Food Science Technicians
Work with food scientists or technologists to perform standardized qualitative and quantitative tests to determine physical or chemical properties of food or beverage products. Includes technicians who assist in research and development of production technology, quality control, packaging, processing, and use of foods.
- O*NET-SOC code
19-4013.00 - Preparation Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
Wages
Median annual wage, U.S.$52,130
Employment, U.S.14,600
Median hourly wage$25.06
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $39,820 | $46,020 | $52,130 | $63,270 | $78,820 |
By state (38)
| State | Employment | Median annual | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 30 | $40,940 | 0.16 |
| Arkansas | 140 | $46,810 | 1.12 |
| California | 3,990 | $54,200 | 2.34 |
| Colorado | 270 | $58,540 | 1.02 |
| Connecticut | $49,700 | ||
| Florida | 250 | $58,500 | 0.26 |
| Georgia | 260 | $53,150 | 0.56 |
| Idaho | 560 | $48,980 | 7.00 |
| Illinois | 290 | $60,820 | 0.51 |
| Indiana | 530 | $44,630 | 1.78 |
| Iowa | 420 | $50,740 | 2.86 |
| Kansas | 60 | $39,930 | 0.41 |
| Kentucky | 160 | $64,770 | 0.87 |
| Louisiana | 30 | $44,310 | 0.17 |
| Maryland | 280 | $57,880 | 1.07 |
| Massachusetts | 260 | $56,850 | 0.75 |
| Michigan | 250 | $52,130 | 0.59 |
| Minnesota | 380 | $57,940 | 1.36 |
| Mississippi | 50 | $51,460 | 0.49 |
| Missouri | 150 | $59,570 | 0.54 |
| Nebraska | 170 | $48,530 | 1.77 |
| Nevada | 110 | $59,070 | 0.72 |
| New Jersey | 590 | $56,730 | 1.48 |
| New Mexico | 120 | $46,500 | 1.42 |
| New York | 580 | $55,470 | 0.64 |
| North Carolina | 130 | $48,640 | 0.28 |
| Ohio | 230 | $57,060 | 0.43 |
| Oklahoma | 50 | $47,240 | 0.29 |
| Oregon | 820 | $50,590 | 4.45 |
| Pennsylvania | 590 | $48,060 | 1.04 |
| South Carolina | 40 | $39,480 | 0.19 |
| South Dakota | 100 | $48,760 | 2.23 |
| Texas | 900 | $47,760 | 0.68 |
| Utah | 80 | $45,110 | 0.51 |
| Vermont | 50 | $60,980 | 1.84 |
| Virginia | 150 | $65,360 | 0.39 |
| Washington | 660 | $62,070 | 1.98 |
| Wisconsin | 540 | $55,690 | 1.96 |
Similar occupations
Similarity is our measure: the cosine of importance x level over all 120 O*NET skills, knowledge areas and abilities. It is not an O*NET finding. More.
Circles are the 20 most similar occupations, coloured by Job Zone. Lines join pairs where one is among the other's 10 most similar; darker lines are pairs O*NET also lists as related. Drag a circle to move it out of the way; select one to open it.
| # | Occupation | Job Zone | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quality Control Analysts | 3 | 0.964 |
| 2 | Food Scientists and Technologists | 4 | 0.958 |
| 3 | Histotechnologists | 4 | 0.951 |
| 4 | Chemists | 4 | 0.948 |
| 5 | Microbiologists | 4 | 0.948 |
| 6 | Cytogenetic Technologists | 4 | 0.943 |
| 7 | Biological Technicians | 4 | 0.942 |
| 8 | Chemical Technicians | 3 | 0.942 |
| 9 | Animal Scientists | 5 | 0.937 |
| 10 | Agricultural Technicians | 3 | 0.934 |
One skill away
Among the 50 occupations most similar to Food Science Technicians, those at the same Job Zone or lower, where exactly one skill rated at least 3 in importance needs a level more than 0.75 points higher (on O*NET's 0-7 level scale). Our definition. Change the thresholds.
