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Butchers and Meat Cutters

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Cut, trim, or prepare consumer-sized portions of meat for use or sale in retail establishments.

Related: Cooks, Restaurant Cooks, Short Order Food Preparation Workers Meat, Poultry, & Fish Cutters & Trimmers Slaughterers & Meat Packers

Industries: Retail

Summary
Details

Cut, trim, bone, tie, and grind meats, such as beef, pork, poultry, and fish, to prepare in cooking form.
Wrap, weigh, label, and price cuts of meat.
Record quantity of meat received and issued to cooks or keep records of meat sales.
Receive, inspect, and store meat upon delivery to ensure meat quality.
Cure, smoke, tenderize, and preserve 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.
Estimate requirements and order or requisition meat supplies to maintain inventories.
Negotiate with representatives from supply companies to determine order details.
Shape, lace, and tie roasts, using boning knife, skewer, and twine.
Shape, lace, and tie roasts, using boning knife, skewer, and twine.
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.
Supervise other butchers or meat cutters.
Wrap, weigh, label, and price cuts of meat.
Estimate requirements and order or requisition meat supplies to maintain inventories.

Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.

Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.

Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

Education

No formal educational credential

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

More than 1 year on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

48120/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

23.13/hr

Currently Employed

4,560

Yearly Projected Openings

590

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Dependability
Cooperation
Integrity
Attention to Detail
Self Control
Initiative

Acoustic ear muffs or defenders
Air dryers
Baling press
Belt conveyors
Blast freezers
Butcher scissors
Chopping machinery
Commercial use blenders
Commercial use cutlery
Commercial use dough machines
Commercial use food choppers or cubers or dicers
Commercial use food grinders
Commercial use food slicers
Commercial use food warmers
Commercial use rotisseries
Commercial use scales
Cutting machinery
Dehydrating machinery
Dicing machinery
Ear plugs
Fat extractors
Filling machinery
Forming machine
Handheld thermometer
Hoists
Label making machines
Meat tyer or bagger
Metal detectors
Packaging vacuum
Pallet trucks
Personal computers
Power saws
Power staple guns
Saws
Shaft collar
Sharpening stones or tools or kits
Smoking machinery
Wrapping machinery

Accounting software
Electronic mail software
Internet browser software
Office suite software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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Statewide occupation search

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Butchers and Meat Cutters

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