Food Batchmakers
Set up and operate equipment that mixes or blends ingredients used in the manufacturing of food products. Includes candy makers and cheese makers.
What it pays
Food Batchmakers earn a median of $20.33/hr — about $42,500 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $15.38/hr; the top 10% earn $28.34/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
Food Batchmakers earn a median of $20.33/hr — about $42,500 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $15.38/hr; the top 10% earn $28.34/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
What you'd actually do
- Record production and test data for each food product batch, such as the ingredients used, temperature, test results, and time cycle.
- Clean and sterilize vats and factory processing areas.
- Set up, operate, and tend equipment that cooks, mixes, blends, or processes ingredients in the manufacturing of food products, according to formulas or recipes.
- Mix or blend ingredients, according to recipes, using a paddle or an agitator, or by controlling vats that heat and mix ingredients.
- Follow recipes to produce food products of specified flavor, texture, clarity, bouquet, or color.
- Give directions to other workers who are assisting in the batchmaking process.
How you get there
Typical entry-level education: High school diploma. Overall preparation: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).
The feel of the work
The work is mostly indoors; much of the day is spent working solo. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)
Working for yourself
About 0.6% of food batchmakers are self-employed.
Who it tends to fit
This work tends to fit people who are hands-on and organized and detail-focused.
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Quick questions
- How much does a food batchmaker make?
- The median pay is $20.33 per hour — roughly $42,500 a year, with the real range running from about $15.38/hr (10th percentile) to $28.34/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Do you need a degree to be a food batchmaker?
- The typical entry-level education is: High school diploma. Overall preparation level: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).
- What does a food batchmaker actually do all day?
- Record production and test data for each food product batch, such as the ingredients used, temperature, test results, and time cycle. Clean and sterilize vats and factory processing areas. Set up, operate, and tend equipment that cooks, mixes, blends, or processes ingredients in the manufacturing of food products, according to formulas or recipes.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS. Tasks & interests: O*NET. Career pathways shown in the app are draft archetypes — verify before relying on them. Trailhead is a free career guide for students — honest numbers, no hype.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.
Trailhead is operated by FLEXVermont LLC. It is intended for high-school students age 13 and older, and the educators and families who support them, and is not directed to children under 13. Trailhead is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not offer professional, financial, or career advice, and its wage figures and pathways are estimates that may not fit your situation — they should not be relied on as the sole basis for any decision.