Production · Holland code RCE

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.

Also called: Batching Operator, Blender, Mixer, Mixer Operator, Brewing Technician, Compounder, Dosier Operator, Dough Scaler.

O*NET 51-3092.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $42,290; Middle half earn $36,350 to $49,670. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED); 38% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 2 of 5; Some preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

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.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension3.1 / 5
Critical Thinking3.1 / 5
Active Listening3.0 / 5
Speaking3.0 / 5
Writing2.9 / 5
Monitoring2.9 / 5

Knowledge areas

Public Safety and Security4.3 / 5
Food Production4.3 / 5
Production and Processing4.2 / 5
Education and Training3.6 / 5
English Language3.5 / 5
Administration and Management3.1 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic85
Investigative18
Artistic15
Social8
Enterprising27
Conventional61

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

candy machine operator · DE Süßigkeitenproduktionsarbeiter/Süßigkeitenproduktionsarbeiterin · FR opérateur de machine à confiserie/opératrice de machine à confiserie
extract mixer tester · DE Gewürzmischer/Gewürzmischerin · FR préparateur d'arômes alimentaires/préparatrice d'arômes alimentaires
flour purifier operator · DE Grießputzmaschinenbediener/Grießputzmaschinenbedienerin · FR opérateur de purification de la farine/opératrice de purification de la farine
food production operator · DE Lebensmittelproduktionsmitarbeiter/Lebensmittelproduktionsmitarbeiterin · FR opérateur de fabrication de produits alimentaires/opératrice de fabrication de produits alimentaires
hydrogenation machine operator · DE Hydriermaschinenbediener/Hydriermaschinenbedienerin · FR opérateur de machine à hydrogénation/opératrice de machine à hydrogénation
kettle tender · DE Bediener für Kochkessel/Bedienerin für Kochkessel · FR préposé à la fabrication de chewing gum/préposée à la fabrication de chewing gum

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Food, drink and tobacco process operatives (8111)129,900 employed
Butchers (5431)21,300 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Plant and machine operators and assemblers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Plant and machine operators and assemblers, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€39,630
Netherlands	€37,567
Austria	€37,304
Sweden	€36,005
Germany	€34,433
Ireland	€32,617
France	€28,550
Italy	€28,330
Spain	€24,409
Portugal	€11,309
Poland	€10,259

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -0.38. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (51-3092).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test