- Career Name - Cheese Producer
- Category - Art & Design
- Skills Required - Life skills 40% - Career skills 60%
- Basic Subjects - Art, Business Studies, Biology
- Minimum Education - High School
- Species Worked With - Pets, Critters, Farm Animals, Wildlife
- Short Courses - 340 with Rewards = Points +Badges
Do you want to work as a cheese producer?
READ: This page helps you to read about the career and the info you need to decide on whether this is indeed the career you want to follow.
RESEARCH: Learn about the skills required and minimum subjects to enter this career, as well as the places where you can study further after school.
PREPARE: If you want to plan and prepare for the career, then join the OZT Community! Members have access to tools, while chatting with other students and experts from around the world. Prepare to be amazed!
CAREER MENTOR
UPDATED: 31 August 2020
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What is a cheese producer?
A cheese producer is a person who mixes and cooks milk, together with different ingredients, to prepare cheese and cheese products. Cheese can be made entirely by hand, or through a mechanized process.
They can use the milk from different animals, such as cows or goats, to produce different kinds of cheeses. Some of the cheeses can also be infused by adding special flavorings, herbs, spices or liquids.
Alternative Names
The career can also be known as:
- Cheese Maker
Total production?
5.91million metric tons of cheese were produced in the United States in 2019
Top producer?
The European Union produced 10.28 million metric tons of cheese per year
What does a Cheese Producer do?
Career Categories
The Cheese Producer career can be found in the following career categories:
- Health
- Business
- Farming & Livestock Management
What does a Cheese Producer focus on?
The primary focus of a cheese producer is to ensure that all the ingredients to make cheese are mixed together, and put through the different processes to ensure that the end product can be safe for human consumption.
What are the daily tasks of a Cheese Producer?
- Depending on whether the person produces the cheese by hand, or through machines, the tasks might start by milking the animals, or overseeing the functionality of the machines.
- Research and buy the right milk and ingredients
- Oversee the correct mixture of the different ingredients
- Oversee the cooking of the curd, until the right texture for molding into cheese
- Marketing and sale of cheese
- Administration and filing
The working environment of a Cheese Producer
Where does a Cheese Producer work?
Environment –
A cheese producer might work mostly within a factory setup, ensuring that all the machines are working properly, or if the person makes the cheese by hand, direct from the animal, then a part of the work can be done outdoors.
Places of Employment –
Cheese producers may run their own businesses, or work for large dairy farms or companies.
What is the average annual salary of a Cheese Producer?
On average the income per year is around $30,000. This will differ from country to country. Self employed business owners might make even more.
What difficulties can a Cheese Producer face?
The most difficult part is overseeing the delicate processes, during which time many things can go wrong, resulting in huge financial losses. They may also have to work long hours and over weekends and holidays to finish work within tight deadlines.
Future growth and Possibilities
The cheese production industry is growing steadily, with a growth of around 4%. Private producers of infused cheeses are growing a lot faster, as they carve niche markets for themselves.
Which Skills are required by a Cheese Producer?
The skills required for a career as a cheese producer can be divided into two very important groups. The first is the group containing life skills, which are the core skills that are necessary or desirable for full participation in everyday life. The second group is career skills, or the specific skills required to allow a person to enter and operate effectively within a specific career. Some or maybe even all of the life skills can assist in strengthening the career skills, and they might even be the same for specific careers.
Life Skills
- Self-awareness
- Empathy
- Critical thinking
- Creative thinking
- Decision making
- Problem Solving
- Effective communication
- Interpersonal relationship
Career Skills
- Good business knowledge
- Good cooking skills
- Basic customer service skills
- Good health and physical fitness
- Excellent computer literacy
Which Subjects must I have at School to prepare for this career?
Language will be compulsory for further studies, and will also help you to effectively communicate with suppliers and customers.
Business studies or similar economic or bookkeeping subjects will be important if you do want to start your own cheese business.
Although not compulsory, biology will always be a good subject to help you understand the animals you will work with.
