Occupation Details
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.
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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
$30,000.00
New York StateMedian Salary
$36,960.00
New York StateExperienced Salary
$43,020.00
New York StateNational Average for Comparison
New York State Job Market Outlook
Jobs Right Now (2018)
7,530
professionals in NYFuture Job Growth (2030)
9,830
+230 jobs/yearNew Jobs Every Year
1,280
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
The following lists school programs which are applicable to this occupation.
Licensing & Certification
State License and Certifications Requirements are not currently associated with this occupation.
Apprenticeship
Contact your regional representative to learn more about apprenticeships available in your area by visiting Apprenticeship Contacts.
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.
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
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.
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Operation and Control
Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
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.
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.
Production and Processing
Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
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.
English Language
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
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.
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.
Achievement/Effort
Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
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.
Concern for Others
Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
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.
Initiative
Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Integrity
Job requires being honest and ethical.
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
- Agitators
- Balance scales
- Ball mills
- Beaters
- Candy stoves
- Centrifugal clarifiers
- Cheese cutters
- Cheese vats
- Chocolate melters
- Commercial cream separators
- Commercial induction cookers
- Commercial use homogenizers
- Cooker mixers
- Cooling tables
- Cream beaters
- Deep-fry cookers
- Depositing pumps
- Digital kitchen thermometers
- Dough processing machines
- Evaporators
- Extruders
- Flour milling machines
- Food broilers
- Food heating cabinets
- Food sterilizing machines
- Heating tables
- Ice cream machines
- Injector pumps
- Kettle dollies
- Kettle lifters
Technology
- Edible Software
- Microsoft Office
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.
- set up production equipment or machinery
- compute production, construction, or installation specifications
- measure, weigh, or count products or materials
- load or unload material or workpiece into machinery
- understand food processing directions
- grade, classify, or sort products according to specifications
- perform safety inspections in manufacturing or industrial setting
- examine products or work to verify conformance to specifications
- signal directions or warnings to coworkers
- maintain production or work records
- use precision measuring tools or equipment
- operate food processing production equipment/machinery
Tasks
The list below outlines specific tasks that a worker in this occupation is called upon to do regularly.
- 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.
- Test food product samples for moisture content, acidity level, specific gravity, or butter-fat content, and continue processing until desired levels are reached.
- 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.
- Inspect vats after cleaning to ensure that fermentable residue has been removed.
- 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.
- Select and measure or weigh ingredients, using English or metric measures and balance scales.
- Press switches and turn knobs to start, adjust, and regulate equipment, such as beaters, extruders, discharge pipes, and salt pumps.
- Fill processing or cooking containers, such as kettles, rotating cookers, pressure cookers, or vats, with ingredients, by opening valves, by starting pumps or injectors, or by hand.
- Determine mixing sequences, based on knowledge of temperature effects and of the solubility of specific ingredients.
- Observe and listen to equipment to detect possible malfunctions, such as leaks or plugging, and report malfunctions or undesirable tastes to supervisors.
- Manipulate products, by hand or using machines, to separate, spread, knead, spin, cast, cut, pull, or roll products.
- Observe gauges and thermometers to determine if the mixing chamber temperature is within specified limits, and turn valves to control the temperature.
- Cool food product batches on slabs or in water-cooled kettles.
- Turn valve controls to start equipment and to adjust operation to maintain product quality.
- Modify cooking and forming operations based on the results of sampling processes, adjusting time cycles and ingredients to achieve desired qualities, such as firmness or texture.
- Place products on carts or conveyors to transfer them to the next stage of processing.
- Homogenize or pasteurize material to prevent separation or to obtain prescribed butterfat content, using a homogenizing device.
- Grade food products according to government regulations or according to type, color, bouquet, and moisture content.
- Operate refining machines to reduce the particle size of cooked batches.
- Examine, feel, and taste product samples during production to evaluate quality, color, texture, flavor, and bouquet, and document the results.
- Formulate or modify recipes for specific kinds of food products.
- Inspect and pack the final product.
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.
Learn More