Occupations · Production
Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders
Operate or tend cooking equipment, such as steam cooking vats, deep fry cookers, pressure cookers, kettles, and boilers, to prepare food products.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 51-3093.00
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 89% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | $42,890 | 830 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | $41,150 | 810 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $37,430 | 560 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $37,030 | 530 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | $38,530 | 500 |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | $40,680 | 500 |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | $30,940 | 490 |
| Boise City, ID | $42,590 | 450 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $43,090 | 400 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $36,070 | 360 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | $45,730 | 350 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | $31,100 | 340 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 12 areas with the most people in this occupation
Typical education to enter: High school diploma or equivalent · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- 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.
- Activate agitators and paddles to mix or stir ingredients, stopping machines when ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
- Remove cooked material or products from equipment.
- Collect and examine product samples during production to test them for quality, color, content, consistency, viscosity, acidity, or specific gravity.
- Operate auxiliary machines and equipment, such as grinders, canners, and molding presses, to prepare or further process products.
- Pour, dump, or load prescribed quantities of ingredients or products into cooking equipment, manually or using a hoist.
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 2021-08
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2021-08
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
Get this as a personal report
The same sourced evidence, recut for the closest published view of your city, state or industry, as a dated PDF.
Free page vs. the $29 report
The page above is a public national reference: it is the same for every reader. The $29 report uses the location or industry you name, states the exact BLS cut used, and packages five decision-focused sections as a PDF. Choose $49 when you need a broader comparison of industries, places, changes and next moves.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| food production operator | 8160.34 | close |
| cacao bean roaster | 8160.9 | close |
| fish canning operator | 8160.31 | close |
| baking operator | 8160.2 | close |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
Keep exploring
See labor-market evidence in motion.
Watch short Tamhu stories about pay, growth and how work changes — then return to the source data here.
Watch this occupation
This job has changed before and it will change again. We'll email you when the data moves — a tool appears, a skill gains weight, the pay distribution shifts. Free, and one click to stop.
Check your inbox — your watch starts only after you confirm.
We send data, not advice. No sharing, no resale. Privacy