In-N-Out and 3 More Fast-Food Chains With High-Paying Manager Positions – How to Work Your Way Up
Written by
Karen Doyle
Edited by
Sean Fisher
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Working at a fast-food restaurant is a right of passage for many teenagers. It can be a great first job, as you learn how to work in a team, take direction from a manager, and interact with customers. But the idea of being a manager at a fast-food restaurant may not seem appealing – until you find out how much some managers make.
Here are some fast-food chains that pay their managers well – and how you can work your way up through the ranks.
In-N-Out Burger
California-based In-N-Out Burger gained some notoriety a few years ago when USA Today reported that store managers earned $160,000 per year. Employment website Indeed reports that the average salary for an In-N-Out Burger store manager today is $124,064, with the highest paid managers earning nearly $200,000.
In-N-Out Burger has a philosophy of promoting from within, and there is a clear path for advancement. New employees may start out working in the back room or cleaning, progress through several levels of order taking, then on to food preparation, and supervision of other staff.
Chick-fil-A
Store managers at Chick-fil-A in California earn an average of $64,000 per year, according to Indeed. Chick-fil-A offers a Leadership Development Program to train future managers, even if they don’t have previous experience working at a Chick-fil-A store. While managers have plenty of work to do outside of store operating hours, it’s worth noting that Chick-fil-A stores are not open on Sundays.
McDonald’s
A store manager at a McDonald’s in California can expect to earn a salary of about $54,000 per year according to Indeed, although salaries can go as high as $117,000.
McDonald’s provides training and development for its employees, as well as periodic performance reviews. Eligible McDonald’s employees can take advantage of a tuition reimbursement program that covers 100% of their tuition for an associate or bachelor’s degree at Colorado Technical University.
Shake Shack
In California, a store manager for Shake Shack makes an average of about $59,000, although their salary can go up to as much as $109,000. Shake Shack promotes from within, and provides training and development to help employees advance.
If your plan is to work your way up at a fast-food restaurant and become a manager, pay close attention to one thing. Many fast-food chains franchise their restaurants – meaning that the right to use the name, recipes, and processes are licensed to individual owners. McDonald’s, Chick-Fil-A, and many others are franchises. In-N-Out Burger and Shake Shack are not.
A franchisee may own one restaurant, or 50. If a franchisee owns just a handful of locations, it may be more difficult to get promoted to manager, simply because there are only a few positions available. So, if your goal is to work your way up to a manager position, look for a chain that’s not franchised, or look for a franchisee with a large number of locations.
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