's plenty to learn once you become a barista, but there's also a fair amount you'll want to know before applying.

When making the choice to apply to Starbucks, you may wonder what the training is like or what other opportunities exist beyond serving coffee. You may want to know how much money baristas actually make or what those discount perks look like. I reached out to Starbucks asking about working at the chain, and Angele Busch, a senior manager in corporate communications, shared some information with me. With her insight and my own experience as a Starbucks alumnus, you'll have a little background and an inside look before applying to your favorite coffee shop.

Starbucks' barista training can turn a customer who only orders Frappuccinos into an espresso-drinking coffee fiend — I've experienced this firsthand. As a teen, a Caramel Frappuccino was my go-to flavor, and it still hits each time I'm craving an extra-sweet drink. Before my time as a barista, I wasn't terribly familiar with the menu outside of the blended drinks, and Frappuccinos were sweet and enjoyable, with minimal coffee flavor, so they were easy to order. After becoming a barista, I learned how to enjoy coffee at a different level, and I'm much more of a shaken espresso fan at this point. Still, this transition didn't happen overnight, and it all started with my training to become a barista at Starbucks.

When you first apply to the coffee giant, you might feel a little trepidation about your knowledge base. If the only exposure you've had is the occasional visit to Starbucks and a coffee machine at home, there's a good chance you don't know a whole lot about the background of coffee and how to make it for customers. Angele Busch shares that Starbucks has a robust training program. This training involves learning the different drinks, general patterns for how drinks are made, and ways to connect with customers.

Most Starbucks drinks follow a very regular pattern. Based on the size of the drink, there will be a specific number of pumps of syrup or sauce, a consistent amount of liquid added to the drink, and a predetermined espresso shot count. You'll learn all of this in the earliest days on the job.

Once you learn the basics, you'll start making drinks for customers. Angele Busch describes the work environment as "a fast-paced, customer-focused environment that requires strong interpersonal skills and the ability to multitask." This means baristas are trying to connect with customers, make drinks, and plan ahead, all while trying to remember recipes and the various components of beverages.

When I worked at Starbucks, each day, I was assigned a zone or area to cover. One day, I might operate the espresso bar, another day might be devoted to making Frappuccinos, and still another could be taking orders at the drive-thru. (When I've visited more recently as a customer, especially on busy mornings, I've noticed that there's often someone exclusively heating breakfast sandwiches.) If we were short-staffed, it meant that one person would need to work multiple zones. In these instances, the work could become a handful, and it most definitely required the ability to multitask. No matter where behind the counter you were, it would involve communicating with both other baristas and customers. There was always a lot happening at once. Thankfully, after you've been working at Starbucks for more than a couple days, the drinks become second nature, almost like muscle memory.

Since taking over as Starbucks' CEO in 2024, Brian Niccol has enacted plenty of changes for customers and baristas alike, including fundamentally changing the chain's menu in 2025. One of these changes is that Starbucks baristas are now required to write messages on every cup, in what seems to be an attempt to personalize and add an extra-special touch to the experience. As a result, some baristas have needed to prep their cups ahead of time in order to keep up with workflow. Others have taken the time to write something punny. In any case, this is now part of a Starbucks barista's job, so if you're thinking about applying, you might want to start brainstorming some cute go-to phrases to write on customer cups.

That said, writing on Starbucks cups isn't terribly new. In fact, baristas have been writing messages on customer cups for some time, but the practice hasn't been entirely consistent. Unfortunately, with a mandate such as this, made to ensure consistency, the messages might not have the same authenticity or genuine care as when baristas wrote notes organically.

Scheduling happens at regular intervals, and you'll know your schedule in advance to allow for other activities and appointments you might need to arrange. Angele Busch notes, "Schedules are set three weeks in advance, and store leaders are equipped to allocate hours to partners based on both store needs and partner-identified preferences, as well as adjustments for unplanned events."

While you will know your hours ahead of time, you may also be able to take on extra hours. Starbucks utilizes a marketplace where partners can pick up extra shifts. Busch explains that this Shift Marketplace allows partners to "pick up shifts in Starbucks company-operated stores across their district." This may mean that you "can offer, swap, and claim partner- and manager-offered shifts on Shift Marketplace after schedules have posted on an opt-in, first come, first serve basis." If working the most hours you can is a priority of yours, this will prove to be helpful. On the other hand, if you suddenly have an opportunity to travel or need to give away a shift, there's a place to arrange that with fellow partners.

At the time of writing, The federal minimum wage is $7.25, but many states have a specifically designated minimum wage that is higher than the federal designation. These wages vary by state, so it's only reasonable to assume that Starbucks' barista wages would vary, too. That being said, no barista makes less than $15 an hour. According to Angele Busch, "In the U.S., our hourly retail partners earn an average of over $18 per hour, with barista wages ranging from $15.25 to $26 per hour."

However, with tips, baristas may be able to bring in more. You may have noticed that there are tip cups alongside Starbucks registers inside each cafe, as well as right by the window at the drive-thru. If ordering on your phone, you even have an option to offer a tip after you've placed your order. What you may not know is how these tips are calculated and distributed among baristas. Busch shares that "all tips (cash, credit and debit card tips and tips received through the Starbucks app) are distributed equitably based on the number of hours a barista worked on the days the tips were received." Unfortunately, this means that even if your service is particularly excellent, your tips won't necessarily be better. In this way, tipping at Starbucks is much different from tipping a waiter or bartender, for instance. As a barista, I never felt there was a large amount of money in tips, but I always appreciated the extra change.

