This 27-year-old says she makes 6 figures running a California fast-food joint: 'It's been life-changing for my family'

Raising Cane's was founded in Louisiana in 1996. The popular fast-food chain specializes in chicken fingers. Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

• Monique Pizano, 27, is a general manager of a Raising Cane's branch in California.
• The college graduate says she can make as much as $174,000 in a year, per The Wall Street Journal.
• Pizano's earnings have allowed her to go on a honeymoon to Japan and save for a house down payment.

Monique Pizano's decision to work for Raising Cane's instead of taking a regular desk job has paid off handsomely.

The 27-year-old college graduate told The Wall Street Journal in a report published on Monday that she makes as much as $174,000 a year working as a general manager at the fast-food chain.

"Sitting at a desk and fixing documents, I wanted to fall asleep," said Pizano, who decided to join the restaurant industry after interning at the public-planning department in Riverside, California.

"I wanted to be on my feet," she continued.

Pizano is one of the many fast-food employees in California who have benefited from Gov. Gavin Newsom's move to raise the industry's wages.

Since April 1, California fast food staff have been entitled to a minimum wage of $20 per hour. This is 25% higher than California's $ 16-an-hour minimum wage for other industries.

Salaried employees like Pizano enjoyed pay hikes as well, with the state now requiring managers to be paid a minimum annual salary of $83,200.

Pizano told The Journal that her salary was raised from $79,000 to $85,000 in March, alongside other Raising Cane's employees. That's not including the monthly bonuses — which could range from $5,000 to $7,500 — that Pizano can receive if her branch hits its financial targets.

"It's been life-changing for my family," said Pizano, who says her earnings helped her pay for a honeymoon to Japan and allowed her to save for a house down payment.

Representatives for Raising Cane's didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from BI sent outside regular business hours.

To be sure, Raising Cane's isn't the only fast-food chain that pays managers well. Other chains like Chipotle and Taco Bell have been paying supervisors six-figure salaries.

In fact, a restaurant manager at In-N-Out could even make more than $180,000 a year, per a book written by owner Lynsi Snyder about the company's history.

"Offering the highest wages in the industry is one way we attract the best people to care for our customers," Snyder said in her book.

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