Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders
Agriculture, Food and Natural ResourcesO*NET 51-3091.00United States
Operate or tend food or tobacco roasting, baking, or drying equipment, including hearth ovens, kiln driers, roasters, char kilns, and vacuum drying equipment.
- Median annual earnings
- $44,713
- Projected change
- +4.8%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 23.72K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
83.5% of the workforce
Growing to 24.86K by 2035
Explore this career by location
Compare nationwide estimates with state or county job-market data.
Showing United States
Loading available locations…
Build the skills
ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
Loading related ASU learning
The work
What food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- 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 temperature, humidity, pressure gauges, and product samples and adjust controls, such as thermostats and valves, to maintain prescribed operating conditions for specific stages.
- Observe flow of materials and listen for machine malfunctions, such as jamming or spillage, and notify supervisors if corrective actions fail.
- 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.
- 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.
- Read work orders to determine quantities and types of products to be baked, dried, or roasted.
- Fill or remove product from trays, carts, hoppers, or equipment, using scoops, peels, or shovels, or by hand.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $32,979
- 25th percentile
- $37,313
- 50th percentile
- $44,713
- 75th percentile
- $50,688
- 90th percentile
- $63,107
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $44,713 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+4.8%average or slower
202523,724 jobs
2035 projected24,863 jobs
1,139 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 83.5%
- Some college
- 10.8%
- Certificate
- 5.7%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Bakery Production Associates112 postings
- 02Palletizer Operators70 postings
- 03Bakery Production Workers65 postings
- 04Coffee Roasters40 postings
- 05Credit Authorizers36 postings
- 06Roasters29 postings
- 07Coffee Managers20 postings
- 08Dryer Operators10 postings
- 09Bakery Managers9 postings
- 10Batchers8 postings
- 11Drivers/Loaders5 postings
- 12Pastors/Ministers5 postings
- 13Pastry Assistants5 postings
- 14Bakers4 postings
- 15Dairy Managers4 postings
- 16Loaders/Unloaders4 postings
- 17Production Processors4 postings
- 18Relief Operators4 postings
- 19Controllers3 postings
- 20Farmers Market Managers3 postings
Top employers
- 01Dairy Farmers of America31 postings
- 02Spartannash Associates12 postings
- 03C&S Wholesale Grocers10 postings
- 04Franz Bakery9 postings
- 05Kwik Trip8 postings
- 06Shamrock Foods8 postings
- 07Albertsons7 postings
- 08Michael Foods7 postings
- 09Volt7 postings
- 10Cheesecake Factory6 postings
- 11Maola6 postings
- 12Safeway6 postings
- 13SpartanNash6 postings
- 14Staff Management | SMX6 postings
- 15Franz Family Bakeries5 postings
- 16Franz Family Bakery5 postings
- 17Garelick Farms5 postings
- 18Kroger5 postings
- 19Post Holdings5 postings
- 20Saputo Cheese USA5 postings
Keep looking