Occupations · Production
Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders
Operate or tend food or tobacco roasting, baking, or drying equipment, including hearth ovens, kiln driers, roasters, char kilns, and vacuum drying equipment.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 51-3091.00
What it pays
A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage
Pay over time
Median up 73% between 2003 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.
BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.
Where the jobs are
| Metro area | Median wage | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $41,600 | 400 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $35,940 | 380 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $46,630 | 320 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $43,900 | 300 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | $46,060 | 290 |
| Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN | $49,410 | 290 |
| Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA | $41,430 | 270 |
| Knoxville, TN | $37,610 | 260 |
| Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI | $46,610 | 260 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | $38,380 | 240 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | $42,440 | 220 |
| Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY | $36,680 | 190 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 12 areas with the most people in this occupation
Typical education to enter: No formal educational credential · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- Take product samples during or after processing for laboratory analyses.
- Observe, feel, taste, or otherwise examine products during and after processing to ensure conformance to standards.
- Set temperature and time controls, light ovens, burners, driers, or roasters, and start equipment, such as conveyors, cylinders, blowers, driers, or pumps.
- Observe flow of materials and listen for machine malfunctions, such as jamming or spillage, and notify supervisors if corrective actions fail.
- Observe temperature, humidity, pressure gauges, and product samples and adjust controls, such as thermostats and valves, to maintain prescribed operating conditions for specific stages.
- Test products for moisture content, using moisture meters.
- Record production data, such as weight and amount of product processed, type of product, and time and temperature of processing.
- Weigh or measure products, using scale hoppers or scale conveyors.
- Clear or dislodge blockages in bins, screens, or other equipment, using poles, brushes, or mallets.
- Operate or tend equipment that roasts, bakes, dries, or cures food items such as cocoa and coffee beans, grains, nuts, and bakery products.
- Signal coworkers to synchronize flow of materials.
- Start conveyors to move roasted grain to cooling pans and agitate grain with rakes as blowers force air through perforated bottoms of pans.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2017-07
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2017-07
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
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What changed since 2015
Comparing O*NET release 20.1 (2015-10-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning.
No longer listed 1
Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.
Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| wood drying kiln operator | 7521.1 | close |
| tunnel kiln operator | 8181.3.2 | close |
| clay kiln burner | 8181.3 | close |
| kiln firer | 8181.10 | close |
| coffee roaster | 8160.23 | broader |
| malt kiln operator | 8160.43 | broader |
| cacao bean roaster | 8160.9 | broader |
| dryer attendant | 8160.28 | broader |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
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