Skip to content
Singulariki

Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders vs Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products

Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index

A factual, source-backed comparison of Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders and Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”

Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$42,730
$35,430
Employment · BLS OEWS
19,500
26,870
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
16th pct
7th pct

At a glance

Dimension Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products
Median pay $42,730 $35,430
Employment 19,500 26,870
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection About average (+0.6%) Declining (-5.4%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 2,400 5,100
Typical education · O*NET Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not. Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
AI exposure · published exposure studies Low · 16th pct Low · 7th pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 13th pct · 14% of tasks 19th pct · 16% of tasks
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index — —
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman No No

Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.

Skills

Shared: Near Vision, Production and Processing, Monitoring, English Language, Problem Sensitivity, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Oral Comprehension, Information Ordering, Category Flexibility, Selective Attention, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Speech Recognition, Public Safety and Security, Food Production, Speaking, Coordination, Judgment and Decision Making, Oral Expression, Flexibility of Closure, Manual Dexterity, Finger Dexterity, Multilimb Coordination, Trunk Strength, Visual Color Discrimination, Speech Clarity, Writing, Time Management.

Specific to Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders

  • Operations Monitoring
  • Operation and Control
  • Quality Control Analysis
  • Perceptual Speed
  • Control Precision
  • Social Perceptiveness
  • Complex Problem Solving
  • Written Expression

Specific to Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products

  • Mechanical
  • Education and Training
  • Static Strength
  • Deductive Reasoning
  • Inductive Reasoning
  • Foreign Language
  • Administration and Management
  • Dynamic Strength

Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).

Tools & technology

Shared: Spreadsheet software , Electronic mail software .

Specific to Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders

    Specific to Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products

    Full profiles

    This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders or Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.

    More comparisons

    Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.

    Sources for this page

    Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

    Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

    Cite this page
    Plain

    Singulariki. "Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders vs Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/food-and-tobacco-roasting-baking-and-drying-machine-operators-and-tenders-vs-graders-and-sorters-agricultural-products

    APA

    Singulariki. (2026). Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders vs Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/food-and-tobacco-roasting-baking-and-drying-machine-operators-and-tenders-vs-graders-and-sorters-agricultural-products

    BibTeX 
    @misc{singulariki-food-and-tobacco-roasting-baking-and-drying-machine-operators-and-tenders-vs-graders-and-sorters-agricultural-products,
  title  = {Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders vs Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/compare/food-and-tobacco-roasting-baking-and-drying-machine-operators-and-tenders-vs-graders-and-sorters-agricultural-products}
}

    Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.