DETAILED OCCUPATION DATA

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.

Occupational Employment Statistics(OES) Wage Data
Wages Updated to First Quarter, 2020

					Percentiles
Geography	Employment	Emp SE*	Mean	Mean SE*	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th
Minnesota	630	210	$39.47/hr	$1.70/hr	$23.01/hr	$28.21/hr	$35.97/hr	$48.40/hr	$61.91/hr
U S	13,460	592	$37.01/hr	$0.52/hr	$19.60/hr	$25.64/hr	$33.50/hr	$46.05/hr	$60.55/hr
*SE = Standard error, a measure of the statistical reliability of the estimate.

Leading Industries for Food Scientists and Technologists Industry OES Employment OES Median Wage Manufacturing 320 $31.41/hr Trade, Transportation and Utilities 20 $31.09/hr

Other Regional Data For Food Scientists and Technologists Geography (click title for details) OES Projections Employment Median Wage % Change 2023 - 2025 Minnesota 630 $35.97/hr 0.9% Southeast Balance of State 170 $31.63/hr N/A Southwest Minnesota 170 $32.56/hr N/A Central Minnesota 60 $23.66/hr N/A Southeast Minnesota 50 $26.02/hr N/A St Cloud MN MSA 30 N/A N/A Northwest Minnesota 30 $32.00/hr N/A Northwest Balance of State 20 $31.29/hr N/A Fargo ND-MN MSA 20 $26.71/hr N/A La Crosse WI-MN MSA 10 $29.45/hr N/A Southwest Balance of State N/A $31.47/hr N/A Seven County Mpls-St Paul, MN N/A $43.12/hr N/A Northeast Minnesota N/A N/A N/A Mankato-North Mankato MN MSA N/A N/A N/A Duluth MN-WI MSA N/A N/A N/A Rochester MN MSA N/A N/A N/A Grand Forks ND-MN MSA N/A N/A N/A Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington MN-WI MSA N/A $41.78/hr N/A

Related Occupations

Occupation (click title for details)	OES		Projections
	Employment	Median Wage	% Change 2023 - 2025
Agricultural Inspectors	370	$27.15/hr	1.0%
First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers	220	$35.76/hr	0.5%

• Conducts research on new products and development of foods, applying scientific and engineering principles.
• Studies methods to improve physical, chemical, and microbiological composition of foods.
• Develops food standards, safety and sanitary regulations, and waste management and water supply specifications.
• Confers with process engineers, flavor experts, and packaging and marketing specialists to resolve problems in product development.
• Tests new products in test kitchen.
• Studies methods to improve quality of foods, such as flavor, color, texture, nutritional value, and convenience.
• Develops new and improved methods and systems for food processing, production, quality control, packaging, and distribution.