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She may be one of the most eligible women in America, but there was a time when Bachelorette Jenn Tran’s job didn’t involve giving out roses and kissing 25 men on national television.
Jenn—a 26-year-old from Hillsdale, New Jersey, and the lead of The Bachelorette Season 21—is just one of many Bachelors and Bachelorettes who had regular jobs before their careers on reality TV. Season 20 Bachelorette Charity Lawson was a Child and Family Therapist; Season 19 Bachelorettes Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey were a pilot and an ICU nurse respectively; Season 18 Bachelorette Michelle Young was a teacher; Season 17 Bachelorette Katie Thurston was a bank marketing manager.
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Other past Bachelorettes include a phlebotomist (Season 16’s Tayshia Adams); a hairstylist (Season 16’s Clare Crawley); and a former pageant queen (Season 15’s Hannah Brown). Bachelor Nation’s leads come from all walks of life. Keep reading for what Jenn did for a living before The Bachelorette Season 21 and her “real” job prior to her reality TV career.
What does Jenn do for a living from The Bachelorette Season 21?
Jenn listed her job on The Bachelor Season 28 with Joey Graziadei as a Physician Assistant student. Jenn is a graduate student in the physician assistant program at Barry University in Miami, Florida. She’s set to graduate with a Master of Science in clinical medical science in 2024.
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Jenn confirmed in a TikTok video in February 2024 that she did not drop out her physician assistant program to appear on The Bachelor, however, she did take a break from school to film the reality TV show. “You guys have been asking about it, so let’s talk about how I went on ‘The Bachelor’ as a PA student. First and foremost, no, I did not drop out of school,” she said at the time. “I’ve been seeing those comments saying, ‘I can’t believe she’s dropped out of school to go on the show,’ and I can confirm that I did not do that.”
She continued, “The concept of putting your life on hold to go and find love is absolutely crazy, but that’s just the kind of person I am. I want to be able to say yes to everything and not have any regrets.”
Jenn also explained why she wanted to pause her medical career and how she got permission from her program. “The starting factor for me putting my career on hold was ultimately Joey, honestly. I was terrified when I found out it was Joey because I realized that it was all becoming real and that I needed to ask for permission from my school to do the show,” she said. “I didn’t know how my PA school was going to look at me.”
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She continued, “What I did was I wrote my academic advisor a very cryptic email saying that I needed to speak with her and then she called me and I shared the situation. Can I do it or not? I got so incredibly lucky because she was so supportive of it. Obviously, there were a lot of hoops I had to jump through and other people we had to talk to for it to work out, but she said, ‘We can absolutely do this.’”
She also went on to explain how she was still able to continue with her medical career after taking time off for The Bachelor and now The Bachelorette. “[My academic advisor] said we could put two rotations on hold and I could repeat them after my advanced didactic year. My program is 2 1/2 years, and that half year is an advanced didactic and you’re back in the classroom,” she said. “After my advanced didactic year, I will just repeat two rotations and will still get to walk in graduation with everybody. I was really lucky. I can’t thank them enough for allowing me to do this and for supporting me.”
What were Jenn’s other jobs before The Bachelorette Season 21?
Along with her physician assistant career, Jenn also worked as a bartender at Cisco Brewers in Boston, Massachusetts, from April to August 2022, according to her Linkedin, Before that, she worked as a Clinical Care Technician at Tufts Medical Center in Boston from 2020 to 2022. Jenn’s other jobs included a restaurant server at restaurants like Momma’s Kitchen in Montvale, New Jersey and Eno Vino Wine Bar & Bistro in Madison, Wisconsin; as well as a lacrosse instructor with i9 Sports. She was also an Emergency Medical Technician at River Vale Ambulance Corps in River Vale, New Jersey, from 2015 to 2017.
Where did Jenn go to college before The Bachelorette Season 21?
Along with her current physician assistant program at Barry University, Jenn also attended the University of Pittsburgh from 2016 to 2018, where she was a part of the Phi Eta Sigma Honor society, as well as the American Medical Students Association and Student Emergency Medical Services. She then transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2018, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology in 2020.
While at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Jenn was a part of the Alpha Phi sorority, as well as the Women’s Lacrosse Club, which she was the Community Relations Chairman for. At the university, she was also a research assistant in the cellular and molecular pathology department.
How much did Jenn make from The Bachelor?
Jenn was a contestant on The Bachelor Season 28 with Joey Graziadei, where she was sent home in Week 7. In what could come as a shock to fans, Bachelor and Bachelorette contestants aren’t paid.
Along with not receiving a salary, contestants also pay for their own styling, including their rose ceremony suits and dresses, themselves, which is why many contestants leave The Bachelor and The Bachelorette with significant debt. Many contestants also quit their jobs to be on The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, which can film for as long as three months. “I know that there are women in the past who cashed out their 401(k)s for the show,” TV blogger Dana Weiss told Mic in 2016. “Some have gone into serious credit card debt.”
How much did Jenn make as the Bachelorette?
Jenn is expected to make $100,000 as the lead of The Bachelorette Season 21, which is the current salary for Bachelors and Bachelorettes, according to Reality Steve.
Season 14 Bachelorette finalist Jason Tartick confirmed in a podcast in May 2021 that he and his cast mates, Colton Underwod and Blake Horstmann, were all offered $100,000 to be the Season 23 Bachelor. Though most recent Bachelors and Bachelorettes make at least $100,000, that wasn’t always the rate. Like most jobs, there are some Bachelors and Bachelorettes who have been able to negotiate more money than other lead, while others made less than the standard. Dean Unglert, a finalist on The Bachelorette season 12, revealed in a past interview that he was offered $75,000 to be the Season 22 Bachelor.
Emily Maynard, who was the Season 8 Bachelorette in 2012, is often cited as one of the highest-paid Bachelors or Bachelorettes, with a pay of $250,000. In Touch reported at the time that Emily, as a result of intense negotiations, was paid more than any other lead of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette at the time.. “The producers have completely changed the format this season in order to meet Emily’s demands,” a source told In Touch at the time. In Touch also reported that Emily was also specific about the type of men she wanted on her season. “She wanted only the best-looking, most mannered guys,” the source said. “She’s whittling it down to a handful of candidates who she will spend a lot more time with. If she doesn’t like a guy, he’s gone.”
Ashley Hebert, who was the Season 7 Bachelorette in 2011, has also had a controversial past around her Bachelorette salary. Us Weekly reported at the time that Ashley made $30,000 for her time as the Bachelorette, which would’ve been $70,000 less than other leads. Reality Steve, however, denied Us Weekly’s reporting and wrote in a blog post at the time that Ashley made around the standard $100,000. “I’m sorry, but Ashley would have to be the worst negotiator in the history of negotiations if she ever accepted that gig for $30k,” he wrote at the time. As one of the first Bachelorettes, Season 2 Bachelorette Meredith Phillips’ salary was far less than the current standard. The Los Angeles Times reporter Amy Kaufman reported in her 2018 book, Bachelor Nation, that Meredith made $10,000 for her time as the Bachelorette in 2004. The pay was about a tenth of what leads make now. In the book, Kaufman wrote that it would be “incredibly rare for someone to make less than six figures” today.
The Bachelorette airs on Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC. Stream it on Hulu.
