Career Explorer Production
Human edge, growing
Bakers
Mix and bake ingredients to produce breads, rolls, cookies, cakes, pies, pastries, or other baked goods.
More resilient than most: more resilient than 76% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it moderate), and US jobs are projected to change by +5.5% by 2035, faster than average.
AI struggles with much of this work, and US employers are expected to hire more people into it than average.
- Median pay (2025)
- $37,160
- Job growth to 2035
- +5.5%
- Openings a year
- 36,500
- People doing it (2025)
- 262,000
- Usual route in
- No formal credential, then moderate on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance
- Determine operational methods or procedures
- Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Operate industrial processing or production equipment
- Evaluate production inputs or outputs
- Apply protective solutions or coatings
What the work looks like
- Measure or weigh flour or other ingredients to prepare batters, doughs, fillings, or icings, using scales or graduated containers.
- Set oven temperatures, and place items into hot ovens for baking.
- Check products for quality, and identify damaged or expired goods.
- Check equipment to ensure that it meets health and safety regulations, and perform maintenance or cleaning, as necessary.
- Adapt the quantity of ingredients to match the amount of items to be baked.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- More of these jobs, as a variety of new baked goods are produced to meet increasing demand for convenient food.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tilesHuman edge, growing, Index 92, +9.0%
- Fiberglass laminators and fabricatorsHuman edge, growing, Index 86, +4.6%
- Food processing workers, all otherHuman edge, growing, Index 86, +5.5%
- Production workers, all otherHuman edge, steady, Index 79, +0.8%
Also known as: Dough Mixer, Mixer, Pastry Cook, Scaler, Bakery Worker, Bread Baker, Cake Baker, Cake Decorator.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.