Debone poultry thighs and breasts
At a poultry deboning station, you use a knife to free thigh or breast meat from the bone.
Career profile
Meat, Poultry, and Fish Processing Cutter
Meat, poultry, and fish cutters slice and shape portions that go on to packaging.
Like physical work with results you can see? Then think hard about the pace and repetition of keeping every cut precise as product keeps coming.
A day in the life
Trim bruises and extra fat
Check each piece for bruises or other flaws first, then cut away the damaged spot and extra fat.
Weigh and label each container
You weigh the product, then label its container with the weight and contents before it moves on.
Clean tools and work surfaces
Wash down your tools and the surfaces you work on so nothing contaminates the food.
Quick facts
Learn on the job
United States · 2025
$38,300 a year
United States · May 2025
5.7% projected growth
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
Learn on the jobTypically no formal educational credential; short-term workplace training.
Pay
$38,300 a yearNational median, equivalent to $18.41 an hour.
Outlook
5.7% projected growthAbout 17,000 openings a year, including replacement needs.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You like precise handwork and can stay attentive through repeated motions.
- You are comfortable working at a pace shared with nearby workers and equipment.
Things to weigh
- Long periods standing in cold rooms and repeating cuts can wear on your hands, shoulders and legs.
- Sharp tools and slippery surfaces make protective gloves, aprons and nonslip footwear part of the work.
Where AI may help
Some poultry lines use machines that make cuts automatically after workers load the birds.
What people still lead
Manual deboning still calls for controlled knife movements, and workers check the finished pieces.
What we can’t predict yet
How much cutting shifts to machines depends on the product and process. Handling variable shapes and separating meat from bone remain difficult tasks to automate.
Pay in context
Earnings
Use national pay as a reference when comparing an actual offer.
The middle of the pay range
The May 2025 median was $38,300 a year, or $18.41 an hour. Half of workers earned more and half earned less; this is not a starting wage.
The national spread
In May 2025, the 10th-percentile annual wage was $29,980 and the 90th-percentile wage was $48,150. These are wage percentiles, not starting and senior salaries.
Workplace type can matter
In May 2023, annual average pay was $37,480 in animal slaughtering and processing and $34,600 in food and beverage retailers. These older averages are separate from the 2025 national median.
Openings include replacing workers
Employment is projected to grow 5.7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 17,000 openings annually from growth and replacement needs. Openings are not all newly created jobs.
Getting started
Start at a meat or poultry plant
- What the route involves
- Learn simple cuts and tool care alongside experienced workers in an entry-level processing job.
- What it can lead to
- Build the cutting and food-safety skills needed to handle a production station.
- What to check
- Federal rules bar workers under 18 from most meat and poultry processing jobs. Some locations also require food-handler certification; check the job's requirements.
Enter through seasonal seafood processing
Employers commonly expect you to complete the season or contract.
- What the route involves
- Apply for a shore-based seafood processor job with workplace training. Confirm that the role includes trimming or cutting, since processors also sort and pack fish.
- What it can lead to
- A completed season gives you processing experience to build on in later seasons.
- What to check
- Before accepting a remote Alaska job, confirm housing, transportation and pay terms in writing.
A degree is not the usual entry requirement. Look for jobs that teach cutting skills at work.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization.
Make your cuts consistent
Build reliable cutting habits while learning tool care and sanitation.
Learn a more exact trim
In poultry processing, develop specialty trimming skills for pieces that must meet a customer's requirements.
Move toward quality control or supervision
In seafood processing, experience and further training can lead toward checking product quality or supervising workers. Ask what skills the next role requires.
Where you can work
Poultry cutting plants
Conveyors carry birds through successive stations. You may repeat one part of a cut while coworkers complete the next steps, making the line's pace a major part of your day.
- Indoors
- Physical demands
- Safety-sensitive
Alaska shore-based seafood plants
Wet processing areas call for rain gear and rubber boots. Seasonal jobs at remote plants can also mean living in employer-arranged housing away from home.
- Indoors
- Travel
- Physical demands
- Safety-sensitive
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
Watch the seafood-processing orientation linked by the Alaska Job Center. Follow one cutting station: note what arrives, what the worker removes and where the finished piece goes. Consider whether that repeated, precise work appeals to you.
Stay safe: Keep this an observation exercise; do not practice with processing knives or machinery.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine. Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational projections and worker characteristics. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. May 2023 wages: Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Meat, Poultry, and Fish Processing Workers. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Poultry Processing: Cutting. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Poultry Processing: Deboning. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Department of Labor. What jobs are off-limits for kids?. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development. What Seafood Processors Need To Know. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Seafood processing jobs in Alaska. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development. On-Shore Production Jobs in Alaska's Seafood Industry. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, national estimates. Accessed 2026-09-29.