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.
Also called: Cooker Operator · Food Production Worker · Fryer Operator · Kettle Fry Cook Operator · Machine Operator · Mogul Operator
Median pay (national)
$40,550
$30,540–$54,170 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
27,660
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+0.6%
~4,400 openings/yr
Typical entry
High school diploma or equivalent
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for food cooking machine operators and tenders shows a relatively narrow range: the top 10% earn $54,170 versus $30,540 at the bottom 10% — 1.8x. The median of $40,550 leaves roughly 34% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change +0.6% from 2024 to 2034 — slower than the 3% all-occupation average. Even so, BLS projects about 4,400 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 40 states with released data, Nebraska pays the most for this role (median $50,020, +23% vs the national median), while Puerto Rico sits lowest at $22,670 — a 121% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Monitoring, Active Listening as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list.
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Top skills employers ask for
Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.
- Reading Comprehension
- Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Writing
- Speaking
- Active Learning
- Learning Strategies
- Mathematics
- Science
What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- Read work orders, recipes, or formulas to determine cooking times and temperatures, and ingredient specifications.
- Collect and examine product samples during production to test them for quality, color, content, consistency, viscosity, acidity, or specific gravity.
- Pour, dump, or load prescribed quantities of ingredients or products into cooking equipment, manually or using a hoist.
- Clean, wash, and sterilize equipment and cooking area, using water hoses, cleaning or sterilizing solutions, or rinses.
- 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.
- Turn valves or start pumps to add ingredients or drain products from equipment and to transfer products for storage, cooling, or further processing.
Tools & technology
- Database software
Knowledge areas
- Production and Processing
- Food Production
- Administration and Management
- Education and Training
- Mechanical
- English Language
- Computers and Electronics
- Customer and Personal Service