| Occupation | Skill to build | Level gap | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weighers, Measurers, Checkers, and Samplers, Recordkeeping | Service Orientation | 0.88 | 0.927 |
| Nuclear Medicine Technologists | Service Orientation | 1.13 | 0.912 |
| Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria | Service Orientation | 0.88 | 0.909 |
Software to learn next
Software used by at least 3 of the 20 occupations most similar to Food Science Technicians, excluding software Food Science Technicians already lists and any you named. Ranked by how many of them use it, weighted by how much more common it is among them than across all occupations (lift). Our ranking.
| Software | Similar jobs using it | Lift |
|---|---|---|
| Laboratory information management system LIMS | 5 of 20 | 12.8x |
| Laboratory information system LIS | 4 of 20 | 20.5x |
| Statistical software | 5 of 20 | 5.8x |
| Structured query language SQL | 7 of 20 | 2.1x |
| National Instruments LabVIEW | 4 of 20 | 3.0x |
| Oracle Java | 5 of 20 | 2.3x |
| Minitab | 4 of 20 | 2.6x |
| Email software | 9 of 20 | 1.5x |
| MEDITECH software | 4 of 20 | 2.4x |
| ESRI ArcGIS software | 4 of 20 | 2.0x |
Skills
From O*NET data. Importance is rated 1 to 5 and level 0 to 7.
| Skill | Type | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | Essential skill | 3.75 | 3.88 |
| Speaking | Essential skill | 3.50 | 3.38 |
| Writing | Essential skill | 3.50 | 3.38 |
| Active Listening | Essential skill | 3.50 | 3.12 |
| Critical Thinking | Essential skill | 3.25 | 3.38 |
| Science | Essential skill | 3.25 | 3.25 |
| Coordination | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Monitoring | Essential skill | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Complex Problem Solving | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Quality Control Analysis | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Active Learning | Essential skill | 3.00 | 3.12 |
| Instructing | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Time Management | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Learning Strategies | Essential skill | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Social Perceptiveness | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Mathematics | Essential skill | 2.75 | 3.12 |
| Operations Monitoring | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 2.88 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | Transferable skill | 2.62 | 2.62 |
| Systems Evaluation | Transferable skill | 2.38 | 2.25 |
| Service Orientation | Transferable skill | 2.25 | 2.12 |
| Systems Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.25 | 2.12 |
| Operation and Control | Transferable skill | 2.12 | 2.00 |
| Troubleshooting | Transferable skill | 2.12 | 1.62 |
| Negotiation | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Persuasion | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 1.75 |
| Equipment Maintenance | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 1.62 |
| Management of Material Resources | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 1.62 |
| Repairing | Transferable skill | 1.75 | 1.38 |
| Equipment Selection | Transferable skill | 1.62 | 1.12 |
| Management of Financial Resources | Transferable skill | 1.50 | 0.50 |
| Operations Analysis | Transferable skill | 1.38 | 0.38 |
| Programming | Transferable skill | 1.38 | 0.38 |
| Technology Design | Transferable skill | 1.38 | 0.38 |
| Installation | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
Knowledge (33) and abilities (52)
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Food Production | 3.76 | 3.73 |
| Production and Processing | 3.68 | 4.27 |
| Chemistry | 3.45 | 4.33 |
| English Language | 3.43 | 3.72 |
| Computers and Electronics | 3.13 | 4.03 |
| Biology | 3.10 | 3.80 |
| Mathematics | 3.04 | 3.67 |
| Administrative | 2.61 | 3.22 |
| Customer and Personal Service | 2.59 | 2.67 |
| Education and Training | 2.47 | 3.05 |
| Engineering and Technology | 2.28 | 2.14 |
| Administration and Management | 2.22 | 2.10 |
| Public Safety and Security | 2.08 | 1.89 |
| Law and Government | 2.03 | 1.61 |
| Mechanical | 2.01 | 2.00 |
| Physics | 1.85 | 1.67 |
| Personnel and Human Resources | 1.85 | 1.55 |
| Telecommunications | 1.59 | 0.91 |
