Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers
Also called: Abalone Processor, Animal Eviscerator, Animal Skinner, Animal Sticker, Bacon Derinder, Bacon Skin Lifter, Bacon Skinner, Bacon Slicer
Use hands or hand tools to perform routine cutting and trimming of meat, poultry, and seafood.
What meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers do
Typical tasks
- 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.
Typical path into the job (BLS)
Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers salary
The median annual wage for meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers is $38,300 (BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national). The lowest 10 percent earn less than $29,980 and the highest 10 percent earn more than $48,150. The mean annual wage is $39,280.
The mean hourly wage of $18.00 is 2.5× the federal minimum wage of $7.25. State minimums are higher in most large states. Minimum wage by state →
How does your pay compare with people your age?
Your numbers are not sent or stored. The comparison uses this occupation's BLS wage percentiles, adjusted for age with BLS median weekly earnings by age group (Q3 2026).
Pay by percentile
Annual wage percentiles from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Percentiles are a good proxy for pay by experience.
Projected pay for Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers (3, 5 and 10 years)est.
Today $38,300 → in 3 years $42,000 → in 5 years $44,700 → in 10 years $52,300 (10-year range $45,000–$60,700). The model assumes pay growth of +3.2% per year.
What drives the annual growth rate
Projected pay = current pay × (1 + annual growth)^years. The annual growth rate starts from a base wage-growth rate and adds or subtracts labor demand (BLS projected employment growth), wage momentum and AI replacement risk for each occupation. Projections are not guarantees. How it is calculated →
Outlook score for Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers
Each component is a percentile rank among all occupations in the same country (0–100). Weights: labor demand 25, wage momentum / openings 15, pay level 15, AI resistance 25, aging workforce 10 (Japan only), entry barrier 10.
Will AI replace Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers? AI replacement risk
How AI is changing this job
A written analysis for this occupation is being prepared.
AI replacement risk compares the parts of a job that are easy to hand to AI or software (processing information, documentation, repetitive computer work) with the parts that are hard to automate (physical work, working closely with people, judgment in unpredictable settings), using O*NET work activities, work context, skills and knowledge. The result is a relative position among all occupations in the country, scaled to 0–100%. Methodology →
Labor demand for Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers
Employment projections are from the BLS Employment Projections program (2025–35). Annual openings include both new jobs and replacement of workers who leave the occupation.
The same job in Japan
| Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers United States | ハム・ソーセージ・ベーコン製造 Japan | |
|---|---|---|
| Median / average pay | $38,300 | ¥3.97M ≈ $25,230 |
| Pay in 10 years (est.) | $52,300 | ¥5.12M |
| Outlook score | 53 | 46 |
| AI replacement risk | 40% Low | 44% Moderate |
| Workers | 146K | — |
Matched by occupation (SOC code). Yen converted at 157.25 JPY/USD for reference; Japanese figures are averages, U.S. figures are medians, and the surveys define occupations differently.
Skills, education and requirements for Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers
Key skills
O*NET skill level ratings (0–7).
Key knowledge areas
What the work involves
Important abilities
Education of workers
Training before entry
Related work experience
Job Zone 2 — some preparation needed (O*NET)
Difficulty of entry: ★☆☆☆☆ Easy to enter (from education, training, experience and Job Zone)
How to become meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers
A step-by-step guide for this occupation is being prepared. The education, training and experience data above show the typical path.
Career path and how to earn more as meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers
Career-path guidance is being prepared. Pay by percentile is shown in the Pay section.