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Butcher & Meat Cutter

Skilled Trades

Cut, trim, or prepare consumer-sized portions of meat for use or sale in retail establishments.

You can enter this career straight after SPM. A degree is optional, not required.

AgricultureHospitality & Tourism

What you'd do all day

The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.

  1. 1Prepare and place meat cuts and products in display counter to appear attractive and catch the shopper's eye.
  2. 2Wrap, weigh, label, and price cuts of meat.
  3. 3Cut, trim, bone, tie, and grind meats, such as beef, pork, poultry, and fish, to prepare in cooking form.
  4. 4Prepare special cuts of meat ordered by customers.
  5. 5Receive, inspect, and store meat upon delivery to ensure meat quality.
  6. 6Estimate requirements and order or requisition meat supplies to maintain inventories.
  7. 7Record quantity of meat received and issued to cooks or keep records of meat sales.
  8. 8Supervise other butchers or meat cutters.
  9. 9Cure, smoke, tenderize, and preserve meat.
  10. 10Negotiate with representatives from supply companies to determine order details.
  11. 11Shape, lace, and tie roasts, using boning knife, skewer, and twine.

Also known as

What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.

  • Slicer
  • Butcher
  • Cleaver
  • Meatman
  • Blockman
  • Meat Clerk
  • Meatcutter
  • Meat Carver
  • Meat Cutter
  • Meat Loiner

How far is this from you?

Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.

  1. 1

    Entry straight after SPM

  2. Typical entry

    SPM + sijil / short TVET course

  3. 3

    Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)

  4. 4

    Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)

  5. 5

    Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route

Typical educationHigh school diploma

Subjects that matter here

The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.

AgricultureDraws directly on Food Production — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Home Science (SRT)Draws directly on Food Production — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Design & Technology (RBT)Draws directly on Production and Processing — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Mechanical Engineering StudiesDraws directly on Production and Processing — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
BusinessDraws directly on Sales and Marketing — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).

What you'd need to know

The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.

  • Customer and Personal Service83%
  • Food Production78%

    AgricultureHome Science (SRT)

  • Production and Processing67%

    Design & Technology (RBT)Mechanical Engineering Studies

  • Sales and Marketing62%

    BusinessEconomics

  • English Language55%

    English

  • Administration and Management50%

    BusinessEconomics

Tools you'd use

Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.

Where to learn these, free

Scholarships & funding

What the work feels like

Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.

  • Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
  • Contact with other peopleConstant contact
  • Dealing with customers or the publicVery high
  • Leading or coordinating othersVery high
  • Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
  • Outdoors, in all weatherAlmost never
  • Noisy environmentEvery day
  • Time spent sittingAlmost none

Where this job is heading

Newer tasks O*NET has flagged for this occupation, a hint at how the role is changing.

  • Clean and sanitize meat cases and cutting equipment.

AI and demand for this job

A few real, dated data points — not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.

0%

Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)

This estimate is from 2023 — already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.

Pay in Malaysia

We don't have a sourced Malaysian salary range for this job yet, and we'd rather show nothing than a number we can't stand behind.

Where to check:

  • JobStreet and Hiredly job ads for this title
  • DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey
  • SSPA scheme tables, if you're aiming for a government post
See pay for a related career: Welder

Check what you may qualify for

Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.

Check my eligibility Not sure yet? Take the quiz

How to get here

Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.

Asasi / Foundation

One-year runway into a specific university: public via UPU or private direct entry.

12 months

Diploma

Skill-first qualification. Work after, or enter degree Year 2. Polytechnics keep it affordable.

2.5–3 years

Related careers

If this interests you, these are worth a look too.

About this information

This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.

O*NET occupation: Butchers and Meat Cutters

Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org