All About Slaughterers and Meat Packers

Example of Slaughterer & Meat Packer Job Work in slaughtering, meat packing, or wholesale establishments performing precision functions involving the preparation of meat. Work may include specialized slaughtering tasks, cutting standard or premium cuts of meat for marketing, making sausage, or wrapping meats.

Life As a Slaughterer & Meat Packer

• Trim head meat, and sever or remove parts of animals’ heads or skulls.
• Sever jugular veins to drain blood and facilitate slaughtering.
• Tend assembly lines, performing a few of the many cuts needed to process a carcass.
• Trim, clean, or cure animal hides.
• Remove bones, and cut meat into standard cuts in preparation for marketing.
• Wrap dressed carcasses or meat cuts.

Slaughterer & Meat Packer Required Skills

Slaughterers and Meat Packers state the following job skills are important in their day-to-day work.

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 for this Occupation:

• Cattle Killer
• Sawyer
• Animal Killer
• Seafood Processor
• Poleman

Slaughterer & Meat Packer Job Outlook

In 2016, there was an estimated number of 82,500 jobs in the United States for Slaughterer and Meat Packer. There is little to no growth in job opportunities for Slaughterer and Meat Packer. There will be an estimated 10,100 positions for Slaughterer & Meat Packer per year.

The states with the most job growth for Slaughterer & Meat Packer are Utah, Georgia, and Arizona. Watch out if you plan on working in Virginia, Kansas, or Wyoming. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.

How Much Does a Slaughterer & Meat Packer Make?

The typical yearly salary for Slaughterers and Meat Packers is somewhere between $20,810 and $37,480.

Slaughterers and Meat Packers who work in Maryland, Nebraska, or Kansas, make the highest salaries.

How much do Slaughterers and Meat Packers make in each U.S. state?

What Tools do Slaughterers and Meat Packers Use?

Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Slaughterers and Meat Packers:

• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Office
• Data entry software

Becoming a Slaughterer & Meat Packer

What kind of Slaughterer and Meat Packer requirements are there?

What work experience do I need to become a Slaughterer & Meat Packer?

Other Jobs You May be Interested In

Those interested in being a Slaughterer and Meat Packer may also be interested in:

• Cutters and Trimmers, Hand

References:

• Bureau of Labor Statistics
• College Factual
• O*NET Online

Image Credit: U.S. Army Europe Images via Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic

More about our data sources and methodologies.