I quit bartending at Twin Peaks to start my marketing career. Within 3 years, I was a CMO earning double my former income.

• Brittany Betts left her job bartending at Twin Peaks in 2021 to pursue a marketing career.
• She started as an intern at StaySense and moved up before becoming the CMO within three years.
• While Twin Peaks helped her pay her way through college, she's now earning six figures.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Brittany Betts, a 28-year-old CMO in Nashville. It's been edited for length and clarity.

I'm the online travel agency manager and CMO of StaySense, a short-term vacation rental management platform owned by Guesty.

I started working at Sonic when I was 15. When I was 17, I had a few random serving and hosting jobs at restaurants like Chili's.