Occupation Profile

Industries Employing

Food Scientists and Technologists

(SOC Code : 19-1012)

in Los Angeles County

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 w

Employers are usually looking for candidates with a Bachelor's degree .

Los Angeles County is the same as Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD.

Occupational Wages

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Area	Year	Period	Hourly Mean	Hourly by Percentile
				25th	Median	75th
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD	2023	1st Qtr	$43.51	$29.77	$41.30	$51.99

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Occupational Projections of Employment (also called "Outlook" or "Demand")

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Area	Estimated Year-Projected Year	Employment		Employment Change		Total Job Openings
		Estimated	Projected	Number	Percent
Los Angeles County	2018 - 2028	360	370	10	2.8	410

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Job Openings from JobCentral National Labor Exchange

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Enter a Zip Code Find a Zip code in Los Angeles County

Within miles of Zip Code.

Industries Employing This Occupation (click on Industry Title to View Employers List)

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Industry Title

Number of Employers in Los Angeles County

Percent of Total
Employment for Occupation in State of California

Employment Services

1,667

18.2%

Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting

976

14.5%

Management, Scientific, and Tech

9,720

11.3%

Scientific Research and Developm

3,399

6.3%

Dairy Product Manufacturing

5.9%

Bakeries and Tortilla Manufactur

1,596

5.0%

Architectural, Engineering, and Re

4,079

3.4%

Beverage and Tobacco Product Manuf

297

1.2%

About Staffing Patterns

Training Programs (click on title for more information)

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Program Title

Agriculture, General

Food Science

About Training & Apprenticeships

About This Occupation (from O*NET - The Occupation Information Network)

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Top Tasks (Specific duties and responsibilities of this job.)

Check raw ingredients for maturity or stability for processing and finished products for safety, quality, and nutritional value.

Inspect food processing areas to ensure compliance with government regulations and standards for sanitation, safety, quality, and waste management standards.

Evaluate food processing and storage operations and assist in the development of quality assurance programs for such operations.

Study methods to improve aspects of foods, such as chemical composition, flavor, color, texture, nutritional value, and convenience.

Stay up-to-date on new regulations and current events regarding food science by reviewing scientific literature.

Test new products for flavor, texture, color, nutritional content, and adherence to government and industry standards.

Develop food standards and production specifications, safety and sanitary regulations, and waste management and water supply specifications.

Confer with process engineers, plant operators, flavor experts, and packaging and marketing specialists to resolve problems in product development.

Develop new or improved ways of preserving, processing, packaging, storing, and delivering foods, using knowledge of chemistry, microbiology, and other sciences.

Study the structure and composition of food or the changes foods undergo in storage and processing.

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Top Skills used in this Job

Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others` actions.

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Top Abilities (Attributes of the person that influence performance in this job.)

Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.

Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

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Top Work Values (Aspects of this job that create satisfaction.)

Achievement - Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

Support - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

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Top Interests (The types of activities someone in this job would like.)

Investigative - Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Realistic - Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

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