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Skilled Trades

Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders

Operate or tend equipment such as cooling and freezing units, refrigerators, batch freezers, and freezing tunnels, to cool or freeze products, food, blood plasma, and chemicals.

Median salary (BLS)

$41,330

10th–90th percentile (BLS)

$33k – $62k

Job outlook

+7% (faster than average)

AI exposure

Plan a path to Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders

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Education

Typical entry: No degree required

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How to qualify

EstimateLicense required

Cost to qualify

$100–$2,600

Time to qualify

3.1 yr

Renewal

$50/yr

  1. 1

    Registered apprenticeship (paid)

    Experience

    Earn-while-you-learn training — apprentices are paid during the program; fees are tools/books, not tuition.

    $0–$2,000 · 36 months · varies by state source

  2. 2

    Journeyman exam & state/local license

    License

    Most states and municipalities test and license journeyman-level trades workers.

    $100–$600 · 1 months · varies by state · renews every 2 yr source

Estimated typical U.S. route for "Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders" — built from BLS education requirements and College Board 2024–25 average published prices (public, in-state tuition + fees + books). Not yet verified against a specific state's licensing rules — confirm with your state licensing board or program.

Typical progression

  1. Junior Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders

    Entry / Junior

    $33,430

    ~2 yrs to advance

  2. Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders

    Established

    $41,330

    ~3 yrs to advance

  3. Senior Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders

    Senior

    $51,835

Key skills

A typical day

  • •Record temperatures, amounts of materials processed, or test results on report forms.
  • •Monitor pressure gauges, ammeters, flowmeters, thermometers, or products, and adjust controls to maintain specified conditions, such as feed rate, product consistency, temperature, air pressure, and machine speed.
  • •Read dials and gauges on panel control boards to ascertain temperatures, alkalinities, and densities of mixtures, and turn valves to obtain specified mixtures.
  • •Start machinery, such as pumps, feeders, or conveyors, and turn valves to heat, admit, or transfer products, refrigerants, or mixes.
  • •Correct machinery malfunctions by performing actions such as removing jams, and inform supervisors of malfunctions as necessary.

Fields of study

Any field

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Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.