Career Explorer Production
Human edge, growing
Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers
Use hands or hand tools to perform routine cutting and trimming of meat, poultry, and seafood.
Among the most resilient careers: more resilient than 88% 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 +5.7% by 2035, faster than average. The work leans on physical dexterity.
AI struggles with much of this work, and US employers are expected to hire more people into it than average.
- Median pay (2025)
- $38,300
- Job growth to 2035
- +5.7%
- Openings a year
- 17,000
- People doing it (2025)
- 150,000
- Usual route in
- No formal credential, then short on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Prepare foods or beverages
- Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Process animal carcasses
- Inspect completed work or finished products
- Mark materials or objects for identification
What the work looks like
- Use knives, cleavers, meat saws, bandsaws, or other equipment to perform meat cutting and trimming.
- Weigh meats and tag containers for weight and contents.
- Process primal parts into cuts that are ready for retail use.
- Inspect meat products for defects, bruises or blemishes and remove them along with any excess fat.
- Cut and trim meat to prepare for packing.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Packaging and filling machine operators and tendersHuman edge, growing, Index 91, +4.1%
- Fence erectorsHuman edge, growing, Index 91, +5.6%
- Sailors and marine oilersHuman edge, steady, Index 89, +3.2%
- Cooling and freezing equipment operators and tendersHuman edge, growing, Index 90, +5.9%
Also known as: Deboner, Meat Cutter, Trimmer, Wing Scorer, Beef Trimmer, Breast Trimmer, Chicken Cutter, Fish Processor.
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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.