Career profile for Blending Technician

What does a Blending Technician do?

Blending Technicians set up, operate, or tend machines to mix or blend materials, such as chemicals, tobacco, liquids, color pigments, or explosive ingredients.

What kind of tasks does a Blending Technician perform regularly?

Blending Technicians are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Weigh or measure materials, ingredients, or products to ensure conformance to requirements.
Compound or process ingredients or dyes, according to formulas.
Read work orders to determine production specifications or information.
Observe production or monitor equipment to ensure safe and efficient operation.
Mix or blend ingredients by starting machines and mixing for specified times.
Dump or pour specified amounts of materials into machinery or equipment.
Collect samples of materials or products for laboratory testing.
Operate or tend machines to mix or blend any of a wide variety of materials, such as spices, dough batter, tobacco, fruit juices, chemicals, livestock feed, food products, color pigments, or explosive ingredients.
Add or mix chemicals or ingredients for processing, using hand tools or other devices.
Stop mixing or blending machines when specified product qualities are obtained and open valves and start pumps to transfer mixtures.
Examine materials, ingredients, or products visually or with hands to ensure conformance to established standards.
Transfer materials, supplies, or products between work areas, using moving equipment or hand tools.
Test samples of materials or products to ensure compliance with specifications, using test equipment.
Record operational or production data on specified forms.
Tend accessory equipment, such as pumps or conveyors, to move materials or ingredients through production processes.
Unload mixtures into containers or onto conveyors for further processing.
Clean and maintain equipment, using hand tools.

The above responsibilities are specific to Blending Technicians. More generally, Blending Technicians are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings		Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials		Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
Controlling Machines and Processes		Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
Getting Information		Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Handling and Moving Objects		Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.

Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings

Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.

Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials

Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.

Controlling Machines and Processes

Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).

Getting Information

Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Handling and Moving Objects

Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.

What is a Blending Technician salary?

The median salary for a Blending Technician is $38,690, and the average salary is $40,960. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Blending Technician salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Blending Technicians earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Blending Technicians earn less than $26,720 per year, 25% earn less than $31,550, 75% earn less than $48,820, and 90% earn less than $0.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Blending Technicians is expected to change by 3.9%, and there should be roughly 13,500 open positions for Blending Technicians every year.

Median annual salary: $38,690
Typical salary range: $26,720 - $0
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): 3.9%

What personality traits are common among Blending Technicians?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Blending Technician are usually higher in their Realistic and Conventional interests.

Blending Technicians typically have very strong Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Also, Blending Technicians typically have moderate Conventional interests. Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Blending Technician tend to value Support, Relationships, and Independence.

Most importantly, Blending Technicians strongly value Support. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

Second, Blending Technicians moderately value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Lastly, Blending Technicians somewhat value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Blending Technicians must consistently demonstrate qualities such as dependability, attention to detail, and stress tolerance.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Blending Technicians, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Attention to Detail		Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Stress Tolerance		Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
Cooperation		Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Integrity		Job requires being honest and ethical.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Attention to Detail

Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

Stress Tolerance

Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.

Cooperation

Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

Integrity

Job requires being honest and ethical.

What education and training do Blending Technicians need?

Working as a Blending Technician usually requires a high school diploma.

Blending Technicians need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with this occupation.

Educational degrees among Blending Technicians

18.7% did not complete high school or secondary school
46.1% completed high school or secondary school
20.5% completed some college coursework
8.8% earned a Associate's degree
4.8% earned a Bachelor's degree
0.8% earned a Master's degree
0.2% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Blending Technicians

Blending Technicians may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as production and processing, mathematics, or chemistry knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Blending Technicians might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
Production and Processing		Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Mathematics		Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Chemistry		Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Mechanical		Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Public Safety and Security		Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

Production and Processing

Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

Mathematics

Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Chemistry

Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

Mechanical

Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

Public Safety and Security

Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

Important Abilities needed by Blending Technicians

Blending Technicians must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Blending Technicians need abilities such as arm-hand steadiness, near vision, and written comprehension in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Blending Technicians, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Arm-Hand Steadiness		The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Near Vision		The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Written Comprehension		The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Problem Sensitivity		The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
Information Ordering		The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

Arm-Hand Steadiness

The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.

Near Vision

The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Written Comprehension

The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Problem Sensitivity

The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

Information Ordering

The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

Critical Skills needed by Blending Technicians

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Blending Technicians frequently use skills like operations monitoring, operation and control, and reading comprehension to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Blending Technicians, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Operations Monitoring		Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Operation and Control		Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Reading Comprehension		Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Monitoring		Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Equipment Maintenance		Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.

Operations Monitoring

Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.

Operation and Control

Controlling operations of equipment or systems.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Monitoring

Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Equipment Maintenance

Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

Career profile Blending Technician

Blending Technician

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