# 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.

- Edition: Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition
- Page: https://www.collegesref.com/careers/slaughterers-and-meat-packers
- SOC code: 51-3023.00
- Career family: Production
- Median annual pay: $40,130 (10th percentile $33,340, 90th percentile $51,090)
- Projected growth: As fast as average, +2.0%
- Openings a year: 7,700
- Typical entry education: No formal credential
- Bright outlook: no
- Data years: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

## Interest profile (code RCI)

| Interest area | Score (0–100) |
| --- | ---: |
| Realistic (R) | 94 |
| Investigative (I) | 21 |
| Artistic (A) | 5 |
| Social (S) | 11 |
| Enterprising (E) | 19 |
| Conventional (C) | 42 |

## What you'd do

- Handling and Moving Objects (importance 68/100)
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials (importance 64/100)
- Performing General Physical Activities (importance 64/100)
- Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings (importance 63/100)
- Getting Information (importance 60/100)
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events (importance 57/100)
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates (importance 55/100)
- Controlling Machines and Processes (importance 50/100)
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems (importance 49/100)
- Training and Teaching Others (importance 45/100)

## Skills

Speaking, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Social Perceptiveness, Monitoring, Operations Monitoring, Operation and Control, Quality Control Analysis, Troubleshooting, Active Learning

## Knowledge

Customer and Personal Service, Food Production, Production and Processing, English Language, Law and Government, Mathematics, Administrative, Administration and Management, Sales and Marketing, Public Safety and Security

## Also called

Animal Killer, Animal Sticker, Animal Stunner, Beef Killer, Beef Splitter, Bitter, Boning Room Worker, Brainer, Butcher, Cattle Killer

## Majors that lead here (NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk, 4-digit CIP)

- [Culinary Arts and Related Services](https://www.collegesref.com/programs/1205) (CIP 1205, 510 colleges)

## Colleges with strong outcomes (College Scorecard, 2025)

| College | Program | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yrs | Median debt |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| [Culinary Institute of America-New York](https://www.collegesref.com/college/culinary-institute-of-america-new-york-729) | Culinary Arts and Related Services | $48,130 | $61,944 | $22,875 |
| [Johnson & Wales University-Providence](https://www.collegesref.com/college/johnson-wales-university-providence-1346) | Culinary Arts and Related Services | $45,406 | $55,056 | $27,000 |
| [SUNY College of Technology at Delhi](https://www.collegesref.com/college/suny-college-of-technology-at-delhi-2651) | Culinary Arts and Related Services | $37,680 | $51,716 | $22,199 |
| [Drexel University](https://www.collegesref.com/college/drexel-university-834) | Culinary Arts and Related Services | not reported | $48,094 | not reported |
| [Walnut Hill College](https://www.collegesref.com/college/walnut-hill-college-3154) | Culinary Arts and Related Services | $37,008 | $47,308 | $27,000 |
| [Nicholls State University-Louisiana](https://www.collegesref.com/college/nicholls-state-university-louisiana-1873) | Culinary Arts and Related Services | $32,721 | $46,969 | $24,750 |

## Related careers

- [Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/meat-poultry-and-fish-cutters-and-trimmers): $38,300 median pay
- [Butchers and Meat Cutters](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/butchers-and-meat-cutters): $40,140 median pay
- [Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/farmworkers-farm-ranch-and-aquacultural-animals): $36,670 median pay
- [Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/graders-and-sorters-agricultural-products): $35,730 median pay
- [Food Preparation Workers](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/food-preparation-workers): $35,320 median pay
- [Animal Breeders](https://www.collegesref.com/careers/animal-breeders): $51,130 median pay

## Sources

- [O*NET Database](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), version 31.0 (CC BY 4.0)
- [BLS Employment Projections](https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables.htm), version 2025-35, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm), version 2025, data year 2025 (Public domain (U.S. government work))
- [NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk](https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode/resources.aspx?y=56), version 2020, data year 2020 (Public domain (U.S. government work))

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.