Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders
Medium53.38%
Found in Industries:
Salary Range
Low (10th %)$29,650
Median$39,850
High (90th %)$59,020
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Operate or tend food or tobacco roasting, baking, or drying equipment, including hearth ovens, kiln driers, roasters, char kilns, and vacuum drying equipment.
The occupation "Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders" faces a moderate automation risk of 53.4%, closely aligned with its base risk of 53.9%. This risk suggests that while many aspects of the role are automatable, a significant portion still requires human oversight and intervention. The primary driver of automation risk comes from the repetitive and routine tasks central to the occupation. For instance, machines can efficiently "observe temperature, humidity, pressure gauges, and product samples and adjust controls, such as thermostats and valves, to maintain prescribed operating conditions for specific stages." Likewise, setting temperature and time controls or initiating machinery can be reliably programmed with industrial automation technology. Several core responsibilities of the job are especially vulnerable to automation. Automated sensing devices and inspection systems can "observe, feel, taste, or otherwise examine products during and after processing to ensure conformance to standards," reducing the need for manual product quality checks. Likewise, the initiation and regulation of machines—such as lighting ovens, adjusting time and temperature, and starting conveyor systems—can increasingly be handled by advanced process control systems. These technologies not only boost efficiency but also minimize human error, making them attractive options for industries aiming to optimize productivity. However, certain tasks remain resistant to full automation due to their reliance on physical manipulation, dexterity, and adaptive problem-solving. For example, "pushing racks or carts to transfer products to storage, cooling stations, or the next stage of processing" requires mobility in varied environments that are not always uniform or structured for robotic intervention. Similarly, "installing equipment, such as spray units, cutting blades, or screens, using hand tools," demands precise manual skills and the ability to respond to unexpected variations. Tasks like "smoothing out products in bins, pans, trays, or conveyors, using rakes or shovels" require tactile feedback and nuanced control that existing automation struggles to replicate. Notably, the bottleneck skill of originality is minimally engaged (at just 2.1%), indicating most job functions can be systematized, but creative problem-solving or adaptation is rarely a core requirement.
Filter by Automatable Status
Set temperature and time controls, light ovens, burners, driers, or roasters, and start equipment, such as conveyors, cylinders, blowers, driers, or pumps.
Partially Automatable
Observe temperature, humidity, pressure gauges, and product samples and adjust controls, such as thermostats and valves, to maintain prescribed operating conditions for specific stages.
Partially Automatable
Observe flow of materials and listen for machine malfunctions, such as jamming or spillage, and notify supervisors if corrective actions fail.
Automatable
Record production data, such as weight and amount of product processed, type of product, and time and temperature of processing.
Automatable
Weigh or measure products, using scale hoppers or scale conveyors.
Automatable
Signal coworkers to synchronize flow of materials.
Automatable
Read work orders to determine quantities and types of products to be baked, dried, or roasted.
Automatable
Fill or remove product from trays, carts, hoppers, or equipment, using scoops, peels, or shovels, or by hand.
Non-Automatable
Take product samples during or after processing for laboratory analyses.
Partially Automatable
Test products for moisture content, using moisture meters.
Automatable
Clear or dislodge blockages in bins, screens, or other equipment, using poles, brushes, or mallets.
Non-Automatable
Start conveyors to move roasted grain to cooling pans and agitate grain with rakes as blowers force air through perforated bottoms of pans.
Non-Automatable
Open valves, gates, or chutes or use shovels to load or remove products from ovens or other equipment.
Partially Automatable
Clean equipment with steam, hot water, and hoses.
Partially Automatable
Smooth out products in bins, pans, trays, or conveyors, using rakes or shovels.
Non-Automatable
Push racks or carts to transfer products to storage, cooling stations, or the next stage of processing.
Non-Automatable
Observe, feel, taste, or otherwise examine products during and after processing to ensure conformance to standards.
Partially Automatable
Operate or tend equipment that roasts, bakes, dries, or cures food items such as cocoa and coffee beans, grains, nuts, and bakery products.
Partially Automatable
Install equipment, such as spray units, cutting blades, or screens, using hand tools.
