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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.
Related: Butchers & Meat Cutters  Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, & Aquacultural Animals  Food Preparation Workers  Graders & Sorters, Agricultural Products  Meat, Poultry, & Fish Cutters & Trimmers 
Industries: Manufacturing 

  • Summary

  • Details

    • Work Activities

    • Cut, trim, skin, sort, and wash viscera of slaughtered animals to separate edible portions from offal.
    • Grind meat into hamburger, and into trimmings used to prepare sausages, luncheon meats, and other meat products.
    • Cut, trim, skin, sort, and wash viscera of slaughtered animals to separate edible portions from offal.
    • Trim, clean, or cure animal hides.
    • Slit open, eviscerate, and trim carcasses of slaughtered animals.
    • Shave or singe and defeather carcasses, and wash them in preparation for further processing or packaging.
    • Remove bones, and cut meat into standard cuts in preparation for marketing.
    • Slit open, eviscerate, and trim carcasses of slaughtered animals.
    • Shave or singe and defeather carcasses, and wash them in preparation for further processing or packaging.
    • Tend assembly lines, performing a few of the many cuts needed to process a carcass.
    • Cut, trim, skin, sort, and wash viscera of slaughtered animals to separate edible portions from offal.
    • Wrap dressed carcasses or meat cuts.
    • Skin sections of animals or whole animals.
    • Shackle hind legs of animals to raise them for slaughtering or skinning.
    • Wrap dressed carcasses or meat cuts.
    • Tend assembly lines, performing a few of the many cuts needed to process a carcass.
    • Sever jugular veins to drain blood and facilitate slaughtering.
    • Saw, split, or scribe carcasses into smaller portions to facilitate handling.
    • Trim head meat, and sever or remove parts of animals' heads or skulls.
    • Stun animals prior to slaughtering.
    • Trim head meat, and sever or remove parts of animals' heads or skulls.

    Skills

    • Science
      • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
    • Monitoring
      • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
    • Negotiation
      • Bringing people together to solve differences.
    • Programming
      • Writing computer programs.
    • Systems Evaluation
      • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
    • Learning Strategies
      • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
    • Persuasion
      • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
    • Coordination
      • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
    • Instructing
      • Teaching people how to do something.
    • Repairing
      • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
    • Reading Comprehension
      • Reading work-related information.
    • Installation
      • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
    • Management of Personnel Resources
      • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
    • Quality Control Analysis
      • Testing how well a product or service works.
    • Management of Material Resources
      • Managing equipment and materials.
    • Active Listening
      • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
    • Social Perceptiveness
      • Understanding people's reactions.
    • Time Management
      • Managing your time and the time of other people.
    • Writing
      • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
    • Critical Thinking
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
    • Technology Design
      • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
    • Operations Monitoring
      • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
    • Mathematics
      • Using math to solve problems.
    • Complex Problem Solving
      • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
    • Equipment Maintenance
      • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
    • Operations Analysis
      • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
    • Troubleshooting
      • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
    • Systems Analysis
      • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
    • Speaking
      • Talking to others.
    • Active Learning
      • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
    • Service Orientation
      • Looking for ways to help people.
    • Equipment Selection
      • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
    • Operation and Control
      • Using equipment or systems.
    • Management of Financial Resources
      • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
    • Judgment and Decision Making
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    Abilities

