Food Scientists & Technologists
Also called:
Food Technologist, Food Scientist, Quality Assurance Manager (QA Manager), Professor
see titles from the Army.
Food Safety Officer
What they do:
Use chemistry, microbiology, engineering, and other sciences to study the principles underlying the processing and deterioration of foods; analyze food content to determine levels of vitamins, fat, sugar, and protein; discover new food sources; research ways to make processed foods safe, palatable, and healthful; and apply food science knowledge to determine best ways to process, package, preserve, store, and distribute food.
On the job, you would:
- Check raw ingredients for maturity or stability for processing and finished products for safety, quality, and nutritional value.
- Confer with process engineers, plant operators, flavor experts, and packaging and marketing specialists to resolve problems in product development.
- Develop new or improved ways of preserving, processing, packaging, storing, and delivering foods, using knowledge of chemistry, microbiology, and other sciences.
Manufactured or Agricultural Goods
- manufacture and distribution of products
- food production
Math and Science
Arts and Humanities
Engineering and Technology
- product and service development
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Basic Skills
- listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
- reading work related information
Problem Solving
- noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
People and Technology Systems
- thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
- figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it
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Verbal
- listen and understand what people say
- read and understand what is written
Ideas and Logic
- make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information
- notice when problems happen
Math
- add, subtract, multiply, or divide
- choose the right type of math to solve a problem
Attention
- pay attention to something without being distracted
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People interested in this work like activities that include
ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.
They do well at jobs that need:
- Integrity
- Attention to Detail
- Dependability
- Analytical Thinking
- Cooperation
- Achievement/Effort
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You might use software like this on the job:
Analytical or scientific software
- BioDiscovery ImaGene
- Insightful S-PLUS
Data base user interface and query software
- PathogenTracker
- U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA National Nutrient Database
Spreadsheet software
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bachelor's degree or
master's degree
usually needed
Get started on your career:
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New job opportunities are less likely in the future.
$58,340
per year, on average
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You might like a career in one of these industries:
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In the military:
see titles from the Army.
