Food Scientists and Technologists
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.
Based on O*NET work context for this occupation. This score does not predict individual job losses.
What drives the score
Automation and repetition raise exposure; freedom to set tasks lowers it. Each measure uses a 0–100 scale.
How well your skills transfer
Each skill is scored on how well it transfers into occupations that are growing and less exposed. The ones high on both importance and transfer are worth deepening.
| Skill | Transferability | Importance in current role |
|---|---|---|
| Critical Thinking | 63 | 75 |
| Active Listening | 63 | 72 |
| Speaking | 63 | 72 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 63 | 72 |
| Monitoring | 63 | 66 |
| Active Learning | 62 | 75 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 62 | 72 |
| Coordination | 62 | 53 |
| Reading Comprehension | 61 | 75 |
| Time Management | 61 | 53 |
Show 25 more skills
| Skill | Transferability | Importance in current role |
|---|---|---|
| Writing | 60 | 72 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 60 | 56 |
| Learning Strategies | 58 | 50 |
| Instructing | 58 | 50 |
| Systems Analysis | 57 | 66 |
| Systems Evaluation | 56 | 66 |
| Service Orientation | 56 | 50 |
| Persuasion | 54 | 53 |
| Mathematics | 53 | 53 |
| Science | 52 | 72 |
| Negotiation | 52 | 53 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | 50 | 41 |
| Operations Analysis | 49 | 41 |
| Installation | 48 | 0 |
| Quality Control Analysis | 47 | 60 |
| Troubleshooting | 47 | 25 |
| Management of Material Resources | 47 | 25 |
| Technology Design | 47 | 22 |
| Equipment Selection | 47 | 22 |
| Management of Financial Resources | 47 | 22 |
| Equipment Maintenance | 47 | 0 |
| Operations Monitoring | 46 | 47 |
| Repairing | 46 | 0 |
| Programming | 45 | 13 |
| Operation and Control | 43 | 31 |
Compare how well you can use each skill in growing, low-exposure occupations with its importance in your current role. How we score skills.
Jobs you could move to
Compare related occupations by skill overlap, retraining effort, pay and projected growth. Choose a priority to adjust the ranking. Licensing requirements may limit some routes.
- Median pay · U.S.
- $132,300
- 10-yr growth
- +41%
- Skill gap
- 8%
- Retraining
- Low
Skills to build: Service Orientation, Social Perceptiveness, Coordination, Learning Strategies
- Median pay · U.S.
- $135,880
- 10-yr growth
- +21.1%
- Skill gap
- 5%
- Retraining
- Low
Skills to build: Operations Monitoring, Monitoring, Service Orientation, Active Listening
- Median pay · U.S.
- $135,880
- 10-yr growth
- +21.1%
- Skill gap
- 7%
- Retraining
- Low
Skills to build: Service Orientation, Social Perceptiveness, Management of Personnel Resources, Monitoring
- Median pay · U.S.
- $129,180
- 10-yr growth
- +21%
- Skill gap
- 6%
- Retraining
- Low
Skills to build: Operations Monitoring
- Median pay · U.S.
- $130,100
- 10-yr growth
- +9.4%
- Skill gap
- 3%
- Retraining
- Low
Skills to build: Service Orientation, Management of Personnel Resources, Active Listening, Reading Comprehension
- Median pay · U.S.
- $134,040
- 10-yr growth
- +11.5%
- Skill gap
- 6%
- Retraining
- Low
Skills to build: Social Perceptiveness, Service Orientation, Coordination, Monitoring
A second source of income, before you need it
This page can tell you where Food Scientists and Technologists could go and what the move costs. The other route is not a move at all: something small of your own, running alongside the job, started while there is no pressure on it.
Where to learn the missing half: Google Career Certificates for systems analysis · active learning, LinkedIn Learning for writing · speaking, edX for mathematics · reading and PlanetNoCode for complex problem solving. Some of those are affiliate links. It never changes what we list.
Snapshot: O*NET 31.0, BLS OEWS May 2025, BLS Employment Projections 2025-2035. Scoring v2.1.0-onet-31.0. Method on the how it works page.