Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders

Most exposed tasks

Highest structured exposure values in this role’s task mix — the work AI systems can already do most of.

• Record production and test data, such as processing steps, temperature and steam readings, cooking time, batches processed, and test results.64

Augmentable tasks

Work where AI assists rather than replaces — the productivity frontier of this role.

• Observe gauges, dials, and product characteristics, and adjust controls to maintain appropriate temperature, pressure, and flow of ingredients.57
• Measure or weigh ingredients, using scales or measuring containers.57
• Tend or operate and control equipment, such as kettles, cookers, vats and tanks, and boilers, to cook ingredients or prepare products for further processing.57

Most durable tasks

Lowest exposure — typically judgment, relationships, physical presence, or accountability. This is the human moat.

The current data release does not distinguish durable tasks for this role.

Task exposure values and classifications come from the versioned data release — they are structured data, not model output. Bars show exposure contribution relative to this role’s task mix.

What this means

A score of 54 puts Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders in the third quartile of analyzed occupations. In practice, exposure this high is about the mix: 1 of 17 analyzed tasks lean automatable, 16 augmentable, and 0 durable. The useful question isn’t “will AI take this job” — it’s which tasks go first, which get faster, and where to reposition time. That’s what the personalized report maps against your actual week.

One next move: audit how much of your week sits in the exposed tasks above — then shift time toward the durable set or investigate the adjacent roles below.

Lower-exposure adjacent roles

No adjacent role in the current data release is at least 10 points lower with ≥50% skill overlap — we don’t label anything “safer” unless the data supports it.

Labor-market context

• $41,590median wage
• 31,250employed
• 4,400annual openings
• +0.7%projected growth

Context only — labor statistics are not inputs to the exposure score. See methodology.

Related roles

Adjacent by skills or family — no exposure claim implied.

• Food Batchmakers 55
• Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders 53
• Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders 53
• Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders 54
• Bakers 46
• Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders 52

FAQ — Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders

What does a score of 54 mean for a Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders?

It means that, weighted across the 17 tasks we analyzed for this role, the task mix sits at 54 on a 0–100 exposure scale — in the third quartile of analyzed occupations. It measures task exposure to current and near-term AI capabilities, not the probability of losing a job.

Which tasks in this role are most exposed to AI?

The highest-exposure tasks are: Record production and test data, such as processing steps, temperature and steam readings, cooking time, batches processed, and test results. Exposure is scored per task from structured data, not generated by a language model.

Which parts of this job are most durable?

The current data release does not distinguish durable tasks for this role.

Is this score personalized to me?

No — this page shows the occupation-level baseline. Two people with the same title often do different work. The $9 personalized report recalculates the score from the tasks you actually do and builds a concrete 7/30/90-day plan around them.