I'll be totally honest: One of my favorite parts about working at Starbucks was the perks, and there's no short supply, especially if you enjoy Starbucks drinks. When visiting a Starbucks location and placing an order, you get 30% off your purchase. This applies to merchandise, too, including all those interesting-looking Starbucks cups that come out each season. You'll provide a partner number to the barista at the checkout, and they will plug that number in to verify your employment. Each week, baristas are also eligible for a free pound of coffee or box of tea. This way, you can keep the coffee or tea flowing at home after a late shift or before an early-morning open.

In addition to discounted and free items, partners are also eligible for a free Spotify premium subscription. It's definitely one of the more underadvertised benefits, but if you happen to be a music fan, a subscription like that is certainly a nice little perk. Angele Busch also mentions that partners are eligible for "affiliate discounts from local and national retailers." Skechers, for example, offers a 30% discount to partners for their work shoes, which you'll want to be non-slip. If you know, you know.

For those partners who work at least 20 hours a week and don't yet have a bachelor's degree, Starbucks will pay 100% of the tuition required to earn a bachelor's online through Arizona State University. You can start this process on literally your first workday as a partner. Starbucks covers over 150 different courses of study, encompassing most majors you would likely consider. You'll find English, astronomical and planetary studies, and everything in between, such as business administration. The Starbucks College Achievement Plan is a popular perk, and Angele Busch states that "15,000 partners have graduated, and another 25,000 are participating."

Keep in mind that this is not available to those who have already earned a bachelor's degree, and ASU is the only institution available. You may also want to note that Starbucks covers tuition but not textbooks or a computer, which will be necessary for online coursework. Still, given that a bachelor's from ASU costs around $75,000 on average, plus the fact that a partner only needs to work 20 hours a week to be eligible, the Starbucks College Achievement Plan is a valuable opportunity for partners looking to earn a college degree.

You may have visited a Starbucks in the past and noticed that a barista had a black apron on instead of a green one. No, this isn't a fun stylistic choice; that black apron is actually a special one that the barista earned as part of the Coffee Master Program. Baristas who have at least a year at Starbucks under their belt and complete levels 100 to 300 in the Starbucks Coffee Academy courses are eligible to be coffee masters and don the coveted black apron.

The Starbucks Coffee Academy is a portion of the Starbucks Global Academy, an online platform which includes four schools: Third Place, Opportunity, Pursuit of Good, and the Coffee Academy. The Coffee Academy's courses provide information about growing coffee, harvesting practices, ethical concerns, and roasting, all the way to the actual cups of coffee and what makes them unique. The classes themselves are always available, and you don't even need to be a Starbucks partner to take them. In fact, I signed up for an account and took a look at the courses to see what it is all about. I found that they are very reading heavy, though there are visuals sprinkled throughout. In truth, it felt like a classic online training module.

If you think your Starbucks barista is the best around, they may have participated in the Starbucks North America Barista Championship. 2024 was the first year the chain held something of this magnitude. The process began in February, when managers from each store selected a single barista to participate in a district-wide competition. The winners of those competitions then headed to area competitions in April. As part of these contests, contestants presented a signature beverage, something of a partner-created secret menu item. Regional competitions wrapped in May, with 23 baristas making it to Seattle's June finals.

The 2024 winner was Darcy Todd from Texas. Out of a field of over 17,000 baristas, she earned the title, a trip to Costa Rica to visit Hacienda Alsacia, and an opportunity to share her signature drink in Seattle. Todd created an Iced Peaches and Cream Latte with Coconut Milk, which you could get by ordering an Iced Vanilla Latte with blonde roast espresso, coconut milk, and vanilla sweet cream cold foam made with the peach juice blend. As Todd told Starbucks, "This drink represents how Starbucks is the Third Place and it doesn't matter what culture you're from. Differences go away because coffee is our common ground."

Darcy Todd isn't the only barista who has traveled on Starbucks' dime. Angele Busch shares that partners visit coffee farms with the Origin Experience, a trip that shares "the story of coffee, from its beginnings." Across several trips from January to March in 2023, for example, Starbucks hosted 800 partners at Costa Rica's Hacienda Alsacia. This isn't the only destination, however, and Starbucks takes partners to other parts of the world for similar experiences. No matter the locale, baristas see firsthand the journey that coffee makes to their stores.

By going on such trips, baristas learn to look at coffee from a different perspective. They learn more about where everything comes from, making the experience of creating drinks feel connected to the world outside their cafe.

Of course, there are jobs within Starbucks that don't necessarily strictly involve making drinks. Each store has leadership roles, like shift supervisor, assistant store manager, or even store manager, all right within the confines of the same retail location. Starbucks is making an effort to fill those leadership roles with existing employees; the chain has a goal of making it to 90% internal fills. The company believes this will help hourly employees see the benefit of sticking around to level up to leadership positions within its stores.

In addition to retail jobs, Starbucks also has corporate positions. Corporate partners, rather than working behind an espresso bar, have a more flexible schedule. Some partners work remotely, others are in the office, and still others have something of a hybrid schedule. 

After my time at Starbucks came and went, I became a coffee fan and frequent customer of the chain, but it wasn't until a couple years ago that I learned Starbucks has an alumni community. This group was started in September 2021 as part of Starbucks' 50th anniversary.

You can find the group on social media platforms, including LinkedIn. In fact, when Starbucks was celebrating 20 years of the PSL, on LinkedIn, the alumni community put out a call for a memories of times baristas felt connected to customers. I shared my story of connecting with a regular customer who liked his cappuccino in a very particular way. For my story and others that fellow alumni shared, the Starbucks Alumni Community promised to send Pumpkin Spice Latte pins, which they did. The alumni community has also offered unique gift cards a couple of times, and I've received two different gift cards showcasing my alumnus status. These are refillable cards that I use to pay for the occasional coffee splurge, even though I'm pretty proud of the coffee I make at home these days.