SOC 51-3022.00Bright outlook

    Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers

    Use hands or hand tools to perform routine cutting and trimming of meat, poultry, and seafood.

    Median pay
    $38,300
    Growth
    +5.7%
    Faster than average
    Openings a year
    17,000
    Typical education
    No formal credential

    Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition

    Source: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

    See the pathway

    Annual pay range

    Lowest 10% earn less than
    $29,980
    Median
    $38,300
    Highest 10% earn more than
    $48,150
    National wages for all workers in this occupation. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

    145,700 people work in this occupation.

    What meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers do

    Job Zone 2: Some preparation

    Use hands or hand tools to perform routine cutting and trimming of meat, poultry, and seafood.

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

    Interest profile

    Realistic (R) · strongest
    100 / 100
    Investigative (I)
    13 / 100
    Artistic (A)
    0 / 100
    Social (S)
    6 / 100
    Enterprising (E)
    7 / 100
    Conventional (C)
    49 / 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 RCI. Compare it with yours

    What you'd do

    Getting Information
    81
    Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
    81
    Handling and Moving Objects
    80
    Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
    77
    Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
    72
    Processing Information
    72
    Making Decisions and Solving Problems
    71
    Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
    70
    Controlling Machines and Processes
    68
    Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
    67
    Work activities rated by importance for this occupation, O*NET (0–100).

    Skills and strengths

    Skills

    • Active Listening
    • Critical Thinking
    • Judgment and Decision Making
    • Monitoring
    • Speaking
    • Coordination
    • Social Perceptiveness
    • Time Management
    • Service Orientation
    • Instructing

    Knowledge

    • Production and Processing
    • Food Production
    • Public Safety and Security
    • Mathematics
    • Administration and Management
    • Mechanical
    • Personnel and Human Resources
    • Transportation
    • Education and Training
    • English Language

    Abilities

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
    • Control Precision
    • Near Vision
    • Manual Dexterity
    • Oral Expression
    • Selective Attention
    • Trunk Strength
    • Finger Dexterity
    • Information Ordering
    • Multilimb Coordination

    Work styles

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

    Also called

    Abalone Processor · Animal Eviscerator · Animal Skinner · Animal Sticker · Bacon Derinder · Bacon Skin Lifter · Bacon Skinner · Bacon Slicer · Beef Boner · Beef Breaker

    CareerOneStop

    Certifications, licenses and pay by state

    What meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers may need beyond a degree, where a license is required, and what the work pays in each state.

    Certifications

    Core certifications employers recognise for this work.

    Search all certifications 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 9, 2026.

    Your plan

    Build my pathway plan

    Courses, majors, colleges, scholarships and a timeline for this career, built from your profile.

    Related careers

    Careers with similar work, interests or skills.

    All careers

    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 9, 2026.

    Page data updated November 5, 2026.