Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers
SOC Code: 51-3022
Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers carries a 29% AI exposure score (Medium automation risk), with a median annual wage of $37,700 and +5.5% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 146,800 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 29% AI exposure, Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers sits 8 points below the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 27% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
53/100
Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage F $37,700
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth B+ +5.5%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) B 29% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers in the Medium band.
Credential × growth standing
Open entry with non-declining BLS pace
Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers keeps an No credential bar (109 of 832) and sits in Average (378 of 832). Lower formal gates with a non-shrinking employment line - skill and AI desks matter more than credentials here.
Where Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
29% Lower than most lower than 73% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers's Medium automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score below 40% reflects tasks anchored in physical dexterity, unstructured environments, or high-touch human interaction that current AI cannot reliably replicate.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 51-3022) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Use knives, cleavers, meat saws, bandsaws, or other equipment to perform meat cutting and trimming.
- 2. Weigh meats and tag containers for weight and contents.
- 3. Process primal parts into cuts that are ready for retail use.
- 4. Inspect meat products for defects, bruises or blemishes and remove them along with any excess fat.
- 5. Cut and trim meat to prepare for packing.
- 6. Separate meats and byproducts into specified containers and seal containers.
- 7. 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.
- 8. Clean, trim, slice, and section carcasses for future processing.
- 9. Remove parts, such as skin, feathers, scales or bones, from carcass.
- 10. Obtain and distribute specified meat or carcass.
Key Skills Required
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Social Perceptiveness
- Coordination
- Time Management
- Service Orientation
- Instructing
Knowledge Areas
- Production and Processing
- Food Production
- Public Safety and Security
- Mathematics
- Administration and Management
- Mechanical
- Personnel and Human Resources
- Transportation
- Education and Training
- English Language
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers?
Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers has an AI exposure score of 29%, indicating a medium level of automation risk. The majority of tasks in this role require human judgment, creativity, or physical presence that AI cannot easily replicate.
What is the job outlook for Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers is projected to grow by 5.5% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 146,800 workers.
What skills are needed for Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers?
Key skills for Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers include Active Listening, Speaking, Critical Thinking, and others. Typical entry-level education is No formal educational credential.
How much do Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers earn?
The median annual wage for Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers is $37,700, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers?
The typical entry-level education for Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers is No formal educational credential. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves Short-term on-the-job training. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers?
Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
Medium automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. Most tasks require human judgment and are resistant to automation.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (29% here).
- Anesthesiologists · AI exposure 29%
- Cooks, short order · AI exposure 29%
- Elevator and escalator installers and repairers · AI exposure 29%
- Fence erectors · AI exposure 29%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (+5.5% here).
- Athletes and sports competitors · growth +5.5%
- Cooks, all other · growth +5.5%
- Dietitians and nutritionists · growth +5.5%
- Electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay · growth +5.5%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 81 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).