Employers
In 2023, the U.S. dairy product manufacturing industry employed a total of 162,350 workers, according to the Department of Labor. Dairy products manufacturing workers are employed by dairy processing plants. Some dairy products workers may be employed at dairy farms.
Starting Out
A good place to find information about job openings is at the personnel offices of local dairy processing plants. Other sources of information include online ads and the offices of your state's employment service. Those with associate's or bachelor's degrees in food technology, food science, or a related program can apply directly to dairy processing plants; many schools offering such programs provide job placement assistance. Dairy farmers often begin their careers by working on their own family farms.
- Advertising Managers
- Agribusiness Technicians
- Agricultural Consultants
- Agricultural Equipment Technicians
- Agricultural Pilots
- Agricultural Scientists
- Animal Breeders and Technicians
- Animal Caretakers
- Animal Physical Therapists
- Apparel Industry Workers
- Appliance Service Technicians
- Aquaculturists
- Bakery Workers
- Beekeepers
- Beverage Industry Workers
- Biologists
- Biosecurity Monitors
- Botanists
- Brewers
- Business Managers
- Canning and Preserving Industry Workers
- Chemical Engineers
- Chemists
- Confectionery Industry Workers
- Cooks and Chefs
- Customer Service Representatives
- Dietetic Technicians
- Dietitians
- Ecologists
- Electrical Engineering Technologists
- Electrical Engineers
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- Enologists
- Ethical Sourcing Officer
- Export-Import Specialists
- Family and Consumer Scientists
- Farm Crop Production Technicians
- Farm Equipment Mechanics
- Farmers
- Farmers' Market Managers/Promoters
- Fashion Designers
- Fast Food Workers
- Fishers
- Food Service Workers
- Food Technologists
- Furniture Designers
- Furniture Manufacturing Workers
- Grain Merchants
- Green Marketers
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- Greeting Card Designers and Writers
- Groundwater Professionals
- Hardware Engineers
- Health and Regulatory Inspectors
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- Industrial Designers
- Jewelers and Jewelry Repairers
- Manufacturing Production Technicians
- Market Research Analysts
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- Molecular and Cellular Biologists
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- Nutritionists
- Organic Farmers
- Packaging Engineers
- Packaging Machinery Technicians
- Personal Chefs
- Plastics Products Manufacturing Workers
- Product Development Directors
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- Product Managers
- Quality Control Engineers
- Quality Control Technicians
- Radio Frequency Engineers
- Range Managers
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- Rubber Goods Production Workers
- Sales Managers
- Sales Representatives
- Silverware Artisans and Workers
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- Soil Scientists
- Sporting Goods Production Workers
- Tailors and Dressmakers
- Tobacco Products Industry Workers
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- Watch and Clock Repairers