25+ Pros and Cons of Being a Butcher (Explained)

Butcher is a professional meat cutter. He prepares a variety of cuts of meat, poultry, and fish for people to buy. The duties of a butcher depend on the place of employment.

A butcher in a store is responsible for receiving and storing meat products in accordance with sanitary and health regulations and maintaining meat quality.

Advantages of being a Butcher	Disadvantages of being a Butcher
Profitable	The mistake means losing an entire cut
Control	Being a butcher can be ethically questionable
Education requirement	Working with meat
Butchers offer rare cuts and meats	Butchers don’t earn a lot of money
Business connections	Lack of promotion
Physical activity	Physically demanding
Career Options	Problematic for aged
Butchers can work with food	Get bored in the long run

Advantages of being a Butcher

Profitable

Butchering equipment will end up paying for itself within a few years. The type of appliances one buys and the number of animals typically harvested each year affect the breakeven point. This makes this profession attractive as the cost of equipment is recovered and then one can make a profit.

Control

A butcher has full control. He can control exactly how long the meat is aged, as well as what goes into hamburger and sausage, the type of fat/spices used, and how much he does it himself.

In other industries, a person is more dependent on co-workers. An experienced butcher is a vital part of a restaurant or takeaway.

Education requirement

No minimum education is mandatory for being a butcher. However, knowledge is required as this is a specialized trade.

Once one has educated himself on cutting, chopping, grinding, mixing, and storage techniques, he can turn the processing process into a family affair and teaching. Most butchers evolve their own style and further add during their career.

Butchers offer rare cuts and meats

Anyone who is trying to recreate a fantastic dish he saw prepared online, chances of having a hard time finding the main ingredient at the local supermarket.

Nowadays many butchers carve up whole animals themselves; that means they can offer every part of the pig, the duck, etc. Pork belly is no longer just a dream.

Business connections

One never knows who he will meet as a butcher shop business. This could be the start of an incredible business opportunity. The contacts developed usually last for years and are beneficial.

One can develop a local following by selling products at craft shows, farmers’ markets, or even local storefront businesses that give access to additional revenue streams and loyal customers.

Physical activity

Butcher Shop businesses typically involve a greater degree of movement than other lines of work. Most days, the butcher will spend the day walking, running errands for business, and performing a multitude of tasks.

This lifestyle makes their body healthy and fit while removing negative energy. This can have a positive impact on energy levels and overall health.

Career Options

A butcher can either work for an employer in a processing plant or retail shop. Most start their own businesses. Butcher’s shop is a niche retail shop that specializes in preparing cuts of meat for customers who come in solely for meat products.

Few butchers actually turn their talents into a restaurant that specializes in prime meats, including steaks, prime rib, pork, and fish.

Butchers can work with food

Butchers can work with food. His job will be to process meat and to offer various different cuts to the customers.

He can not only provide customers with delicious steaks. And can build up plenty of expert knowledge that can benefit you for barbecues that one may want to make in the future since he will know exactly which meat he should buy for various dishes.

Disadvantages of being a Butcher

The mistake means losing an entire cut

If one is working on a rack of lamb with a ham saw, he has to go through both ones that are less than an 8th of an inch. Now if he cuts towards that bone just a little too much, and it snaps, he is done, and loses the whole rack of lamb.

The meat from various animals is cut in different ways. Some types are the short loin, chuck, brisket and rib. If there is a mistake in cutting the piece, it will go wasted.

Being a butcher can be ethically questionable

Being a butcher is that one will work in a supply chain that takes away the lives of animals. This might be an ethical concern for many people. Some societies of peoples are protesting against taking the life of animals for food, and promoting alternative options.

Also, one may have to cure aged meat to make it look fresh. One may push customers to purchase from available meat products.

Working with meat

One will work with meat all day long. A butcher will be the one who cuts the meat even before customers will ever see it. This implies that he will see blood quite often. While slaughtering an animal, one is taking their life.

One feels their pain. While cutting it into pieces one has to cut meat, break bones and remove skin and internal parts.

Butchers don’t earn a lot of money

Butchers usually do not become rich. Many butchers make under USD 32000 a year and this will be barely enough to pay rent and other expenses.

One will not be able to afford any luxury as a butcher and the possibilities to significantly increase in income will be quite limited as well. Many butchers have to get into debt since they are simply not able to pay their rent and other basic expenses.

Lack of promotion

Chances for promotions are limited as a butcher. Once one has learned craft, there is simply not that much room for career improvements.

He just does the same work for many years or even decades and many butchers just get stuck in their daily routine without having any hope for better job opportunities in the future.

Physically demanding

Many people also underestimate the physical work that comes along with being a butcher. Butchers often have to lift heavy pieces of meat and also have to stand all day long. When they come home from work, many butchers are tired.

Problematic for aged

Because of the physical component of the job as a butcher, he may also face serious problems once he gets older.

At an older age, they will no longer have the physical power they had at a young age and some butchers even have to quit their job due to physical health issues and the physical burden that comes along with the job as a butcher.

Get bored in the long run

Once they have a certain level of experience as a butcher, chances are that they will also get bored in the long run.

Many people start out in their jobs pretty excited and full of motivation. But as the years go by, many people just lose interest in their occupation and dream to do something more exciting.

As the job as a butcher is pretty standardized and they will carry out the same tasks every day, they will be at great risk to get bored sooner or later.