Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers

What the job really is

Use hands or hand tools to perform routine cutting and trimming of meat, poultry, and seafood.

At a glance

• Sector: Production
• O*NET-SOC code: 51-3022
• O*NET job zone: 2 — some preparation
• Work sample tasks on file: 12
• Tools and technologies listed: 12

What you actually do

Work sample tasks recorded for this occupation:

• Use knives, cleavers, meat saws, bandsaws, or other equipment to perform meat cutting and trimming.
• Weigh meats and tag containers for weight and contents.
• Inspect meat products for defects, bruises or blemishes and remove them along with any excess fat.
• Cut and trim meat to prepare for packing.
• Separate meats and byproducts into specified containers and seal containers.
• Process primal parts into cuts that are ready for retail use.
• Prepare ready-to-heat foods by filleting meat or fish or cutting it into bite-sized pieces, preparing and adding vegetables or applying sauces or breading.
• Clean, trim, slice, and section carcasses for future processing.
• Remove parts, such as skin, feathers, scales or bones, from carcass.
• Obtain and distribute specified meat or carcass.
• Produce hamburger meat and meat trimmings.
• Clean and salt hides.

Tools and technology

Microsoft Excel, Web browser software, Blast chillers, Bone dusters, Boning knives, Box cutters, Butcher knives, Cubing machines, Derinding machines, Electric meat grinders, Floor jacks, Forklifts

What employers expect you to already be comfortable with.

Where this job leads

Related occupations — the usual moves up and sideways:

• Slaughterers and Meat Packers
• Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products
• Butchers and Meat Cutters
• Packers and Packagers, Hand
• Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals
• Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders
• Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders
• Food Batchmakers

Getting in

O*NET assigns this occupation job zone 2 (some preparation). The related occupations above are the realistic routes in and out.

Find openings

Browse the verified job sources directory, or explore more occupations.

Check this against the source

O*NET OnLine: Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers — the authoritative public-domain profile this page is derived from, including the full task list, reported skills and the wage estimates for your region.

Derived and rewritten from the public-domain O*NET database (U.S. Department of Labor / Employment and Training Administration). Figures are observations, not promises — always confirm salary, licensing and visa requirements with the employer and the relevant authority.