Salary
Average Salary: $70,110
Expected Lifetime Earnings: $2,927,000
Depending on how many hives you have and how much time you have to devote to all the work that's involved (including the business end of it...of beekeeping, not the business end of the bee, that is), a backyard hobbyist turned honey entrepreneur can make anywhere from zero (hey, it could happen) to over $100,000 a year. Though, if you're making six figures, you probably aren't in the backyard anymore.
If you work for a commercial beekeeping organization, such as one where your job is to keep the hives healthy while keeping track of honey, wax, and royal jelly production, the pay is a bit more likely to move you toward the career's salary average of about $72,000 a year (source). It just depends on where you live and what the economy is like there.
Keep in mind that beekeeping is an agricultural trade. You may not be milling grain, but you are a farmer, and that means your livelihood is tied to all sorts of external factors like seasons, weather, disease, and even health food trends. That could be a good thing or a very, very bad thing, but either way it's something to consider before putting all your bees in one basket.