Slaughterers and Meat Packers
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.
What it pays
Slaughterers and Meat Packers earn a median of $19.29/hr — about $40,000 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $16.03/hr; the top 10% earn $24.56/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
Slaughterers and Meat Packers earn a median of $19.29/hr — about $40,000 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earn $16.03/hr; the top 10% earn $24.56/hr. (Annual figures are approximate: hourly × 2,080.)
What you'd actually do
- Remove bones, and cut meat into standard cuts in preparation for marketing.
- Sever jugular veins to drain blood and facilitate slaughtering.
- Tend assembly lines, performing a few of the many cuts needed to process a carcass.
- Shackle hind legs of animals to raise them for slaughtering or skinning.
- Slit open, eviscerate, and trim carcasses of slaughtered animals.
- Stun animals prior to slaughtering.
How you get there
Typical entry-level education: Less than high school. Overall preparation: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).
Working for yourself
About 1.8% of slaughterers and meat packers 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 slaughterers and meat packer make?
- The median pay is $19.29 per hour — roughly $40,000 a year, with the real range running from about $16.03/hr (10th percentile) to $24.56/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Do you need a degree to be a slaughterers and meat packer?
- The typical entry-level education is: Less than high school. Overall preparation level: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).
- What does a slaughterers and meat packer actually do all day?
- Remove bones, and cut meat into standard cuts in preparation for marketing. Sever jugular veins to drain blood and facilitate slaughtering. Tend assembly lines, performing a few of the many cuts needed to process a carcass.
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.