Production · Holland code RC

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.

Also called: Boning Room Worker, Meat Packer, Meat Processor, Meat Wrapper, Meat Packager, Saw Man, Side Puller, Wrapper.

O*NET 51-3023.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $40,130; Middle half earn $36,150 to $46,870. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED); 61% 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.

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.
Skin sections of animals or whole animals.
Cut, trim, skin, sort, and wash viscera of slaughtered animals to separate edible portions from offal.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Speaking2.8 / 5
Active Listening2.6 / 5
Critical Thinking2.4 / 5
Monitoring2.3 / 5
Active Learning2.0 / 5
Learning Strategies2.0 / 5

Knowledge areas

Customer and Personal Service3.6 / 5
Food Production3.4 / 5
Production and Processing3.3 / 5
English Language3.1 / 5
Law and Government2.8 / 5
Mathematics2.7 / 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.

Realistic94
Investigative21
Artistic5
Social11
Enterprising19
Conventional42

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)

butcher · DE Fleischer/Fleischerin · FR boucher/bouchère
halal butcher · DE Halal-Fleischer/Halal-Fleischerin · FR boucher en boucherie halal/bouchère en boucherie halal
kosher butcher · DE Fleischer mit Koscherzertifikat/Fleischerin mit Koscherzertifikat · FR boucher en boucherie casher/bouchère en boucherie casher
fish trimmer · DE Fischverarbeitungsmitarbeiter/Fischverarbeitungsmitarbeiterin · FR préparateur de poisson/préparatrice de poisson
meat cutter · DE Fleischverarbeiter/Fleischverarbeiterin · FR désosseur-pareur/désosseuse-pareuse
meat preparations operator · DE Fleischverarbeitungskraft · FR opérateur de transformation des viandes/opératrice de transformation des viandes

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Fishmongers and poultry dressers (5433)4,900 employed
Butchers (5431)21,300 employed
Food, drink and tobacco process operatives (8111)129,900 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 “Craft and related trades workers”. 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, Craft and related trades workers, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€40,086
Germany	€38,638
Austria	€38,194
Sweden	€37,856
Netherlands	€37,077
Ireland	€36,098
France	€27,145
Italy	€26,488
Spain	€22,817
Portugal	€11,142
Poland	€10,099

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 lower third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -1.83. 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 (51-3023).

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