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Butcher and Meat Cutter

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AVG. SALARY

$28,660

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EDUCATION

No standard requirement

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JOB OUTLOOK

Decreasing

Interviews

Insider Info

A butcher does much more than cut a good steak!

According to Mary Krolizik, owner and operator of a meat market, a diversity of skills is the prerequisite to success in the meat-processing industry. Well-known by locals as one of the hardest-working female meat processors around, Krolizik admits that she has to do it all when it comes to her line of work.

Inside the bustling retail shop that she shares with her husband, Krolizik performs an incredible variety of tasks, from quality control to staff management to marketing to cutting.

Each day as she steps through the door of her shop, Krolizik wonders what kinds of challenges she will face and overcome. In fact, diversity is what she loves most about her work. "I enjoy a lot of different things. There is so much variety, from slicing, to serving customers, to packing," says Krolizik.

There was a time when Krolizik had no idea that she would earn her living as a meat processor, or that she would love doing it. "I married a sausage-maker," says Krolizik. "I had no clue about meats."

Once she opened the shop with her husband, Krolizik learned everything she knows about meat-processing through direct experience, hard work and an unforeseen love of the job.

Even though meat processing is demanding on many levels, Krolizik maintains an extremely positive attitude towards her work. "There's nothing not to like. When it's your own business, it doesn't matter what comes up!"

While Krolizik is modest about the physical and mental demands of her job, Ron Smith, professor of meat studies, is extremely candid about some of the challenges that meat processors face. He discusses the safety hazards that come with the sharp tools of the trade.

"Meat cutters work with razor-sharp knives and often wear metal mesh suits for protection. Many of them work with heavy power equipment and need to wear eye shields."

Of course, metal suits and eye shields are necessary for workers' safety, but they add weight and resistance to a person's every movement. In order to comfortably complete a day's work, a meat processor requires both physical strength and endurance. "Meat-cutting is entirely physical work. It is a very manual job that involves lots of heavy lifting and repetition throughout the day."

Smith advises that success in this industry requires confidence and mental strength. "It is a high-stress industry. You have to be able to monitor quality control and ensure food safety. If you're involved in sales, speed is essential, especially if you are working for commission. When you are actually cutting and processing the meat, you are inside all day in a cold environment. If you're the kind of person who likes to be in the outdoors, you'd be unhappy doing this kind of work."

Unlike Krolizik, Smith did not land his job through apprenticeship and work experience. While Krolizik suggests that a "real sausage-maker" should work next to an expert in order to learn the tricks of the trade, Smith suggests an alternate method of entering the meat-processing world: education.

Most of his students have combined their interest in meat with an education in microbiology, product development or research.

"At the lower levels of meat processing, the slaughtering and butchering levels, we hire anyone with [a] good work ethic and physical strength. For upper-level work, such as management and research development, you'll need a two- to four-year college education with an emphasis on animal or food science, microbiology or business."

Meat goes through an incredible process before it lands on your grill or the end of your fork. It takes the combined effort of many kinds of people with an incredible variety of skills and strengths to bring it to the ready-to-prepare version that most people see.

"It's about having a variety skills and an ability to do lots of hard work," says Smith.