Career
Butchers and meat cutters
Cut and prepare meat.
$40,140
Median pay
+2.4%
Job growth, 2025–35
15,100
Openings a year
No formal educational credential
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Prepare and place meat cuts and products in display counter to appear attractive and catch the shopper's eye.
- Wrap, weigh, label, and price cuts of meat.
- Cut, trim, bone, tie, and grind meats, such as beef, pork, poultry, and fish, to prepare in cooking form.
- Prepare special cuts of meat ordered by customers.
- Receive, inspect, and store meat upon delivery to ensure meat quality.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Prepare and place meat cuts and products in display counter to appear attractive and catch the shopper's eye.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Service Orientation.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though moderate-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $40,140 a year and 15,100 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Meat Cutting/Meat CutterCIP 12.0506
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers$38,300 · +5.7%
- Slaughterers and Meat Packers$40,130 · +2.0%
- Cooks, Restaurant$37,390 · +12.1%
- Food Preparation Workers$35,320 · -3.0%
- Bakers$37,160 · +5.5%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
Not sure this fits who you are? Start with Vocational Finder →
Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.