What You Need to Know About Food Cooking Machine Operator or Tender
Career Description Operate or tend cooking equipment, such as steam cooking vats, deep fry cookers, pressure cookers, kettles, and boilers, to prepare food products.
Daily Life Of a Cooking Machine Operator
- Turn valves or start pumps to add ingredients or drain products from equipment and to transfer products for storage, cooling, or further processing.
- Set temperature, pressure, and time controls, and start conveyers, machines, or pumps.
- Listen for malfunction alarms, and shut down equipment and notify supervisors when necessary.
- Admit required amounts of water, steam, cooking oils, or compressed air into equipment, such as by opening water valves to cool mixtures to the desired consistency.
- Collect and examine product samples during production to test them for quality, color, content, consistency, viscosity, acidity, or specific gravity.
- Tend or operate and control equipment, such as kettles, cookers, vats and tanks, and boilers, to cook ingredients or prepare products for further processing.
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Qualities of a Cooking Machine Operator
Below is a list of the skills most Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders say are important on the job.
Operation Monitoring: Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Operation and Control: Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Related Job Titles
- Thermo Processor
- Manufacturing Assistant
- Process Technician
- Instant Potato Processor
- Gum Cook
Cooking Machine Operator Job Outlook
In 2016, there was an estimated number of 37,200 jobs in the United States for Food Cooking Machine Operator or Tender. New jobs are being produced at a rate of 2.4% which is below the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 900 new jobs for Food Cooking Machine Operator or Tender by 2026. Due to new job openings and attrition, there will be an average of 5,200 job openings in this field each year.

The states with the most job growth for Cooking Machine Operator are Rhode Island, Utah, and Vermont. Watch out if you plan on working in North Dakota, New Mexico, or Missouri. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
How Much Does a Cooking Machine Operator Make?
The average yearly salary of a Cooking Machine Operator ranges between $21,230 and $45,400.

Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders who work in Michigan, Oregon, or Nebraska, make the highest salaries.
Below is a list of the median annual salaries for Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders in different U.S. states.
State | Annual Mean Salary |
---|---|
Alabama | $26,750 |
Arkansas | $34,190 |
California | $30,120 |
Colorado | $31,110 |
Connecticut | $30,980 |
Florida | $25,990 |
Georgia | $26,410 |
Hawaii | $37,710 |
Idaho | $36,410 |
Illinois | $31,740 |
Indiana | $30,310 |
Iowa | $34,940 |
Kansas | $35,780 |
Kentucky | $34,180 |
Louisiana | $32,200 |
Maine | $29,980 |
Maryland | $28,800 |
Massachusetts | $35,950 |
Michigan | $38,600 |
Minnesota | $34,730 |
Mississippi | $27,440 |
Missouri | $28,840 |
Nebraska | $41,260 |
Nevada | $29,850 |
New Hampshire | $27,680 |
New Jersey | $31,420 |
New Mexico | $24,740 |
New York | $33,290 |
North Carolina | $30,690 |
North Dakota | $33,330 |
Ohio | $35,260 |
Oklahoma | $30,030 |
Oregon | $35,760 |
Pennsylvania | $34,540 |
South Carolina | $32,110 |
South Dakota | $30,150 |
Tennessee | $30,640 |
Texas | $28,130 |
Utah | $35,430 |
Virginia | $32,210 |
Washington | $34,940 |
Wisconsin | $35,410 |
What Tools do Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders Use?
Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders may use on a daily basis:
- Database software
How to Become a Cooking Machine Operator
What education or degrees do I need to become a Food Cooking Machine Operator or Tender?

What work experience do I need to become a Cooking Machine Operator?

Who Employs Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders?

The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.

Other Jobs You May be Interested In
Those who work as a Food Cooking Machine Operator or Tender sometimes switch careers to one of these choices:
References:
More about our data sources and methodologies.
Featured Schools
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