| Communications and Media | 1.44 | 1.03 |
| Design | 1.37 | not rated |
| Sales and Marketing | 1.37 | 0.61 |
| Transportation | 1.35 | 0.69 |
| Economics and Accounting | 1.28 | not rated |
| Therapy and Counseling | 1.27 | 0.55 |
| Building and Construction | 1.26 | not rated |
| Foreign Language | 1.21 | not rated |
| Psychology | 1.17 | not rated |
| History and Archeology | 1.15 | not rated |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 1.13 | not rated |
| Geography | 1.02 | not rated |
| Philosophy and Theology | 1.02 | not rated |
| Sociology and Anthropology | 1.02 | not rated |
| Fine Arts | 1.00 | not rated |
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Near Vision | 3.88 | 3.75 |
| Oral Comprehension | 3.75 | 4.12 |
| Oral Expression | 3.75 | 4.00 |
| Written Comprehension | 3.75 | 3.75 |
| Written Expression | 3.75 | 3.75 |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.62 | 3.50 |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.62 | 3.50 |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.50 | 3.12 |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 3.25 | 3.12 |
| Speech Clarity | 3.25 | 3.00 |
| Speech Recognition | 3.25 | 3.00 |
| Category Flexibility | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Perceptual Speed | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Flexibility of Closure | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Information Ordering | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Selective Attention | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Number Facility | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Fluency of Ideas | 2.75 | 2.88 |
| Finger Dexterity | 2.75 | 2.62 |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 2.75 | 2.50 |
| Control Precision | 2.75 | 2.25 |
| Visualization | 2.62 | 2.75 |
| Far Vision | 2.62 | 2.62 |
| Time Sharing | 2.62 | 2.50 |
| Manual Dexterity | 2.50 | 2.12 |
| Originality | 2.25 | 2.38 |
| Auditory Attention | 2.25 | 2.12 |
| Trunk Strength | 2.25 | 2.12 |
| Reaction Time | 2.25 | 1.75 |
| Speed of Closure | 2.12 | 2.00 |
| Rate Control | 2.12 | 1.25 |
| Memorization | 2.00 | 2.12 |
| Wrist-Finger Speed | 2.00 | 1.12 |
| Hearing Sensitivity | 1.88 | 1.62 |
| Stamina | 1.88 | 1.00 |
| Depth Perception | 1.75 | 1.38 |
| Multilimb Coordination | 1.75 | 1.38 |
| Gross Body Equilibrium | 1.75 | 1.00 |
| Gross Body Coordination | 1.75 | 0.88 |
| Response Orientation | 1.50 | 0.62 |
| Static Strength | 1.38 | 0.62 |
| Dynamic Strength | 1.38 | 0.50 |
| Extent Flexibility | 1.38 | 0.38 |
| Speed of Limb Movement | 1.38 | 0.38 |
| Glare Sensitivity | 1.25 | not rated |
| Sound Localization | 1.25 | not rated |
| Explosive Strength | 1.12 | not rated |
| Peripheral Vision | 1.12 | not rated |
| Dynamic Flexibility | 1.00 | not rated |
| Night Vision | 1.00 | not rated |
| Spatial Orientation | 1.00 | not rated |
Software used
Examples from O*NET data. "Hot" and "in demand" are O*NET flags for technologies often listed in job postings.
- Microsoft Excel in demand
- Microsoft Office software in demand
- Microsoft Outlook in demand
- Microsoft PowerPoint in demand
- Microsoft Word in demand
- Linux hot
- Microsoft Access hot
- Microsoft SQL Server hot
- Microsoft Visio hot
- SAP software hot
- SAS hot
- Apache JMeter
- Apache Struts
- Database software
- Graphical user interface GUI design software
- Graphics software
- IBM Lotus Notes
- IBM WebSphere
- Oracle WebLogic Server
- Red Hat WildFly
- Structure query language SQL
Where it concentrates
Metro areas ranked by BLS location quotient: the occupation's share of the area's jobs divided by its share of all US jobs. Above 1 means more concentrated than the nation. Metros employing fewer than 100 are left out.
| Metro area | Employment | Location quotient | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twin Falls, ID | 200 | 41.85 | $49,460 |
| Merced, CA | 210 | 28.14 | $50,750 |
| Napa, CA | 140 | 19.44 | $61,430 |
| Visalia, CA | 220 | 13.58 | $49,270 |
| Modesto, CA | 180 | 9.70 | $56,220 |
| Salem, OR | 130 | 7.31 | $45,200 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | 110 | 5.95 | $58,640 |
| Fresno, CA | 250 | 5.68 | $46,350 |
| Stockton-Lodi, CA | 140 | 5.21 | $50,390 |
| Boise City, ID | 180 | 4.76 | $49,930 |