Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders
What Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders Do
Operate or tend equipment such as cooling and freezing units, refrigerators, batch freezers, and freezing tunnels, to cool or freeze products, food, blood plasma, and chemicals.
See full salary breakdown & percentiles →
Career Outlook
National employment outlook, 2024–2034.
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
- Self-employed
- 3.7%
Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.
How Much Preparation Does This Take?
Job Zone 2 of 5Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Experience
- Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience.
- Education
- Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
- Job training
- Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Source: O*NET Job Zones.
Key Knowledge Areas
Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.
- Production and Processingimportance 3.9/5
- Mechanicalimportance 3.4/5
- English Languageimportance 3.4/5
- Food Productionimportance 3.3/5
- Administration and Managementimportance 3.3/5
- Mathematicsimportance 3.1/5
- Public Safety and Securityimportance 3.1/5
- Education and Trainingimportance 3.0/5
Work Environment
What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.
- Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets5.0/5
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.7/5
- Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable4.5/5
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled4.3/5
- Spend Time Standing4.3/5
- Health and Safety of Other Workers4.2/5
Careers With Similar Skills
Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.
- Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers97% skill match
- Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic97% skill match
- Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers96% skill match
- Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders96% skill match
- Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders96% skill match
- Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders96% skill match
- Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders96% skill match
- Rail-Track Laying and Maintenance Equipment Operators96% skill match
Transferable Skills
Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.
- Operations Monitoringimportance 3.9/5
- Operation and Controlimportance 3.8/5
- Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.5/5
- Equipment Maintenanceimportance 3.1/5
- Troubleshootingimportance 3.1/5
- Repairingimportance 3.1/5
- Quality Control Analysisimportance 3.1/5
- Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.1/5
Software & Technologies
Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.
Other Software Used
Work Style
Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.
- Dependability
- Attention to Detail
- Cautiousness
- Integrity
- Stress Tolerance
- Perseverance
- Achievement Orientation
Career Interests
This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.
- RealisticHigh
- ConventionalMedium
- InvestigativeLow
- SocialLow
- EnterprisingLow
- ArtisticLow
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Where This Career Is Most Concentrated
Metro areas where cooling and freezing equipment operators and tenders make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).
- 1Gainesville, GA30.09× national avg
- 2Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR8.38× national avg
- 3Lancaster, PA5.37× national avg
- 4Urban Honolulu, HI3.45× national avg
- 5Pittsburgh, PA3.33× national avg
Possible Career Moves
A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.
- Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticLateral Move
- Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and TendersLateral Move
- Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass FibersLateral Move
- Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersLateral Move
See the full career path from Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders →