Explore a possible path

Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders

Operate or tend food or tobacco roasting, baking, or drying equipment, including hearth ovens, kiln driers, roasters, char kilns, and vacuum drying equipment.

How does this connect to your interests? →

A look at the work

  • Observe, feel, taste, or otherwise examine products during and after processing to ensure conformance to standards.
  • Set temperature and time controls, light ovens, burners, driers, or roasters, and start equipment, such as conveyors, cylinders, blowers, driers, or pumps.
  • Observe temperature, humidity, pressure gauges, and product samples and adjust controls, such as thermostats and valves, to maintain prescribed operating conditions for specific stages.
  • Observe flow of materials and listen for machine malfunctions, such as jamming or spillage, and notify supervisors if corrective actions fail.
  • Record production data, such as weight and amount of product processed, type of product, and time and temperature of processing.
  • Weigh or measure products, using scale hoppers or scale conveyors.
  • Operate or tend equipment that roasts, bakes, dries, or cures food items such as cocoa and coffee beans, grains, nuts, and bakery products.
  • Signal coworkers to synchronize flow of materials.

A selection of source-listed tasks; duties vary by role and employer.

Interests involved in this work

These source scores describe occupational work activities. They are separate from your personal test results.

Hands-on

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

6.9 / 7

Investigative

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

1.6 / 7

Creative

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

1.1 / 7

Helping people

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

1.3 / 7

Enterprising

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

1.8 / 7

Organizing

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

4.2 / 7

Skills to explore

Source-reported importance on a 1–5 scale. Try a course, project or conversation to learn what these skills involve.

Operations Monitoring

Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.

2017-07

3.6 / 5

Monitoring

Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

2017-07

3.5 / 5

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

2017-07

3.1 / 5

Operation and Control

Controlling operations of equipment or systems.

2017-07

3.1 / 5

Quality Control Analysis

Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.

2017-07

3.1 / 5

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

2017-07

3.1 / 5

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

2017-07

3.1 / 5

Social Perceptiveness

Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

2017-07

3.0 / 5

Coordination

Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

2017-07

3.0 / 5

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

2017-07

3.0 / 5

Plan a small next step

Talk to someone doing this work, look for a supervised activity, and explore the subjects that interest you. Admission, licensing and current program requirements should be confirmed with the relevant institutions.

Source preparation category: Job Zone 2 of 5 · 2026-02. This category describes typical preparation, not your eligibility.

Source & methodology

O*NET-SOC code 51-3091.00 · Database 31.0 · Retrieved Oct 14, 2026. Dates on individual observations describe their source periods.

How interest exploration matching works →

Data: O*NET® 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Used under CC BY 4.0. StudyIndex normalizes the presentation and adds exploration features; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these additions.