Maybe you’re a new grad searching for a role that could help you live well — while putting a dent in those student loans. Or perhaps you’ve been in the workforce for a while and want a better-paying job. Either way, you’re aiming for a gig that pays at least $100,000 a year. You’re just not sure where to find it.
You might assume that these high-paying jobs are reserved for doctors, lawyers or investment bankers. Fortunately, that's not always the case. In reality, you could clear six figures in a variety of roles that might surprise you.
MoneyLion went job-hunting — specifically for jobs that could pay at least $100,000. Here’s what we found.
1. Retail District Managers
Ben Lamarche, general manager at Lock Search Group, knows what you probably think about retail jobs: They don’t pay much or offer much upward mobility. He’d like to correct those assumptions.
If you’re a district manager in retail, he says you could “easily pull $150K — and that’s before bonuses and allowances.”
The job is also far from easy.
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“You’ll be overseeing anywhere from 10 to 40 stores, depending on the brand,” he said. “Everything falls to you, including staffing, inventory execution, loss prevention and hitting regional targets.”
Lamarche says most district managers rise through the ranks, moving from assistant manager to store manager before taking on multi-unit leadership.
“So if you don’t have a degree, it’s a great equalizer,” he said. “I’ve seen people climb the ranks fast, but they are exceptional, highly skilled leaders with the natural ability and drive to reach new numbers.”
2. Personal Chef
If you’ve got a culinary background — and a better disposition than Carmy from The Bear — you might find yourself raking in a different kind of dough by becoming a personal chef.
According to Milos Eric, co-founder and general manager at OysterLink, an online hospitality job platform, personal chefs can potentially earn a $100,000 salary, depending on their expertise. He says the role requires more than knowing how to make perfectly braised root vegetables and beef shank.
People who excel in this role, Eric said, “combine culinary excellence with the ability to manage cost control and menu strategy.”
3. Top Servers and Bartenders
If you paid your way through school as a restaurant server or bartender, you know firsthand how underpaid and underappreciated the role can be — along with some of the more interesting (to put it mildly) ways people eat. However, Eric said servers and bartenders at high-end restaurants and hotels, especially in big cities, can be very well compensated.
“In Michelin-starred restaurants or high-end hotels located in cities like New York and Miami, great servers and bartenders with several years of experience can easily earn more than $100,000 a year in tips,” he said.
These roles typically require years of experience, strong sales skills and the ability to manage high-pressure service environments, but the payoff can be significant.
4. Technical Writer
Himanshu Agarwal, co-founder of Zenius, a remote hiring company, says technical writers have the potential to earn $100,000 annually, especially in specialized industries.
“They solve expensive problems, are hard to automate and typically sit in talent blind spots,” he said. “Technical writers can be paid highly in specialized or regulated industries like fintech, aerospace and defense. These roles require a background in engineering, QA or compliance.”
Agarwal added that employers favor candidates with regulated-industry experience, since improper documentation in certain industries can lead to serious legal or financial consequences.
5. Technical Product Marketing Managers
Technical product marketing manager may be a mouthful, but it’s also a role that commonly clears $100,000, according to Agarwal.
“Technical product marketing managers are highly paid because they bridge the gap between back-end engineering and revenue generation,” he said. “Employers want someone who can translate a product’s value for nontechnical audiences. That’s why they look for candidates with experience in product, sales engineering or tech consulting.”
6. Social Worker
No, this isn’t a typo.
While social work is often associated with low pay and burnout, Joel Blackstock, clinical director at Taproot Therapy Collective, said clinical social workers can earn six figures under the right conditions.
“Clinical social work is actually the most efficient path to a six-figure income in the mental health field,” he said.
If you already have a Bachelor of Social Work, you can complete a master’s program in one year. For others, it typically takes two years. After completing about two years of supervised clinical work, Blackstock said candidates can sit for their licensing exam and open a private practice.
“That’s where the math completely changes, because insurance companies in most states are currently remitting between $100 and $150 per session,” he said. “That means a private-practice therapist can easily generate $7,000 to $10,000 a month. We run a clinic where we hire the best of the best, and every single one of them clears $100,000 easily.”
He attributed this success to a focus on high-demand niches, where specialists can charge anywhere from $200 to $400 an hour.
The Bottom Line
If you’re looking to make more money, six figures aren’t limited to traditional white-collar careers. From retail leadership and hospitality to tech roles and private-practice social work, there are multiple paths to a $100,000 salary.
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice.
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