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Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders

Typical education: High school diplomaModerate pressure

What they do

Operate or tend food or tobacco roasting, baking, or drying equipment, including hearth ovens, kiln driers, roasters, char kilns, and vacuum drying equipment.

Kinds of work

  • Realistic: Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals, often outdoors.
  • Conventional: Organizing information, following clear procedures and working with data and details.

Moderate pressure: How much pressure workers in this job report: deadlines, conflict, dealing with upset people, the cost of mistakes, responsibility for others' safety, competition and long hours. It varies a lot from one employer to the next. Source: U.S. Department of Labor worker surveys.

Pay, tasks and more

Salary

United States $44,810 Median per year · $21.54/hr Most earn $33,250–$62,680

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.

What you might do

  • Observe, feel, taste, or otherwise examine products during and after processing to ensure conformance to standards.
  • Observe flow of materials and listen for machine malfunctions, such as jamming or spillage, and notify supervisors if corrective actions fail.
  • Test products for moisture content, using moisture meters.
  • Clear or dislodge blockages in bins, screens, or other equipment, using poles, brushes, or mallets.
  • Open valves, gates, or chutes or use shovels to load or remove products from ovens or other equipment.
  • Operate or tend equipment that roasts, bakes, dries, or cures food items such as cocoa and coffee beans, grains, nuts, and bakery products.

Job outlook

United States
About the same number of jobs by 2035, little or no change · about 2,500 openings a year

Openings include new jobs and jobs left by workers who retire or change careers. Projections: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Bright Outlook": U.S. Department of Labor.

Where they work

  • Other food manufacturing21.7%
  • Animal slaughtering and processing15.9%
  • Bakeries and tortilla manufacturing11.8%
  • Fruit and vegetable preserving and specialty food manufacturing9.2%
  • Self-employed (their own business)8.3%

Share of all workers in this career. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Employment Matrix.

Experience before this job: None

Some people start through an apprenticeship: paid training on the job, often with classes. Search apprenticeships on Apprenticeship.gov (opens in a new tab) ↗

Career path

How people usually get into this career, from school to their first job and beyond.

Typical education: High school diplomaExperience before this job: NoneEntry-level

This is an entry-level job. Most people need only a high school diploma and no prior work experience, and they learn the equipment on the job, so you can start straight out of school.

  1. High school diploma

    About 4 years

    Finish high school, focusing on math, science, and shop or safety classes, since these help you follow temperatures, timers, and machine instructions.

  2. Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operator

    Learned on the job, usually under 1 year to get comfortable

    You learn to start, watch, and adjust ovens, roasters, and dryers under a trained coworker, following food safety and equipment rules.

Where it can lead

  1. Lead Production Operator

    2-4 years of experience first

    You train newer operators, check product quality, and help keep the line running smoothly, which shows you can be trusted with more responsibility.

  2. Production Supervisor

    3-5 years of experience first

    You schedule crews, track output and safety, and make decisions for the whole shift; moving up usually means showing strong reliability, teamwork, and basic record-keeping skills.

What you can do now

Ideas for high school and college students.

In high school

  • Take math and science classesMeasuring, reading gauges, and understanding heat and timing all come up in this work.
  • Take shop, welding, or industrial technology classesHands-on machine experience helps you feel comfortable around equipment.
  • Get a starter job in a kitchen or food serviceWorking around ovens and food safety rules teaches you the basics of the job environment.
  • Learn food safety basicsMany schools and local health programs offer food handler courses that show employers you understand safe food handling.
  • Join a club like FFA or a career-focused student groupClubs build teamwork, responsibility, and comfort with practical projects.

In college

  • Take courses in food science, chemistry, or industrial technologyUnderstanding how heat changes food and materials helps you run drying and roasting equipment with confidence.
  • Get a part-time job at a bakery, food plant, or production facilityReal work experience on a production floor makes you a stronger applicant.
  • Earn a food safety or sanitation certificationMany local programs offer these, and they show employers you know safe food practices.
  • Pursue a summer internship or temporary factory jobA short stint at a manufacturer shows you how production lines run and what supervisors expect.
  • Join a student organization in food science or manufacturingLeadership roles in these groups build skills useful for moving up to lead or supervisor roles.

Tips for getting started

  • Ask about on-the-job training and safety certifications when you apply, since most employers teach the machines themselves.
  • Show you are dependable: good attendance, careful work, and following safety rules matter a lot for machine jobs.
  • Look for part-time or summer work in a food plant, bakery, or factory to see the work up close and build a work record.

Related jobs a step up

Education, experience and related careers: U.S. Department of Labor. The step-by-step path, where it can lead and what you can do now were written by AI as typical examples; many people take other ways.

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