Hi old man, unfortunately your lack of experience in the biz will cause some havoc i'm assuming you live somewhere upstate, i'm not too familiar with slaughterhouse cutters which is cutting in bulk you will need more experience in the biz to really make any money, diamond cutters like myself are making upward of $25.00 an hour, union butchers are making more, my advice to you is stay in the biz and learn as much as you can on breaking down and boneing out to become a so called diamond cutter,on a good note be thankful you have a job.....good luck
New member ask this question can any member from New York answer it
I have been breaking beef quarters, sides of pig , and whole lamb for a year and change. The job I am currently at it moving their production 3 hours away from where I live and expanding rapidly. So I applied at a slaughterhouse about 45min from my house. I start there in two weeks. I really had no choice but to quit and put in my two weeks and find other work. I have a girlfriend and little boy at home that I need to support. Anyhow, I accepted a 13$ wage and a one month evaluation with a chance to making 15$ an hour. I'm not sure how much i should be making at this slaughterhouse with the experience I have. I have about 3 years of cutting experience. Any advice out there that someone can kindly give?
from my experiences throughout the northeast, the hourly wage for your skill level is probably correct. more experienced production cutters could make up to $20.00 a hour in NYS facilities. Retail is where the money will be, union shops used to pay higher but to attract better and more stable cutters the non-union chains pay about the same these days- independant owners will vary their hourly wages. The more skilled plant cutters, Carcass splitters, tender pullers, and the like are usually paid a premium for thier skill. $15.00 a hour is probably on par and with training and experience you could go higher. My suggestion would be learn what you can and try to move retail, get urself a namp book and learn retail cuts, in the long run you and your family will benefit from your efforts. Good luck.