Non-Automatable
Reading ComprehensionActive ListeningCritical ThinkingNegotiationComplex Problem SolvingOperations MonitoringEquipment MaintenanceSystems AnalysisManagement of Material ResourcesWritingSpeakingMathematicsScienceActive LearningLearning StrategiesMonitoringSocial PerceptivenessCoordinationPersuasionInstructingService OrientationOperations AnalysisTechnology DesignEquipment SelectionInstallationProgrammingOperation and ControlTroubleshootingRepairingQuality Control AnalysisJudgment and Decision MakingSystems EvaluationTime ManagementManagement of Financial ResourcesManagement of Personnel Resources
Arm-Hand SteadinessAuditory AttentionCategory FlexibilityControl PrecisionDeductive ReasoningDepth PerceptionDynamic FlexibilityDynamic StrengthExplosive StrengthExtent FlexibilityFar VisionFinger DexterityFlexibility of ClosureFluency of IdeasGlare SensitivityGross Body CoordinationGross Body EquilibriumHearing SensitivityInductive ReasoningInformation OrderingManual DexterityMathematical ReasoningMemorizationMultilimb CoordinationNear VisionNight VisionNumber FacilityOral ComprehensionOral ExpressionOriginalityPerceptual SpeedPeripheral VisionProblem SensitivityRate ControlReaction TimeResponse OrientationSelective AttentionSound LocalizationSpatial OrientationSpeech ClaritySpeech RecognitionSpeed of ClosureSpeed of Limb MovementStaminaStatic StrengthTime SharingTrunk StrengthVisual Color DiscriminationVisualizationWrist-Finger SpeedWritten ComprehensionWritten Expression
Administration and ManagementAdministrativeEconomics and AccountingSales and MarketingCustomer and Personal ServicePersonnel and Human ResourcesProduction and ProcessingFood ProductionComputers and ElectronicsEngineering and TechnologyDesignBuilding and ConstructionMechanicalMathematicsPhysicsChemistryBiologyHistory and ArcheologyPhilosophy and TheologyPublic Safety and SecurityLaw and GovernmentTelecommunicationsCommunications and MediaTransportationPsychologySociology and AnthropologyGeographyMedicine and DentistryForeign LanguageEnglish LanguageFine ArtsEducation and TrainingTherapy and Counseling
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or MaterialsMonitoring Processes, Materials, or SurroundingsEstimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or InformationGetting InformationIdentifying Objects, Actions, and EventsJudging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or PeopleProcessing InformationEvaluating Information to Determine Compliance with StandardsAnalyzing Data or InformationUpdating and Using Relevant KnowledgeDeveloping Objectives and StrategiesScheduling Work and ActivitiesOrganizing, Planning, and Prioritizing WorkPerforming General Physical ActivitiesHandling and Moving ObjectsControlling Machines and ProcessesOperating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or EquipmentWorking with ComputersRepairing and Maintaining Electronic EquipmentDocumenting/Recording InformationDrafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and EquipmentInterpreting the Meaning of Information for OthersCommunicating with Supervisors, Peers, or SubordinatesCommunicating with People Outside the OrganizationRepairing and Maintaining Mechanical EquipmentEstablishing and Maintaining Interpersonal RelationshipsAssisting and Caring for OthersSelling or Influencing OthersResolving Conflicts and Negotiating with OthersPerforming for or Working Directly with the PublicCoordinating the Work and Activities of OthersDeveloping and Building TeamsTraining and Teaching OthersGuiding, Directing, and Motivating SubordinatesCoaching and Developing OthersProviding Consultation and Advice to OthersPerforming Administrative ActivitiesStaffing Organizational UnitsMonitoring and Controlling ResourcesMaking Decisions and Solving ProblemsThinking Creatively
Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products
High69.65%
Grade, sort, or classify unprocessed food and other agricultural products by size, weight, color, or condition.
Agricultural Equipment Operators
Medium49.56%
Drive and control equipment to support agricultural activities such as tilling soil; planting, cultivating, and harvesting crops; feeding and herding livestock; or removing animal waste. May perform tasks such as crop baling or hay bucking. May operate stationary equipment to perform post-harvest tasks such as husking, shelling, threshing, and ginning.
Bakers
Medium64.40%
Mix and bake ingredients to produce breads, rolls, cookies, cakes, pies, pastries, or other baked goods.
Food Batchmakers
Medium63.36%
Set up and operate equipment that mixes or blends ingredients used in the manufacturing of food products. Includes candy makers and cheese makers.
Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders
High69.97%
Operate or tend cooking equipment, such as steam cooking vats, deep fry cookers, pressure cookers, kettles, and boilers, to prepare food products.
Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders
Medium56.08%
Operate or tend furnaces, such as gas, oil, coal, electric-arc or electric induction, open-hearth, or oxygen furnaces, to melt and refine metal before casting or to produce specified types of steel.
Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Medium50.59%
Set up, operate, or tend heating equipment, such as heat-treating furnaces, flame-hardening machines, induction machines, soaking pits, or vacuum equipment to temper, harden, anneal, or heat treat metal or plastic objects.