    • Category Flexibility
      • Grouping things in different ways.
    • Inductive Reasoning
      • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
    • Response Orientation
      • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
    • Trunk Strength
      • Using your lower back and stomach.
    • Visual Color Discrimination
      • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
    • Control Precision
      • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
    • Information Ordering
      • Ordering or arranging things.
    • Stamina
      • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
    • Speed of Closure
      • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
    • Speed of Limb Movement
      • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
    • Gross Body Coordination
      • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
    • Depth Perception
      • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
    • Dynamic Strength
      • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
    • Mathematical Reasoning
      • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
    • Originality
      • Creating new and original ideas.
    • Glare Sensitivity
      • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
    • Speech Recognition
      • Recognizing spoken words.
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
      • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
    • Dynamic Flexibility
      • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Perceptual Speed
      • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
    • Explosive Strength
      • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
    • Near Vision
      • Seeing details up close.
    • Deductive Reasoning
      • Using rules to solve problems.
    • Written Comprehension
      • Reading and understanding what is written.
    • Oral Comprehension
      • Listening and understanding what people say.
    • Problem Sensitivity
      • Noticing when problems happen.
    • Static Strength
      • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
    • Number Facility
      • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
    • Time Sharing
      • Doing two or more things at the same time.
    • Reaction Time
      • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
    • Visualization
      • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
    • Night Vision
      • Seeing at night or under low light.
    • Written Expression
      • Communicating by writing.
    • Oral Expression
      • Communicating by speaking.
    • Fluency of Ideas
      • Coming up with lots of ideas.
    • Flexibility of Closure
      • Seeing hidden patterns.
    • Finger Dexterity
      • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
    • Gross Body Equilibrium
      • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
    • Manual Dexterity
      • Holding or moving items with your hands.
    • Hearing Sensitivity
      • Telling the difference between sounds.
    • Auditory Attention
      • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
    • Sound Localization
      • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
    • Speech Clarity
      • Speaking clearly.
    • Extent Flexibility
      • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Memorization
      • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
    • Wrist-Finger Speed
      • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
    • Peripheral Vision
      • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
    • Spatial Orientation
      • Knowing where things are around you.
    • Multilimb Coordination
      • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
    • Far Vision
      • Seeing details that are far away.
    • Selective Attention
      • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
    • Rate Control
      • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    Knowledge

    • Customer and Personal Service
      • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
    • Administrative
      • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
    • Engineering and Technology
      • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
    • Building and Construction
      • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
    • 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.
    • Production and Processing
      • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
    • Sales and Marketing
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
    • Fine Arts
      • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
    • Law and Government
      • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
    • Communications and Media
      • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
    • Psychology
      • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
    • 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.
    • Foreign Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
    • Design
      • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
    • Mechanical
      • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
    • Mathematics
      • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    • Physics
      • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
    • History and Archeology
      • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
    • Telecommunications
      • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
    • Chemistry
      • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
    • Biology
      • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
    • Computers and Electronics
      • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    • Personnel and Human Resources
      • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
    • Geography
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
    • Therapy and Counseling
      • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
    • English Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
    • Philosophy and Theology
      • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
    • 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.
    • Transportation
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
    • Economics and Accounting
      • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
    • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
    • Medicine and Dentistry
      • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
    • 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

    Education
    No formal educational credential
    Work Experience
    No work experience
    Training
    Less than 1 month on-the-job training
    Education and Training Opportunities

    Pay

    Washington Annual Salary
    46460/yr
    Washington Hourly Wage
    22.34/hr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    1,040
    Yearly Projected Openings
    130

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability

    Tools

    • Animal shearing or clipping equipment
    • Belt conveyors
    • Blast freezers
    • Commercial use cutlery
    • Commercial use food grinders
    • Commercial use food slicers
    • Commercial use scales
    • Cooling machine
    • Cutting machinery
    • Dicing machinery
    • Electronic measuring probes
    • Engraving machines
    • Filling machinery
    • Forklifts
    • Form or fill or seal machinery
    • Forming machine
    • Hoists
    • Knife blades
    • Label making machines
    • Livestock identification equipment
    • Packaging compactors
    • Personal computers
    • Power saws
    • Radio frequency identification devices
    • Shaft collar
    • Sharpening stones or tools or kits
    • Slicing machinery
    • Stunner
    • Touch screen monitors
    • Wrapping machinery

    Technology

    • Accounting software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Inventory management software
    • Office suite software
    • Operating system software
    • Spreadsheet software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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