Careers / Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders
Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders — Career Decision Dashboard
United States
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Report generated from official BLS OEWS and O*NET data — United States.
Median annual wage
$41,330
United States, 2025
Employment
6,900
United States, 2025
Typical education
Less than a High School Diploma
Job Zone 2
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
Operate or tend equipment such as cooling and freezing units, refrigerators, batch freezers, and freezing tunnels, to cool or freeze products, food, blood plasma, and chemicals.
- O*NET code
- 51-9193.00
- Job zone
- 2
- Experience required
- None
Typical tasks
- Activate mechanical rakes to regulate flow of ice from storage bins to vats.
- Record temperatures, amounts of materials processed, or test results on report forms.
- Monitor pressure gauges, ammeters, flowmeters, thermometers, or products, and adjust controls to maintain specified conditions, such as feed rate, product consistency, temperature, air pressure, and machine speed.
- Read dials and gauges on panel control boards to ascertain temperatures, alkalinities, and densities of mixtures, and turn valves to obtain specified mixtures.
- Start machinery, such as pumps, feeders, or conveyors, and turn valves to heat, admit, or transfer products, refrigerants, or mixes.
- Correct machinery malfunctions by performing actions such as removing jams, and inform supervisors of malfunctions as necessary.
- Assemble equipment, and attach pipes, fittings, or valves, using hand tools.
- Measure or weigh specified amounts of ingredients or materials, and load them into tanks, vats, hoppers, or other equipment.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$33,430
25th percentile
$36,380
75th percentile
$49,550
90th percentile
$62,340
Most important skills
- Operations Monitoring3.9
- Operation and Control3.8
- Critical Thinking3.6
- Monitoring3.5
- Complex Problem Solving3.5
- Judgment and Decision Making3.1
- Speaking3.1
- Equipment Maintenance3.1
- Quality Control Analysis3.1
- Repairing3.1
- Troubleshooting3.1
- Active Learning3.0
What skills do you need?
Select the skills you already have
Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.
Skill coverage
0%
0 of 15 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
15
Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.
Skills to develop
| Skill | Importance | Required level | Your level | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operations Monitoring | 3.9 | 3.9 | Not selected | 3.9 |
| Operation and Control | 3.8 | 3.6 | Not selected | 3.6 |
| Monitoring | 3.5 | 3.4 | Not selected | 3.4 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.6 | 3.3 | Not selected | 3.3 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.5 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Quality Control Analysis | 3.1 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Troubleshooting | 3.1 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.1 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Equipment Maintenance | 3.1 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Repairing | 3.1 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Active Learning | 3.0 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Time Management | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Active Listening | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Speaking | 3.1 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
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Compare with Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and TendersHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| NE | $68,170 | 60 | 2025 |
| Dallas, TX | $65,850 | 50 | 2025 |
| Chicago, IL | $65,320 | 40 | 2025 |
| IA | $62,520 | 290 | 2025 |
| IN | $55,730 | 50 | 2025 |
| St. Louis, MO | $54,450 | 30 | 2025 |
| Lancaster, PA | $54,330 | 60 | 2025 |
| MO | $53,940 | 200 | 2025 |
| New York, NY | $51,460 | 110 | 2025 |
| NJ | $51,460 | 100 | 2025 |
| WA | $50,870 | 60 | 2025 |
| IL | $49,200 | 60 | 2025 |
| ID | $48,360 | 90 | 2025 |
| OH | $48,160 | 240 | 2025 |
| Gainesville, GA | $47,160 | 140 | 2025 |
| WI | $47,060 | 100 | 2025 |
| Atlanta, GA | $46,950 | 120 | 2025 |
| MN | $46,910 | 100 | 2025 |
| MA | $46,800 | — | 2025 |
| GA | $46,770 | 540 | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.
Build a transition comparisonCareer and skills data: O*NET 31.0.
Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).
Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.