What is a meat clerk and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
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Meat Clerks are in charge of serving customers fresh meat products. They receive and store meat sent to the establishment. They unload meats and place them in the coolers for resale. Their duties include portioning meat, pricing the portions, displaying products, and checking product quality. They welcome customers into the store and answer their inquiries. Also, they keep an inventory of meat products and restock as needed. Furthermore, they ensure the cleanliness of the meat preparation room. Additionally, they follow food handling procedures.

The minimum educational qualification for this job is a high school diploma or its equivalent. Applicants must have communication, maths, customer service, and organization skills. You must be able to use all power tools on the job. You must hold a current food handler's permit. Meat clerks make an average salary of $27,493 per annum. This is between $20,000 and $37,000. You'll find employment in deli departments, grocery stores, or retail establishments.

ScoreMeat ClerkUS Average
Salary
2.5

Avg. Salary $31,494

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level
8.8

Growth Rate -3%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity
10.0
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.08%

Asian 6.38%

Black or African American 7.20%

Hispanic or Latino 18.55%

Unknown 3.66%

White 63.12%

Gender

female 18.65%

male 81.35%

Age - 42
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42
Stress Level
8.8

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level
7.9

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance
8.5

Work Life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Meat Clerk career paths

Key steps to become a meat clerk

  1. Explore meat clerk education requirements

    Most common meat clerk degrees

    High School Diploma

    48.4 %

    Bachelor's

    20.0 %

    Associate

    18.5 %
  2. Start to develop specific meat clerk skills

    Skills
    ascdesc
    Percentages
    ascdesc
    Grinders14.60%
    Basic Math9.17%
    Math8.70%
    Pallet Jack8.63%
    Expiration Dates7.28%
  3. Complete relevant meat clerk training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New meat clerks learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a meat clerk based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real meat clerk resumes.
  4. Research meat clerk duties and responsibilities

    • Placed/Fil orders, maintain inventory, and manage department cleanliness.
    • Man a cash register, handling customer groceries in a timely and organize fashion while providing quality customer service.
    • Clean meat slicers and mop floors, as well rotate and stock product in coolers.
    • Well organize, detail orientate, good with math, love interacting with customers, and strong time management skills.
  5. Prepare your meat clerk resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your meat clerk resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a meat clerk resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose From 10+ Customizable Meat Clerk Resume templates

    Build a professional Meat Clerk resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Meat Clerk resume.
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  6. Apply for meat clerk jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a meat clerk job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How Did You Land Your First Meat Clerk Job

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Average meat clerk salary

The average Meat Clerk salary in the United States is $31,494 per year or $15 per hour. Meat clerk salaries range between $24,000 and $39,000 per year.

Average Meat Clerk Salary
$31,494 Yearly
$15.14 hourly

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Meat Clerk reviews

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A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2019
Pros

Learning about fish. Ordering for my department

Cons

I think that the pay wage should be higher


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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