Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders
Also called: Freezer Operator, Freezer Person, Refrigeration Operator, Refrigeration TechnicianOperate 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.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 1 of its 18 tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 5.9% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 5.3% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Other production workers”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 8.4 hires for every 10 job openings in nondurable goods manufacturing, which employs about 90% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.8.4 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $35,280 | $29,020 to $38,400 | 280 |
| Arkansas | $38,090 | $36,050 to $39,900 | 270 |
| California | $42,100 | $36,620 to $51,090 | 310 |
| Colorado | $46,160 | $45,410 to $49,030 | 130 |
| Connecticut | $41,080 | $38,760 to $43,370 | 70 |
| Florida | $45,270 | $41,000 to $48,190 | 130 |
| Georgia | $46,770 | $39,180 to $48,550 | 540 |
| Hawaii | $37,990 | $36,670 to $40,150 | 110 |
| Idaho | $48,360 | $48,350 to $62,080 | 90 |
| Illinois | $49,200 | $49,200 to $65,350 | 60 |
| Indiana | $55,730 | $40,630 to $82,190 | 50 |
| Iowa | $62,520 | $42,510 to $82,790 | 290 |
| Kentucky | $40,840 | $39,400 to $40,840 | 70 |
| Massachusetts | $46,800 | $35,480 to $47,860 | not published |
| Michigan | $31,700 | $29,000 to $38,120 | 290 |
| Minnesota | $46,910 | $46,350 to $49,840 | 100 |
| Mississippi | $38,200 | $29,200 to $38,880 | 360 |
| Missouri | $53,940 | $41,430 to $59,490 | 200 |
| Nebraska | $68,170 | $47,440 to $69,910 | 60 |
| New Jersey | $51,460 | $46,300 to $59,580 | 100 |
| New York | $45,460 | $38,170 to $62,710 | 160 |
| North Carolina | $39,030 | $37,270 to $41,450 | 420 |
| Ohio | $48,160 | $43,850 to $55,500 | 240 |
| Oklahoma | $39,630 | $34,740 to $45,170 | 130 |
| Oregon | $40,030 | $34,420 to $49,360 | 120 |
| Pennsylvania | $39,360 | $36,090 to $48,880 | 760 |
| South Carolina | $39,640 | $35,140 to $40,800 | 60 |
| South Dakota | $45,520 | $36,030 to $46,450 | 80 |
| Tennessee | $37,780 | $35,420 to $43,470 | 50 |
| Texas | $35,810 | $32,220 to $43,190 | 510 |
| Utah | $45,500 | $41,380 to $45,500 | 70 |
| Virginia | $35,370 | $34,950 to $39,340 | 170 |
| Washington | $50,870 | $49,550 to $52,730 | 60 |
| Wisconsin | $47,060 | $45,480 to $56,940 | 100 |
Nationally: $41,330. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 1 of its 18 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Start machinery, such as pumps, feeders, or conveyors, and turn valves to heat, admit, or transfer products, refrigerants, or mixes. | Not published |
| Not much | Monitor pressure gauges, ammeters, flowmeters, thermometers, or products, and adjust controls to maintain specified conditions, such as feed rate, product consistency, temperature, air pressure, and machine speed. | Not published |
| Not much | Assemble equipment, and attach pipes, fittings, or valves, using hand tools. | Not published |
| AI + software | Record temperatures, amounts of materials processed, or test results on report forms. | Not published |
| Not much | Correct machinery malfunctions by performing actions such as removing jams, and inform supervisors of malfunctions as necessary. | Not published |
| Not much | Read dials and gauges on panel control boards to ascertain temperatures, alkalinities, and densities of mixtures, and turn valves to obtain specified mixtures. | Not published |
See all 18 tasks
| Not much | Adjust machine or freezer speed and air intake to obtain desired consistency and amount of product. | Not published |
| Not much | Measure or weigh specified amounts of ingredients or materials, and load them into tanks, vats, hoppers, or other equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Inspect and flush lines with solutions or steam, and spray equipment with sterilizing solutions. | Not published |
| Not much | Start agitators to blend contents, or start beater, scraper, and expeller blades to mix contents with air and prevent sticking. | Not published |
| Not much | Place or position containers into equipment, and remove containers after completion of cooling or freezing processes. | Not published |
| Not much | Scrape, dislodge, or break excess frost, ice, or frozen product from equipment to prevent accumulation, using hands and hand tools. | Not published |
| Not much | Sample and test product characteristics such as specific gravity, acidity, and sugar content, using hydrometers, pH meters, or refractometers. | Not published |
| Not much | Activate mechanical rakes to regulate flow of ice from storage bins to vats. | Not published |
| Not much | Weigh packages and adjust freezer air valves or switches on filler heads to obtain specified amounts of product in each container. | Not published |
| Not much | Load and position wrapping paper, sticks, bags, or cartons into dispensing machines. | Not published |
| Not much | Stir material with spoons or paddles to mix ingredients or allow even cooling and prevent coagulation. | Not published |
| Not much | Insert forming fixtures, and start machines that cut frozen products into measured portions or specified shapes. O*NET flags this task's ratings as uncertain | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 0 of the 18 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 18 tasks fall under 17 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance | |||
| Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment | |||
| Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas | |||
| Monitor equipment operation | |||
| Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing | |||
| Set up equipment | |||
| Prepare mixtures or solutions | |||
| Maintain tools or equipment |
Show all 17 activities
| Test characteristics of materials or products | |||
| Position tools or equipment | |||
| Maintain operational records | |||
| Notify others of emergencies or problems | |||
| Assemble equipment or components | |||
| Collect samples of products or materials | |||
| Position workpieces or materials on equipment | |||
| Operate pumping systems or equipment | |||
| Operate industrial processing or production equipment |
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for cooling and freezing equipment operators and tenders specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved in from
of 235 moves in
- 1 Carpet Installers Low -16.4% 18%
- 2 First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers High -3.7% 8%
- 3 Computer Occupations, All Other Very high +5.1% 7%
- 4 Management Analysts Very high +10.1% 5%
- 6 Stockers and Order Fillers Moderate +8.9% 3%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 7% high school
- 92% not published
O*NET marks 92% of the answers as too uncertain to publish, so the parts shown don't add up to 100%.
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 24 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 17% less than high school
- 47% high school
- 19% some college
- 7% associate's
- 7% bachelor's
- 2% master's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Other production workers” · 14,074 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Other production workers”
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeship Finder ↗ DOL lists 1 registered apprenticeship in this occupation (FREEZER OPERATOR (Dairy)). Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders” there.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
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