← Back to Careers
Cooling and Freezing Equipment Operators and Tenders
Production · SOC 51-9193
0.0% AI Exposure — Low
$41,330
Median Annual Salary
Average
O*NET Outlook
1,100
Proj. Annual Openings
6,900
Employment (OEWS 2025)
-3.9%/yr
Empl. growth (2019–2025)
100/100
AI Resiliency Score
AI exposure from the Anthropic Economic Index (2025); salary from BLS; skills from O*NET. See /sources.
Decision card
Career Evidence Passport
SOC 51-9193 evidence across exposure, wages, projections, postings, certified LCAs, skills, and transitions.
Proxy / seed data labeledDescriptive-only
- SOC exposure
- 0.0%
- Low · Anthropic AEI
- Automation friction
- 53/100
- Moderate friction; broad SOC seed ORS job-requirements coverage.
- Wages
- $41,330
- No H-1B offered-wage row for this SOC.
- Projected openings
- 1,100
- BLS EP 2024–2034; employment change +7.2%.
- Observed/proxy demand
- —
- FY— certified LCAs; 1,206 postings in 2025.
Skill evidence
Operations MonitoringOperation and ControlCritical ThinkingMonitoringComplex Problem Solving
Transition context
- H-1B values are certified Labor Condition Applications, not visa approvals.
- Job postings are seed-static / seed-derived; treat as provider-ready proxy coverage until observed provider data is wired in.
- Transition matches are directional skill-overlap context, not placement guarantees.
- This release is a FutureGrid broad-SOC seed derived from public BLS ORS requirement concepts and categories, not direct occupation-level ORS survey estimates. It describes job requirements, not worker ability, AI capability, or displacement probability. Automation friction is a FutureGrid derived score and should be read alongside exposure, demand, wage, and projection signals.
AI Exposure Analysis
AI Exposure0.0%
AI Resiliency100/100
Exposure BandLow
Sector Avg. Exposure0.7%
Across AI measures
Multiple exposure lenses for this occupation.
16.2%
Consensus
Actual adoption · Anthropic0%
AI capability · OpenAI8%
AI ability · AIOE40.7%
Automation baseline (2013) · Frey & Osborne93%
Top Skills
1.Operations Monitoring
2.Operation and Control
3.Critical Thinking
4.Monitoring
5.Complex Problem Solving
H-1B Visa Sponsorship Demand
View full H-1B trends →No H-1B certified LCA filings recorded for this occupation in FY2016–FY2025.
O*NET occupation profile
What this work involves
Operate or tend equipment such as cooling and freezing units, refrigerators, batch freezers, and freezing tunnels, to cool or freeze products, food, blood plasma, and chemicals.
Common titles: Certified Refrigeration Operator, Compressor Operator, Engine Room Operator, Freezer Operator, Freezer Person, Ice Cream Maker
Representative Tasks
- •Record temperatures, amounts of materials processed, or test results on report forms.
- •Monitor pressure gauges, ammeters, flowmeters, thermometers, or products, and adjust controls to maintain specified conditions, such as feed rate, product consistency, temperature, air pressure, and machine speed.
- •Read dials and gauges on panel control boards to ascertain temperatures, alkalinities, and densities of mixtures, and turn valves to obtain specified mixtures.
- •Start machinery, such as pumps, feeders, or conveyors, and turn valves to heat, admit, or transfer products, refrigerants, or mixes.
- •Correct machinery malfunctions by performing actions such as removing jams, and inform supervisors of malfunctions as necessary.
Detailed Work Activities
- •Record operational or production data.
- •Monitor instruments to ensure proper production conditions.
- •Adjust equipment controls to regulate flow of production materials or products.
- •Load materials into production equipment.
- •Monitor equipment operation to ensure proper functioning.
Tools & Technologies
Microsoft Excel · hotMicrosoft Office software · hotMicrosoft PowerPoint · hotMicrosoft Word · hotGoogle Gmail
Related Occupations
Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and TendersSeparating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersFurnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and TendersHeat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticFood and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders
Employment Projections & AI Exposure
15
Occupations Shown
0.5%
Avg AI Exposure
1
Bright Outlook
Horizontal bar chart showing occupations with the highest projected annual openings. Each bar length represents annual projected openings. Color uses a gradient from violet (lower) to cyan (higher). Summary statistics are shown above the chart.
Employment & Wage Trend
BLS OEWS, 2019–2025
Multi-year BLS OEWS history for SOC 51-9193: 2019 — employment: 8,740, median wage: $35,290; 2020 — employment: 8,020, median wage: $37,650; 2021 — employment: 7,500, median wage: $40,390; 2022 — employment: 6,420, median wage: $42,890; 2023 — employment: 6,500, median wage: $42,420; 2025 — employment: 6,900, median wage: $41,330.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). See /sources.
Sector Comparison
| Metric | This Career | Sector Average |
|---|---|---|
| AI Exposure | 0.0% | 0.7% |
| Outlook | Average | 4% Bright |
| Median Salary | $41,330 | N/A |
| AI Resiliency | 100/100 | N/A |