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Alabama Department of Labor

Labor Market Information Division
SOC: 51-3093 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. Exclude "Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders" (51-3091).
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Education: These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
OJT: Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Tasks: Tend or operate and control equipment such as kettles, cookers, vats and tanks, and boilers, to cook ingredients or prepare products for further processing. Set temperature, pressure, and time controls, and start conveyers, machines, or pumps. 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. Listen for malfunction alarms, and shut down equipment and notify supervisors when necessary. Remove cooked material or products from equipment. Turn valves or start pumps to add ingredients or drain products from equipment and to transfer products for storage, cooling, or further processing. Measure or weigh ingredients, using scales or measuring containers. 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. Notify or signal other workers to operate equipment or when processing is complete. Record production and test data, such as processing steps, temperature and steam readings, cooking time, batches processed, and test results. Admit required amounts of water, steam, cooking oils, or compressed air into equipment, such as by opening water valves to cool mixtures to the desired consistency.
License: License not required.
Outlook: poor
Alabama Employment Outlook
Alabama Wage Data
Hourly Wage   Annual Wage
Entry $9.32   Entry $19,401.00
Mean $12.52   Mean $26,032.00
Experience $14.11 Experience $29,354.00

The data is based on the May 2017 Occupation Employment Survey employment and wage estimate file. The wages have been aged using the most current ECI factors reflecting wages as of June 2018.

Alabama Projections
Estimated Employment 2016Projected Employment 2026Annual Average OpeningsAnnual Growth Rate
N/AN/A230.74
Related Occupations: Postsecondary Institutions With Programs:
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No postsecondary schools reported programs.
Occupational Videos
51-3093.00 Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders