Slaughterers and Meat Packers
Perform nonroutine or precision functions involving the preparation of large portions of meat. Work may include specialized slaughtering tasks, cutting standard or premium cuts of meat for marketing, making sausage, or wrapping meats. Work typically occurs in slaughtering, meat packing, or wholesale establishments.
Also called: Boning Room Worker · Meat Packager · Meat Packer · Meat Processor · Meat Wrapper · Saw Man
Median pay (national)
$39,790
$31,470–$49,460 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
67,500
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+2.2%
~8,400 openings/yr
Typical entry
No formal educational credential
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for slaughterers and meat packers shows a relatively narrow range: the top 10% earn $49,460 versus $31,470 at the bottom 10% — 1.6x. The median of $39,790 leaves roughly 24% 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 +2.2% from 2024 to 2034 — about as fast as the 3% all-occupation average. Even so, BLS projects about 8,400 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 48 states with released data, Nebraska pays the most for this role (median $48,080, +21% vs the national median), while Puerto Rico sits lowest at $20,970 — a 129% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Speaking, Active Listening, Critical Thinking 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.
- Speaking
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Active Learning
- Learning Strategies
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
- Mathematics
- Science
What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- Sever jugular veins to drain blood and facilitate slaughtering.
- Tend assembly lines, performing a few of the many cuts needed to process a carcass.
- Shackle hind legs of animals to raise them for slaughtering or skinning.
- Slit open, eviscerate, and trim carcasses of slaughtered animals.
- Stun animals prior to slaughtering.
- Skin sections of animals or whole animals.
- Saw, split, or scribe carcasses into smaller portions to facilitate handling.
- Trim head meat, and sever or remove parts of animals' heads or skulls.
- Trim, clean, or cure animal hides.
- Remove bones, and cut meat into standard cuts in preparation for marketing.
Tools & technology
- AccountMate Software AccountMate
- AgInfoLink Meat Inventory Tracking System MITS
- Integrated Management Systems Food Connex Cloud
- RFID software
- Second Foundation NaviMeat
- Traceability software
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
Knowledge areas
- Customer and Personal Service
- Food Production
- Production and Processing
- English Language
- Law and Government
- Mathematics
- Administrative
- Administration and Management