SOC 51-3091.00

    Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders

    Operate or tend food or tobacco roasting, baking, or drying equipment, including hearth ovens, kiln driers, roasters, char kilns, and vacuum drying equipment.

    Median pay
    $44,810
    Growth
    +0.4%
    Little or no change
    Openings a year
    2,500
    Typical education
    No formal credential

    Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition

    Source: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

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    Annual pay range

    Lowest 10% earn less than
    $33,250
    Median
    $44,810
    Highest 10% earn more than
    $62,680
    National wages for all workers in this occupation. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

    20,370 people work in this occupation.

    What food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders do

    Job Zone 2: Some preparation

    Operate or tend food or tobacco roasting, baking, or drying equipment, including hearth ovens, kiln driers, roasters, char kilns, and vacuum drying equipment.

    Usually a high school diploma; some on-the-job training or experience.

    Interest profile

    Realistic (R) · strongest
    98 / 100
    Investigative (I)
    10 / 100
    Artistic (A)
    2 / 100
    Social (S)
    4 / 100
    Enterprising (E)
    14 / 100
    Conventional (C)
    53 / 100
    How strongly each interest area describes the work, from O*NET (scores rescaled to 0–100). The interest code lists the strongest areas in order.

    Interest code RCE. Compare it with yours

    What you'd do

    Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
    79
    Getting Information
    76
    Making Decisions and Solving Problems
    75
    Controlling Machines and Processes
    74
    Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
    74
    Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
    71
    Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
    69
    Analyzing Data or Information
    65
    Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards
    65
    Training and Teaching Others
    64
    Work activities rated by importance for this occupation, O*NET (0–100).

    Skills and strengths

    Skills

    • Operations Monitoring
    • Monitoring
    • Active Listening
    • Critical Thinking
    • Operation and Control
    • Quality Control Analysis
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Complex Problem Solving
    • Coordination
    • Judgment and Decision Making

    Knowledge

    • Production and Processing
    • English Language
    • Public Safety and Security
    • Food Production
    • Mathematics
    • Education and Training
    • Mechanical
    • Customer and Personal Service
    • Law and Government
    • Engineering and Technology

    Abilities

    • Near Vision
    • Problem Sensitivity
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
    • Category Flexibility
    • Control Precision
    • Information Ordering
    • Oral Comprehension
    • Perceptual Speed
    • Selective Attention
    • Speech Recognition

    Work styles

    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Cautiousness
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Perseverance
    • Achievement Orientation
    • Integrity
    • Self-Control
    • Self-Confidence
    • Cooperation

    Also called

    Automatic Oven Operator · Bakery Production Associate · Bakery Production Worker · Bakery Worker · Baking Assistant · Bean Roaster · Belt Conveyor Drier · Bone Char Kiln Operator · Bun Panner · Buttermilk Drier Operator

    CareerOneStop

    Certifications, licenses and pay by state

    What food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders may need beyond a degree, where a license is required, and what the work pays in each state.

    Licenses by state

    1 state lists a license for this work. Open your state for the license and the agency that issues it.

    Check license requirements on CareerOneStop

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 6, 2026.

    Your plan

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    Related careers

    Careers with similar work, interests or skills.

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    Sources and attribution

    Every figure on this page comes from these public datasets. Missing values are shown as not reported, never estimated.

    O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 6, 2026.

    Page data updated November 5, 2026.