Highest paying food and hospitality careers in the US
Ranked by the typical pay shown on each career's own page, so the order here cannot disagree with the pages it links to. Typical means the middle: half earn more, half earn less. Starting pay is lower, and each career page shows the full range and what it takes to get there.
15 careers in the United States
Ranked by typical pay
151Restaurant ManagerRun the floor, the schedule, the money and the people. You can get here with no degree, and most managers started as servers.Typical pay$69kTo qualifyup to 4 yrsDemandVery high2Hotel ManagerRun the building, the staff and the money, and answer for everything that goes wrong in it.Typical pay$69kTo qualify4 to 8 yrsDemandModerate3ChefRun a kitchen: the menu, the orders, the crew and the food. You get there by cooking for years, not by graduating.Typical pay$62kTo qualify4 to 10 yrsDemandVery high4Event PlannerMonths of spreadsheets and contracts, then three days where everything happens at once.Typical pay$61kTo qualify2 to 4 yrsDemandVery high5Travel AgentPlan and sell other people's trips. The job the internet was supposed to kill, and did not quite.Typical pay$50kTo qualifyup to 2 yrsDemandLimited6Outdoor Adventure GuideTake people down rivers and up mountains for a living. Low pay, seasonal work, and an office nobody else gets.Typical pay$38kTo qualifyup to 3 yrsDemandVery high7Tour GuideWalk groups through a city, a park or a museum and make them care about it. Fun work, uneven money.Typical pay$38kTo qualifyup to 2 yrsDemandGood8CookRun a station in a working kitchen. Hired on attitude, trained on the line, paid from day one.Typical pay$37kTo qualifyup to 2 yrsDemandVery high9Pastry ChefBread, cakes, plated desserts and chocolate. Early mornings, low starting pay, and a craft you can practice anywhere.Typical pay$37kTo qualifyup to 4 yrsDemandGood10Restaurant ServerTake orders, run food, get paid in tips the same night. The most common first job in America.Typical pay$35kTo qualifyunder 1 yrDemandVery high11SommelierYou own the wine list in a restaurant, buy the bottles and sell them at the table. The exams are famously hard and the pay is mostly tips.Typical pay$35kTo qualify1 to 5 yrsDemandVery high12Hotel Front Desk AgentCheck guests in, fix what goes wrong, run the desk overnight. You can start the week after high school.Typical pay$35kTo qualifyup to 1 yrDemandModerate13BartenderFast hands, a good memory, and legal responsibility for everyone you serve.Typical pay$34kTo qualifyup to 1 yrDemandGood14Casino DealerRun a table game for eight hours. Weeks of training, a state background check, and most of your pay comes from tips.Typical pay$34kTo qualifyup to 1 yrDemandLimited15BaristaThe most common first job in the country, and a real craft if you decide to take it seriously.Typical pay$31kTo qualifyup to 1 yrDemandGood