Careers / Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders
Food Cooking Machine 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
$41,590
United States, 2025
Employment
31,250
United States, 2025
Typical education
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
Job Zone 2
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
Operate or tend cooking equipment, such as steam cooking vats, deep fry cookers, pressure cookers, kettles, and boilers, to prepare food products.
- O*NET code
- 51-3093.00
- Job zone
- 2
- Experience required
- Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months
Typical tasks
- Clean, wash, and sterilize equipment and cooking area, using water hoses, cleaning or sterilizing solutions, or rinses.
- Read work orders, recipes, or formulas to determine cooking times and temperatures, and ingredient specifications.
- Observe gauges, dials, and product characteristics, and adjust controls to maintain appropriate temperature, pressure, and flow of ingredients.
- Measure or weigh ingredients, using scales or measuring containers.
- Tend or operate and control equipment, such as kettles, cookers, vats and tanks, and boilers, to cook ingredients or prepare products for further processing.
- Record production and test data, such as processing steps, temperature and steam readings, cooking time, batches processed, and test results.
- Set temperature, pressure, and time controls, and start conveyers, machines, or pumps.
- Remove cooked material or products from equipment.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$31,680
25th percentile
$36,190
75th percentile
$47,380
90th percentile
$54,410
Most important skills
- Operations Monitoring3.5
- Monitoring3.1
- Operation and Control3.1
- Reading Comprehension3.1
- Critical Thinking3.0
- Active Listening3.0
- Coordination2.9
- Complex Problem Solving2.9
- Judgment and Decision Making2.8
- Writing2.8
- Quality Control Analysis2.8
- Speaking2.6
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 6 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
6
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 | 3.5 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Active Listening | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Monitoring | 3.1 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
| Operation and Control | 3.1 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.1 | 2.8 | Not selected | 2.8 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.0 | 2.4 | Not selected | 2.4 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
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Compare with Food Cooking Machine Operators and TendersHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cedar Rapids, IA | $63,690 | 40 | 2025 |
| Modesto, CA | $59,010 | 140 | 2025 |
| Kiryas Joel, NY | $57,680 | 80 | 2025 |
| Scranton, PA | $57,490 | 110 | 2025 |
| Seattle, WA | $56,190 | 190 | 2025 |
| Memphis, TN | $55,270 | 190 | 2025 |
| Sioux City, IA | $51,600 | 190 | 2025 |
| Stockton, CA | $51,560 | 70 | 2025 |
| WA | $51,100 | 310 | 2025 |
| Portland, ME | $50,330 | 40 | 2025 |
| Dubuque, IA | $50,140 | 40 | 2025 |
| Phoenix, AZ | $49,220 | 460 | 2025 |
| Denver, CO | $48,980 | 160 | 2025 |
| UT | $48,620 | 390 | 2025 |
| Davenport, IA | $48,460 | 100 | 2025 |
| Omaha, NE | $48,420 | 260 | 2025 |
| Minneapolis, MN | $48,290 | 230 | 2025 |
| Detroit, MI | $48,230 | 50 | 2025 |
| Salt Lake City, UT | $48,010 | 70 | 2025 |
| MA | $47,960 | 170 | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Food Cooking Machine 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.