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Slaughterers and Meat Packers

Typical education: High school diplomaLower pressure

What they do

Perform nonroutine or precision functions involving the preparation of large portions of meat. Work may include specialized slaughtering tasks, cutting standard or premium cuts of meat for marketing, making sausage, or wrapping meats. Work typically occurs in slaughtering, meat packing, or wholesale establishments.

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.

Lower 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 $40,130 Median per year · $19.29/hr Most earn $33,340–$51,090

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.

What you might do

  • Remove bones, and cut meat into standard cuts in preparation for marketing.
  • Cut, trim, skin, sort, and wash viscera of slaughtered animals to separate edible portions from offal.
  • Shave or singe and defeather carcasses, and wash them in preparation for further processing or packaging.
  • Stun animals prior to slaughtering.
  • Grind meat into hamburger, and into trimmings used to prepare sausages, luncheon meats, and other meat products.
  • Wrap dressed carcasses or meat cuts.

Job outlook

United States
2% more jobs by 2035, slower than average · about 7,700 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

  • Animal slaughtering and processing89.1%
  • Grocery and specialty food retailers4.4%
  • Merchant wholesalers, nondurable goods2.2%
  • Temporary help services2.1%

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

Experience before this job: 6 months to 1 year

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: 6 months to 1 year

This is an entry-level job. You can start with a high school diploma and learn most of the work on the job, and people usually need about 6 months to 1 year of related experience before they are doing this work on their own.

  1. High school diploma

    About 4 years

    Finish high school with solid math, science, and hands-on classes, since this job requires a diploma and steady, careful work on the floor.

  2. Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers

    6 months to 1 year

    Start on the processing line learning knife safety, trimming, and how to work at a steady pace, which builds the skills needed for precision meat work.

  3. Slaughterers and Meat Packers

    Entry-level once you have the experience above

    Move into specialized slaughtering, cutting standard or premium cuts, making sausage, and wrapping meat, which requires precision and following food safety rules.

Where it can lead

  1. Butchers and Meat Cutters

    1-2 years of experience first

    You move from processing-line work to more skilled cutting, where you prepare retail cuts and work with customers and display counters.

  2. First-Line Supervisor of Food Processing Workers

    3-5 years of experience first

    You lead a small crew, schedule work, and check quality and safety; this usually takes strong reliability, good communication, and knowing the processing steps well.

What you can do now

Ideas for high school and college students.

In high school

  • Take math and biologyMath helps with measuring and weighing portions, and biology helps you understand food safety and how meat is handled.
  • Take a family and consumer sciences or culinary classCooking and food handling classes teach knife skills, kitchen safety, and hygiene that transfer directly to meat preparation.
  • Get a part-time job at a grocery store or deliWorking near a meat counter or deli lets you see cutting and packaging up close and build a work history employers look for.
  • Take a food handler safety courseA short course offered in many towns teaches sanitation rules that processing employers expect new workers to know.
  • Join FFA or a 4-H livestock project if availableThese groups teach animal care, meat science basics, and responsibility, which help you understand where meat comes from and how it is processed.

In college

  • Take food science or animal science coursesThese classes explain meat composition, food safety, and processing methods that are useful for plant or meat-packing work.
  • Get a summer or part-time job at a meat processing plant or butcher shopHands-on experience at a processor shows employers you can handle the pace, the cold environment, and the safety rules.
  • Earn a food safety or sanitation certificateCertificates in food handling or sanitation are offered at many community colleges and are useful for supervisor paths.
  • Join a food science or agriculture clubClubs connect you with people in food processing and can lead to tours, job leads, and networking.
  • Look for a meat cutting or butchery course at a community collegeA short hands-on course in meat cutting builds the precision skills that lead toward butcher and meat cutter roles.

Tips for getting started

  • Ask a local grocery store, meat processor, or butcher shop if they hire part-time helpers, since even a few months of hands-on experience helps you get hired for this job.
  • Learn food safety and sanitation basics early. Many areas offer short food handler courses, and employers value workers who already know how to keep meat clean and safe.
  • Build physical stamina and steady hand skills, such as through sports, woodworking, or cooking at home, because this work involves standing, repetitive motions, and precise knife use.

Related jobs that often lead here

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.

College majors that lead here

Majors: U.S. Department of Education and BLS (CIP–SOC crosswalk). Earnings and debt: College Scorecard, typical across U.S. colleges.

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