Textile Bleaching and Dyeing Machine Operators and Tenders
Medium56.98%
Operate or tend machines to bleach, shrink, wash, dye, or finish textiles or synthetic or glass fibers.
Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Medium48.23%
Set up, operate, or tend continuous flow or vat-type equipment; filter presses; shaker screens; centrifuges; condenser tubes; precipitating, fermenting, or evaporating tanks; scrubbing towers; or batch stills. These machines extract, sort, or separate liquids, gases, or solids from other materials to recover a refined product. Includes dairy processing equipment operators.
Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Medium57.80%
Set up, operate, or tend machines to crush, grind, or polish materials, such as coal, glass, grain, stone, food, or rubber.
Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Medium59.40%
Set up, operate, or tend machines to mix or blend materials, such as chemicals, tobacco, liquids, color pigments, or explosive ingredients.
Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Medium44.55%
Set up, operate, or tend machines that cut or slice materials, such as glass, stone, cork, rubber, tobacco, food, paper, or insulating material.
Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Medium57.10%
Set up, operate, or tend machines, such as glass-forming machines, plodder machines, and tuber machines, to shape and form products such as glassware, food, rubber, soap, brick, tile, clay, wax, tobacco, or cosmetics.
Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders
Medium51.07%
Operate or tend heating equipment other than basic metal, plastic, or food processing equipment. Includes activities such as annealing glass, drying lumber, curing rubber, removing moisture from materials, or boiling soap.
Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders
Medium61.82%
Operate or tend machines to prepare industrial or consumer products for storage or shipment. Includes cannery workers who pack food products.
Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders
High69.86%
Operate or tend machines to wash or clean products, such as barrels or kegs, glass items, tin plate, food, pulp, coal, plastic, or rubber, to remove impurities.
Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders
Medium61.76%
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.
Conveyor Operators and Tenders
Medium44.52%
Control or tend conveyors or conveyor systems that move materials or products to and from stockpiles, processing stations, departments, or vehicles. May control speed and routing of materials or products.
Machine Feeders and Offbearers
High66.68%
Feed materials into or remove materials from machines or equipment that is automatic or tended by other workers.
Packers and Packagers, Hand
Medium58.01%
Pack or package by hand a wide variety of products and materials.
Food Science Technicians
Medium63.32%
Work with food scientists or technologists to perform standardized qualitative and quantitative tests to determine physical or chemical properties of food or beverage products. Includes technicians who assist in research and development of production technology, quality control, packaging, processing, and use of foods.
Chefs and Head Cooks
Medium50.31%
Direct and may participate in the preparation, seasoning, and cooking of salads, soups, fish, meats, vegetables, desserts, or other foods. May plan and price menu items, order supplies, and keep records and accounts.
Cooks, Fast Food
Medium42.99%
Prepare and cook food in a fast food restaurant with a limited menu. Duties of these cooks are limited to preparation of a few basic items and normally involve operating large-volume single-purpose cooking equipment.
Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria
Medium50.81%
Prepare and cook large quantities of food for institutions, such as schools, hospitals, or cafeterias.
Cooks, Restaurant
Medium34.49%
Prepare, season, and cook dishes such as soups, meats, vegetables, or desserts in restaurants. May order supplies, keep records and accounts, price items on menu, or plan menu.
Cooks, Short Order
Medium38.18%
Prepare and cook to order a variety of foods that require only a short preparation time. May take orders from customers and serve patrons at counters or tables.
Baristas
Medium53.32%
Prepare or serve specialty coffee or other beverages. Serve food such as baked goods or sandwiches to patrons.
Dishwashers
Low20.96%
Clean dishes, kitchen, food preparation equipment, or utensils.
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse
Medium41.19%
Manually plant, cultivate, and harvest vegetables, fruits, nuts, horticultural specialties, and field crops. Use hand tools, such as shovels, trowels, hoes, tampers, pruning hooks, shears, and knives. Duties may include tilling soil and applying fertilizers; transplanting, weeding, thinning, or pruning crops; applying pesticides; or cleaning, grading, sorting, packing, and loading harvested products. May construct trellises, repair fences and farm buildings, or participate in irrigation activities.
Butchers and Meat Cutters
Medium38.24%
Cut, trim, or prepare consumer-sized portions of meat for use or sale in retail establishments.
Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers
Low28.87%
Use hands or hand tools to perform routine cutting and trimming of meat, poultry, and seafood.
Slaughterers and Meat Packers
Low24.83%
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.