The Average Salary of a Food Product Development Technologist
Food product development technologists work in product development where they apply findings from food science research to improve the quality of food; everything along the entire food chain from selection to processing to distribution. There are five major factors affecting a food technologist’s income: experience, industry, gender, education and location.
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Salary
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Total pay for food technologists in the United States ranges from $39,583 to $59,199 annually, based on PayScale November 2010 data. Bonus and profit sharing can make up a substantial portion of these earnings, between $2,195 and $9,871 per year.
Experience
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The same PayScale data reveals that a food technologist’s earnings will rise consistently over her career. However, the biggest increases occur at the five- to nine-year experience level (top income rises from $54,054 to $63,523 annually) and at the twenty-year-plus level (top income moves substantially from $68,991 to $81,389 annually).
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Industry
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The industry in which a food technologist works can also impact her earnings. Technologists working in most of the major food industries (food manufacturing, food ingredients/flavors, process food products, foods/beverages) will earn between $41,271 and $60,863 according to PayScale November 2010 data. However those technologists working in the bakery industry can earn up to 15 percent more.
Gender
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Unfortunately, gender appears to be a factor in the earnings of a food technologist. The PayScale November 2010 data shows that female technologists earn up to ten percent less than their male counterparts ($41,139 to $56,631 vs. $45,342 to $62,647 annually). The same data also shows that the industry is primarily composed of women (64 percent).
Education
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Education plays a role in the earnings of a food technologist, mainly on the bottom end of the scale where an individual with a Master of Science (MS) can earn up to twenty percent less than a co-worker with a Bachelor of Science (BS/BSc/SB), Foods and Nutrition. PayScale November 2010 data indicates food technologists with a BS/BSc/SB, Foods and Nutrition degree earn $45,199 to $53,437 annually, while those with a MS degree earn $37,500 to $51,190 per year.
Location
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PayScale November 2010 data shows that a technologist working in Minnesota can earn $49,506 per year on the high end. The same individual working in California, New York or Pennsylvania could earn roughly $65,000 yearly at the top end.
Outlook
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Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor anticipates above-average employment growth (16 percent) for food technologists between 2008 and 2018. The growth will occur mainly as a result of efforts to increase the quantity and quality of food produced.
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References
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