Butchers and Meat Cutters

Career Overview

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

Also Known As

• Butcher
• Meat Clerk
• Meat Cutter
• Meat Specialist

Alternate Job Titles

• Beef Shoppe Clerk
• Blockman
• Butcher
• Butcher Block Clerk
• Cleaver
• Halal Butcher
• Hotel and Restaurant Butcher
• Journeyman Meat Cutter
• Kosher Butcher
• Meat Associate
• Meat Butcher
• Meat Carver
• Meat Clerk
• Meat Counter Clerk
• Meat Counter Worker

What You'll Do

In this role, your typical responsibilities include:

• 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.
• 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.
• Receive, inspect, and store meat upon delivery to ensure meat quality.
• Estimate requirements and order or requisition meat supplies to maintain inventories.
• Shape, lace, and tie roasts, using boning knife, skewer, and twine.

Emerging Responsibilities

As this field evolves, you may also:

• Clean and sanitize meat cases and cutting equipment.

Knowledge You'll Use

You'll need solid knowledge in these areas:

• Customer and Personal Service
• Food Production

Key Abilities

This career requires key abilities in:

• Near Vision
• Manual Dexterity
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
• Oral Comprehension
• Oral Expression
• Problem Sensitivity
• Control Precision
• Information Ordering
• Category Flexibility
• Selective Attention

Work Style

People who excel in this career typically demonstrate:

• Dependability
• Attention to Detail
• Integrity
• Stress Tolerance
• Cautiousness

What Matters in This Career

This career tends to satisfy these work values:

• Relationships
• Independence
• Achievement
• Support
• Working Conditions

Education & Preparation

Typical Education: High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)

Related Work Experience Needed: Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years

On-the-Job Training: Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year

Education Details: Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.

Experience Required: 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.

Technology You'll Use

Popular Technologies & Software

• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Office software
• Microsoft Outlook
• Microsoft Word

Tools & Equipment

• Air knives
• Anti-griddles
• Auto feed grinders
• Bacon slicers
• Balers
• Beef shackles
• Beef splitting saws
• Bone dusters
• Boning hooks
• Boning knives
• Bowl choppers
• Breaking knives
• Brisket cutters
• Butcher knives
• Butcher saws

Work Environment

• Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
• Spend Time Standing
• Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls
• Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets
• Contact With Others

Salary & Job Market

Salary Percentile	Annual Wage
Entry-Level (10th percentile)	$28,850
Median	$38,960
Top Earners (90th percentile)	$57,130

Workers Employed Nationally: 140,040

Related Careers

If you're interested in this career, you might also consider:

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Occupational data sourced from the O*NET OnLine database, developed by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), 2024.