What Do Slaughterers and Meat Packers Do (including Their Typical Day At Work)

Job Description

Slaughterers and Meat Packers work in slaughtering, meat packing, or wholesale establishments performing precision functions involving the preparation of meat. Work may include specialized slaughtering tasks, cutting standard or premium cuts of meat for marketing, making sausage, or wrapping meats. They also remove bones, and cut meat into standard cuts in preparation for marketing.

Other tasks include:

• Sever jugular veins to drain blood and facilitate slaughtering.
• Tend assembly lines, performing a few of the many cuts needed to process a carcass.
• Shackle hind legs of animals to raise them for slaughtering or skinning.
• Slit open, eviscerate, and trim carcasses of slaughtered animals.
• Stun animals prior to slaughtering.
• Skin sections of animals or whole animals.

We asked Slaughterers and Meat Packers how satisfied they are with their job. Here is what they said.

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61% of them said they were satisfied with their job and 46% said they find that their job makes the world a better place or helps to make someone else’s life better.

Typical Day At Work

On a daily basis, Slaughterers and Meat Packers remove bones, and cut meat into standard cuts in preparation for marketing. They tend assembly lines, performing a few of the many cuts needed to process a carcass.

A typical day for a Slaughterer and Meat Packer will also include:

• Grind meat into hamburger, and into trimmings used to prepare sausages, luncheon meats, and other meat products.
• Slaughter animals in accordance with religious law, and determine that carcasses meet specified religious standards.
• Slit open, eviscerate, and trim carcasses of slaughtered animals.
• Trim, clean, or cure animal hides.
• Saw, split, or scribe carcasses into smaller portions to facilitate handling.

We asked some Slaughterers and Meat Packers a few questions to find out what else does their work day look like. Here is what we found.

	Do you have telephone conversations everyday in this job?	15% said yes
	How important is it to work in a team in this job?	14% said very important
	Do you have group discussions everyday in this job?	43% said yes
	Do you talk or work with customers everyday in this job?	11% said yes
	Do you have to deal with angry customers everyday in this job?	0% said yes
	Do you have to make decisions everyday in this job?	66% said yes

Other responsibilities

Besides their typical day, Slaughterers and Meat Packers also wrap dressed carcasses or meat cuts. They may also stun animals prior to slaughtering.

On a weekly to monthly basis, Slaughterers and Meat Packers Cut, trim, skin, sort, and wash viscera of slaughtered animals to separate edible portions from offal. They might also Grind meat into hamburger, and into trimmings used to prepare sausages, luncheon meats, and other meat products.

In addition, they Trim head meat, and sever or remove parts of animals’ heads or skulls.

Although specific duties may vary, many of them Trim, clean, or cure animal hides.

To some Slaughterers and Meat Packers, it is also their responsibility to Saw, split, or scribe carcasses into smaller portions to facilitate handling.

Working life

More than 40 hours per week

Regular schedule like a 9 to 5

In a typical work week as a Slaughterer and Meat Packer, you can expect to work more than 40 hours per week.

Is this right for me

People who are suitable for this job tends to like work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They like working with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery..

They also like following set procedures and routines. They like working with data and details more than with ideas.

You can read more about these career personality types here.

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