Occupation Details
Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders
Operate or tend food or tobacco roasting, baking, or drying equipment, including hearth ovens, kiln driers, roasters, char kilns, and vacuum drying equipment.
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Interests
Realistic
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.
Conventional
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.
Work Values
Working Conditions
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
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. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
Support
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Salary & Job Outlook
Starting Salary
$28,530.00
New York StateMedian Salary
$31,180.00
New York StateExperienced Salary
$37,520.00
New York StateNational Average for Comparison
New York State Job Market Outlook
Jobs Right Now (2018)
690
professionals in NYFuture Job Growth (2030)
900
+21 jobs/yearNew Jobs Every Year
111
new opportunities yearlyGrowth Rate
0.3%
projected increasePreparation: Experience, Training, and Education
The list below outlines the prior educational experience required to perform in this occupation.
Some Training - Certificate or hands-on training
Experience Requirements
Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.
Education Requirements
These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
Training Details
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Transferrable Skills and Experience
These occupations often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include orderlies, counter and rental clerks, customer service representatives, security guards, upholsterers, tellers, and dental laboratory technicians.
School Programs
School Programs information is not available for this occupation.
Licensing & Certification
State License and Certifications Requirements are not currently associated with this occupation.
Skills
The list below includes the skills required by workers in this occupation; skills are what allow you to learn more quickly and improve your performance.
Operations Monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Operation and Control
Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Skill level is measured on a seven point scale, where one means 'some competence required for this occupation' and seven means 'a high level of expertise required for this occupation'.
Knowledge
The list below includes knowledge items, the principles and facts required by this occupation.
Production and Processing
Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
English Language
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
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.
Food Production
Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Education and Training
Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Knowledge level is measured on a seven point scale, where one means 'some competence required for this occupation' and seven means 'a high level of expertise required for this occupation'.
Work Environment
The list below includes the physical and social factors that influence the nature of work in this occupation.
Hover over or tap each factor to see its description.
Work Styles
Included in the list below are the personal work style characteristics that can affect how well a worker is likely to perform in this occupation.
Adaptability/Flexibility
Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Attention to Detail
Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Cooperation
Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Dependability
Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
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.
Initiative
Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Integrity
Job requires being honest and ethical.
Persistence
Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Self-Control
Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Stress Tolerance
Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
Tools & Technology
This list below describes the machines, equipment, tools, software, and information technology that workers in this occupation will use.
Tools
- Automatic hopper scales
- Baking equipment
- Box barns
- Char kilns
- Conveyor bakers
- Conveyor dryers
- Conveyor turntables
- Cooling machine pans
- Curing equipment
- Dissolved oxygen sensors
- Dough pumps
- Equipment pressure gauges
- Equipment temperature gauges
- Flood handling scoops
- Food drying equipment
- Food handling shovels
- Food storage bins
- Forced-air food dryers
- Gas furnaces
- Handheld dataloggers
- Hearth ovens
- Heat exchanger systems
- Hot air blowers
- Humidification systems
- Humidity sensors
- Kiln driers
- Machine temperature controls
- Material moving carts
- Melting tanks
- Moisture meters
Technology
- Email software
Duties
Duties are job behaviors describing activities that occur on multiple jobs. The generalized and detailed work activities described in the list below apply to this occupation.
- adjust production equipment/machinery setup
- clean equipment or machinery
- install equipment or attachments on machinery or related structures
- maintain production or work records
- load or unload material or workpiece into machinery
- measure, weigh, or count products or materials
- understand food processing directions
- maintain consistent production quality
- examine products or work to verify conformance to specifications
- use precision measuring tools or equipment
- operate food processing production equipment/machinery
- use hand or power tools
- read work order, instructions, formulas, or processing charts
- monitor production machinery/equipment operation to detect problems
Tasks
The list below outlines specific tasks that a worker in this occupation is called upon to do regularly.
- Observe, feel, taste, or otherwise examine products during and after processing to ensure conformance to standards.
- Take product samples during or after processing for laboratory analyses.
- Set temperature and time controls, light ovens, burners, driers, or roasters, and start equipment, such as conveyors, cylinders, blowers, driers, or pumps.
- Observe temperature, humidity, pressure gauges, and product samples and adjust controls, such as thermostats and valves, to maintain prescribed operating conditions for specific stages.
- Observe flow of materials and listen for machine malfunctions, such as jamming or spillage, and notify supervisors if corrective actions fail.
- Test products for moisture content, using moisture meters.
- Record production data, such as weight and amount of product processed, type of product, and time and temperature of processing.
- Weigh or measure products, using scale hoppers or scale conveyors.
- Clear or dislodge blockages in bins, screens, or other equipment, using poles, brushes, or mallets.
- Operate or tend equipment that roasts, bakes, dries, or cures food items such as cocoa and coffee beans, grains, nuts, and bakery products.
- Signal coworkers to synchronize flow of materials.
- Start conveyors to move roasted grain to cooling pans and agitate grain with rakes as blowers force air through perforated bottoms of pans.
- Open valves, gates, or chutes or use shovels to load or remove products from ovens or other equipment.
- Read work orders to determine quantities and types of products to be baked, dried, or roasted.
- Clean equipment with steam, hot water, and hoses.
- Smooth out products in bins, pans, trays, or conveyors, using rakes or shovels.
- Fill or remove product from trays, carts, hoppers, or equipment, using scoops, peels, or shovels, or by hand.
- Install equipment, such as spray units, cutting blades, or screens, using hand tools.
- Push racks or carts to transfer products to storage, cooling stations, or the next stage of processing.
- Dump sugar dust from collectors into melting tanks and add water to reclaim sugar lost during processing.
Learning Resources
More information on this occupation may be found in the links provided below.
Food processing occupations
Visit this link for additional information on this career from the Occupational Outlook Handbook; a publication produced and maintained by the United States Department of Labor.
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