How to become a food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders

Operate or tend food or tobacco roasting, baking, or drying equipment, including hearth ovens, kiln driers, roasters, char kilns, and vacuum drying equipment.

Steps to get there

Most employers expect usually requires a high school diploma or ged, though some occupations may not..Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.

What food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders do

• Set temperature and time controls, light ovens, burners, driers, or roasters, and start equipment, such as conveyors, cylinders, blowers, driers, or pumps.
• Weigh or measure products, using scale hoppers or scale conveyors.
• Read work orders to determine quantities and types of products to be baked, dried, or roasted.
• Observe flow of materials and listen for machine malfunctions, such as jamming or spillage, and notify supervisors if corrective actions fail.
• Record production data, such as weight and amount of product processed, type of product, and time and temperature of processing.
• Operate or tend equipment that roasts, bakes, dries, or cures food items such as cocoa and coffee beans, grains, nuts, and bakery products.

Skills that matter most

• Monitoring
• Reading Comprehension
• Active Listening
• Critical Thinking
• Speaking
• Writing
• Active Learning
• Learning Strategies

Is food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders a good career?

On the numbers, this job is close to the average across occupations. Median pay is 12% below the all-occupation median. Whether it fits you depends on the work itself, the schooling you are willing to do and where you want to live.

Where it pays most

• North Dakota $77,300
• Maryland $60,170
• Colorado $59,590
• Virginia $59,260
• Alaska $55,280

Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders salary by state and city

Sources: O*NET® 31.0 (CC BY 4.0, USDOL/ETA) and BLS Employment Projections 2025–35. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025.