The subjects you choose at school are important as they lay the foundation for further studies at college or university. While still at school, it’s also important to learn more about the animals you will work with, as well as gain some experience.
OZT has a list of various tertiary institutions where you can study further, after school. Each of these institutions also have their own Group page on OZT where you will find the exact subjects they require of you to have passed in school. Keep these requirements in mind, and discuss it with your school, guidance counselor and parents to ensure that you are prepared!
What will I need to Study to become a Cheese Producer?
Minimum Requirements
The minimum educational requirement is currently a High School certificate, for both starting a business, and working for a dairy/cheese processing company. Further studies towards a College Diploma or even Bachelor’s Degree is possible.
Study Focus
Major –
Subjects in cheese making, food processing, food preservation.
Short Courses –
Most cheese makers enter the career by completing short courses, which can include special courses designed for cheese making.
Study Duration
The duration of College and Bachelor’s Degrees can be up to 3 or 4 years. Short Courses are usually between a few weeks and a year.
Possible Career Preparation Paths
If this is your dream career that you want to pursue, then it’s important to plan the way forward.
Why is planning important?
To ensure that you understand the requirements for your career, and that you are always prepared for the next step on the road towards your dream. A Preparation Path is like your road map to where you want to be.
Possible Paths:
Possible Combined Career Paths
It is possible to sometimes combine two or more related careers. This normally happens when you study and practice a specific main career, but the knowledge and experience gained also help you to have a paying hobby or secondary income career.
Possible Alternatives (there are a lot more):
Stepping Stone Career
Being a cheese producer can also be used as a stepping stone career. A stepping stone career is one which is used to help you get to another career, normally because the other career is too difficult to reach (sometimes due to things like high fees etc).
You can begin as an intern after basic short courses and expert guidance (maybe working under a mentor). The money made can then be used to pay for studies towards a promotion or another career, and the experience helps in gaining knowledge. One paying to help get to the other.
Some of the possible paths:
Training and apprenticeship
Even though it is important to study to get into some of the animal careers, most of the skills you will need as a cheese maker will be acquired through practice. This means that you will learn how to perform some of the daily tasks by actually doing it a few times and learning the steps.
In some cases entry level positions require training sessions even before you are allowed to actually perform your job duties. These sessions are offered by the place of employment, after you have successfully applied.
Apprenticeship is also possible where you need to learn skills from a more senior cheese producer or expert. In some cases, apprenticeship of a few years is compulsory to become a certified cheese producer.
Join the Cheese Producers Group in the OZT Community to learn more and even interact with the educational institutions that will help you secure your dream career!
Average level of education of all the people who enter the career
Licenses, Certificate, Registration and Professional Associations
Certain animal careers require some form of legal certification to prove that you can indeed do the work, and work with the necessary equipment.
Although not required by law, certifications may help workers establish their credentials and enhance their skills.
Learn more about requirements by joining the OZT Community.
Professional Associations
Where can I study further?
All of the above information will help you understand more about the Career, including the fact that there are different paths to take to reach it. But if you are almost done with High School (Grades 11 or 12), you also need to start thinking about further studies, and WHERE you will study.
See the List of Universities, Colleges and Online Training Academies who offer courses towards cheese production.
Join our OZT community and Cheese Producer Group
Join us as a special member and learn more about becoming a cheese producer.
Members of the Platform have special access to:
- Info on the best places where you can study (colleges, universities and online)
- Expertly designed advice to prepare you for the career, and links to places where you can gain valuable experience. For some career experience is necessary, otherwise you wont get the job!
- Top notch info on each of the different species you will work with
- Make friends around the world and share knowledge
- Compete and win points, badges, games, prizes and certificates. Be the best of the best, while you learn and prepare!
If you have decided on being a cheese producer, please click on the JOIN GROUP button. Members will be directed to the Group, while non-members will be assisted to register first.
If this career is NOT the career for you, then you may return to the MAIN CAREER menu, and search for something different.
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Career Profiles and Resources
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A few pictures about the Career:
Some of the best websites to help you decide on the Career:
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