Bakers
Mix and bake ingredients to produce breads, rolls, cookies, cakes, pies, pastries, or other baked goods.
Also Known As:
Baker
Cake Decorator
Dough Mixer
Mixer
Pastry Chef
Scaler
Wages
Annual wages for Bakers in United States
Job Outlook
Average
New job opportunities are likely in the future
United States
2033 Projected Employment
256,100
5% Change From 2023
Explore Bakers video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Roll, knead, cut, or shape dough to form sweet rolls, pie crusts, tarts, cookies, or other products.
- Adapt the quantity of ingredients to match the amount of items to be baked.
- Check products for quality, and identify damaged or expired goods.
- Order or receive supplies or equipment.
- Prepare or maintain inventory or production records.
- Observe color of products being baked, and adjust oven temperatures, humidity, or conveyor speeds accordingly.
- Check equipment to ensure that it meets health and safety regulations, and perform maintenance or cleaning, as necessary.
- Apply glazes, icings, or other toppings to baked goods, using spatulas or brushes.
- Set time and speed controls for mixing machines, blending machines, or steam kettles so that ingredients will be mixed or cooked according to instructions.
- Combine measured ingredients in bowls of mixing, blending, or cooking machinery.
- Check the quality of raw materials to ensure that standards and specifications are met.
- Direct or coordinate bakery deliveries.
- Develop new recipes for baked goods.
- Check equipment to ensure that it meets health and safety regulations, and perform maintenance or cleaning, as necessary.
- Decorate baked goods, such as cakes or pastries.
- Measure or weigh flour or other ingredients to prepare batters, doughs, fillings, or icings, using scales or graduated containers.
- Check equipment to ensure that it meets health and safety regulations, and perform maintenance or cleaning, as necessary.
- Operate slicing or wrapping machines.
- Place dough in pans, molds, or on sheets, and bake in production ovens or on grills.
- Set oven temperatures, and place items into hot ovens for baking.
- Observe color of products being baked, and adjust oven temperatures, humidity, or conveyor speeds accordingly.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")