working at starbucks is definitely fun. loving the high pace of environment is also a huge plus. but, the truth of starbucks is when you're new, don't expect to do anything fun really for the first 6 months. like, sure you'll get little like times here and there but for the most part you're going to be on support based roles so you'll do a lot of cleaning, restocking, dishes, etc.

but overall super fun honestly. it definitely depends on the store you work for too! i knew i wanted to work at starbucks since before i was of legal age to work. but the urge really hit when i was 16-19. so, i found a few starbucks in my area, went there enough to where they wouldn't know me as a regular but still pretty often. i frequented 3 stores. i would sit down, do some studying, but consistently watch how the baristas are. i would read their body language, how they treat each other, who's doing what role and how often they did that role. i would also ask myself questions like, "where is the manager?" "who looks to be the shift?" etc.

another thing i would do is i would go in at different times of the day just to see who is working and how different shifts of the day delegate their work as well as which shifts work which days because i'm not going to lie to you, some shifts are unbearable while others are much more easygoing and will let you get a lot more hands-on experience with some of the more advanced stuff that they usually don't let green beans touch so often right off the bat.

but again, i would only go in often enough to where it would be considered decently often but not so often that i became a regular.

after frequenting these stores for about a year, i found myself having a good base of knowing which work environment would be nice and which one wouldn't be. that's how i chose my store. i'm not saying take a year but ideally a few months. i know it's a little bit longer of a wait but it's better imo than say, applying at one store and then getting fired because of poor management and having on your starbucks record that you're not rehireable. Starbucks as a job is absolutely a lot of fun so to waste an opportunity by not doing your homework in advance would be a detriment to you.

good luck to you and hope you get the job (:

edit: i reread your piece and i just want to say, if you can't find joy or love in whatever you do, no matter where you go, you will never find it. so, while your friend may love her job, it is because she is passionate about it and she brings love into her work. if you're looking at this from a point of view of, "will this bring me joy?" no it won't because you haven't found it internally with where you are now. don't expect passion where you're going if you're not putting in the work for it where you are now.

edit 2: if you do want to start at starbucks, a great alternative seeing that you're working at target is to try and ask to be moved to starbucks at target. if you get a few months experience there it will definitely help as memorising recipes takes quite the effort (the drink menu on its own is 31 pages). so that will help your case when applying to a stand alone starbucks

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Ask your friend why she likes it. Also a very important question is if you are going to try to work at the store your friend works at, because not every store is the same and don't just assume that because your friend works at a store that's well run with customers that aren't monsters that you will.