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Skilled Trades

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.

Median salary (BLS)

$41,590

10th–90th percentile (BLS)

$32k – $54k

Job outlook

+1% (about average)

AI exposure

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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 "Food Cooking Machine 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 Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders

    Entry / Junior

    $31,680

    ~2 yrs to advance

  2. Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders

    Established

    $41,590

    ~3 yrs to advance

  3. Senior Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders

    Senior

    $48,000

Key skills

A typical day

  • •Clean, wash, and sterilize equipment and cooking area, using water hoses, cleaning or sterilizing solutions, or rinses.
  • •Read work orders, recipes, or formulas to determine cooking times and temperatures, and ingredient specifications.
  • •Observe gauges, dials, and product characteristics, and adjust controls to maintain appropriate temperature, pressure, and flow of ingredients.
  • •Measure or weigh ingredients, using scales or measuring containers.
  • •Tend or operate and control equipment, such as kettles, cookers, vats and tanks, and boilers, to cook ingredients or prepare products for further processing.

Fields of study

Any field

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