How To Become A Poultry Processor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a poultry processor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a poultry processor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $11.39 an hour? That's $23,697 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 6,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScorePoultry ProcessorUS Average

Salary

1.9

Avg. Salary $23,697

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.7

Growth rate 1%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.95%

Asian 6.44%

Black or African American 17.48%

Hispanic or Latino 9.29%

Unknown 3.51%

White 62.34%

Gender

female 51.15%

male 48.85%

Age - 42

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42

Stress level

5.7

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.7

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.0

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a poultry processor

Explore poultry processor education requirements

Most common poultry processor degrees

High School Diploma

60.3 %

Associate

14.1 %

Diploma

11.5 %

Start to develop specific poultry processor skills

Skills	Percentages
Assembly Line	49.26%
Debone	12.36%
USDA	9.24%
Seal Containers	7.21%
Quality Products	4.23%

Complete relevant poultry processor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New poultry processors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a poultry processor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real poultry processor resumes.

Research poultry processor duties and responsibilities

Work closely with HACCP and USDA to comply with all state and federal rules and regulations for poultry processing.
Execute daily operations instruct by USDA for processing of poultry and inspections
Spice ribs, chicken, and brisket.

Prepare your poultry processor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your poultry processor resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a poultry processor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable poultry processor resume templates

Build a professional poultry processor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your poultry processor resume.