Check a drink's acidity
Take a drink sample's acidity reading, then log any number outside its allowed range and tell your supervisor.
Career profile
Food Science Technician
Food science technicians test foods and drinks for uniformity and help food scientists improve them.
Two batches of sauce can look the same and still behave differently. Your work helps turn that gap into numbers a product developer can use.
A day in the life
Test the packaging too
Test a bottle or can against its required size or strength, because packaging gets checked, not just food.
Season samples for tasters
In a development lab, blend a formula's ingredients, season the food, and prep samples for a tasting panel.
Clean and calibrate instruments
Clean the lab instruments and confirm each one is calibrated so you can trust later readings.
Quick facts
Associate’s degree typical
United States · 2025
$52,130 a year
United States · May 2025
4.8% projected growth
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
Associate’s degree typicalEntry requirements vary by employer.
Pay
$52,130 a yearNational median for food science technicians; about $25.06 an hour.
Outlook
4.8% projected growthAbout 3,000 openings per year, on average, over 2025–2035.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You like measuring carefully enough that someone else could repeat your test.
- You notice small differences in a product’s appearance or texture.
- You can explain a result clearly while keeping precise records.
Things to weigh
- The same tests repeat, and you still need accuracy when results are due quickly.
- Plant jobs can involve cold rooms, machinery noise, lifting, and weekend or overtime work.
Where AI may help
Spreadsheets and formula databases help organize results and recipes, making comparisons easier.
What people still lead
You still prepare samples, check unusual results, and explain problems to production staff or scientists.
What we can’t predict yet
How much of a test can become automatic will depend on the product and method; handling samples and judging unexpected results may change at different speeds.
Pay in context
Earnings
The national median is a midpoint, not a starting offer.
The pay spread
In May 2025, the lowest-paid 10% earned under $39,820 annually; the highest-paid 10% earned over $78,820. These are wage groups, not career stages.
Workplace type matters
Annual medians were $63,270 in beverage and tobacco manufacturing, $50,610 in professional, scientific, and technical services, and $50,590 in food manufacturing.
Openings include replacement
The projected 3,000 annual openings include growth and workers leaving the occupation. They are not 3,000 newly created jobs each year.
Getting started
Study a relevant science
- What the route involves
- Complete an associate’s degree in food science, biology, chemistry, or a related field.
- What it can lead to
- Meet the typical education level for technician work.
- What to check
- Some positions require a bachelor’s degree.
Build related work experience
- What the route involves
- Combine a high school diploma or equivalent with experience in food processing or related manufacturing.
- What it can lead to
- Qualify for employers that accept relevant experience instead of a degree.
Employers set different entry requirements.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization.
Learn the lab’s methods
After hiring, practice sampling, equipment use, and sanitation alongside an experienced technician or scientist.
Connect results to production
Build confidence comparing ingredient and finished-product results, then explaining failures to the people running production.
Take on development projects
An experienced development technician may plan laboratory project work and oversee factory trial batches, connecting a small test to production.
Where you can work
A food or beverage plant
Testing follows production: ingredients, partly finished batches, and packaged products arrive for checks. You stay in contact with production departments, with some work taking you into noisy or cold areas.
- Lab
- Indoors
- Physical demands
A product-development laboratory
Work follows projects: prepare trial formulas and evaluation samples with product developers. Some roles include visits to the factory to support trial batches.
- Lab
- Indoors
- Travel
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
Measure the width of ten crackers from one package with a ruler. Record each result, calculate the average and range, and write a two-sentence report on consistency. Notice whether careful repetition and explaining variation hold your interest.
Stay safe: This explores measurement, not whether a food is safe to eat.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine. Food Science Technicians — 19-4013.00. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational projections and worker characteristics, 2025–2035. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Agricultural and Food Science Technicians. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- Danone. Quality Lab Technician 1 — Dallas. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- McCormick & Company. Lab Tech III — Hunt Valley. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- McCormick & Company. Lab Tech II — Hunt Valley. Accessed 2026-10-04.