All About Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders
Occupation Description Operate or tend cooking equipment, such as steam cooking vats, deep fry cookers, pressure cookers, kettles, and boilers, to prepare food products.
Life As a Cooking Machine Operator
- Tend or operate and control equipment, such as kettles, cookers, vats and tanks, and boilers, to cook ingredients or prepare products for further processing.
- Listen for malfunction alarms, and shut down equipment and notify supervisors when necessary.
- Clean, wash, and sterilize equipment and cooking area, using water hoses, cleaning or sterilizing solutions, or rinses.
- Pour, dump, or load prescribed quantities of ingredients or products into cooking equipment, manually or using a hoist.
- Remove cooked material or products from equipment.
- Place products on conveyors or carts, and monitor product flow.
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Things a Cooking Machine Operator Should Know How to Do
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.
Writing: Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Other Cooking Machine Operator Job Titles
- Sausage Cooker
- Steam Box Tender
- Cook-Box Filler
- Sanding Line Operator
- Chocolate Temperer
Job Demand for Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders
There were about 37,200 jobs for Food Cooking Machine Operator or Tender in 2016 (in the United States). 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.
What is the Average Salary of a Cooking Machine Operator
The typical yearly salary for Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders is somewhere between $21,230 and $45,400.

Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders who work in Michigan, Oregon, or Nebraska, make the highest salaries.
How much do Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders make 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 |
Tools & Technologies Used by Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders
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
Are there Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders education requirements?

How many years of work experience do I need?

Where Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders Work

The table below shows the approximate number of Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders employed by various industries.

Related Careers
Career changers with experience as a Food Cooking Machine Operator or Tender sometimes find work in one of the following fields:
References:
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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