Career profile for Meat Cutter

What does a Meat Cutter do?

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

What kind of tasks does a Meat Cutter perform regularly?

Meat Cutters are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Use knives, cleavers, meat saws, bandsaws, or other equipment to perform meat cutting and trimming.
Weigh meats and tag containers for weight and contents.
Inspect meat products for defects, bruises or blemishes and remove them along with any excess fat.
Cut and trim meat to prepare for packing.
Separate meats and byproducts into specified containers and seal containers.

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

Activities	Importance	Details
Getting Information		Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events		Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Handling and Moving Objects		Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials		Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
Processing Information		Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.

Getting Information

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

Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events

Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.

Handling and Moving Objects

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

Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials

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

Processing Information

Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.

What is a Meat Cutter salary?

The median salary for a Meat Cutter is $30,190, and the average salary is $30,800. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Meat Cutter salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Meat Cutters earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Meat Cutters earn less than $22,100 per year, 25% earn less than $26,070, 75% earn less than $35,760, and 90% earn less than $40,050.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Meat Cutters is expected to change by 3.3%, and there should be roughly 18,400 open positions for Meat Cutters every year.

Median annual salary: $30,190
Typical salary range: $22,100 - $40,050
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): 3.3%

What personality traits are common among Meat Cutters?

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 Meat Cutter are usually higher in their Realistic interests.

Meat Cutters 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.

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 Meat Cutter tend to value Support, Relationships, and Working Conditions.

Most importantly, Meat Cutters moderately value Support. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

Second, Meat Cutters 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, Meat Cutters somewhat value Working Conditions. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions.

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 Meat Cutters must consistently demonstrate qualities such as dependability, attention to detail, and achievement/effort.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Meat Cutters, 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.
Achievement/Effort		Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Integrity		Job requires being honest and ethical.
Independence		Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.

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.

Achievement/Effort

Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.

Integrity

Job requires being honest and ethical.

Independence

Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.

What education and training do Meat Cutters need?

Working as a Meat Cutter may require a high school diploma or GED certificate.

Meat Cutters need anywhere from a few days to a few months of training. Usually, an experienced worker could show you how to do the job.

Educational degrees among Meat Cutters

29.5% did not complete high school or secondary school
43.7% completed high school or secondary school
17.8% completed some college coursework
4.5% earned a Associate's degree
3.8% earned a Bachelor's degree
0.6% earned a Master's degree
0.1% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Meat Cutters

Meat Cutters may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as production and processing, food production, or public safety and security knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Meat Cutters 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.
Food Production		Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
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.
Mathematics		Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Administration and Management		Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Production and Processing

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

Food Production

Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

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.

Mathematics

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

Administration and Management

Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Important Abilities needed by Meat Cutters

Meat Cutters 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, Meat Cutters need abilities such as arm-hand steadiness, control precision, and near vision in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Meat Cutters, 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.
Control Precision		The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
Near Vision		The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Oral Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Selective Attention		The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.

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.

Control Precision

The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.

Near Vision

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

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Selective Attention

The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.

Critical Skills needed by Meat Cutters

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.

Meat Cutters frequently use skills like active listening, speaking, and critical thinking to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Meat Cutters, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Active Listening		Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking		Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Critical Thinking		Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Monitoring		Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Judgment and Decision Making		Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

Monitoring

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

Judgment and Decision Making

Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

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 Meat Cutter

Meat Cutter

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