Food processing

How to become a food scientist and technologist

Official title: Food scientist and technologist

Also called: Food scientist, Food engineer, Packaging technologist, Food product development technologist, Food technology adviser, Food quality consultant

Food scientists and technologists research new food sources and nutritional content, and develop ways to process safe and healthy food. They may create new foods and ways to preserve products.

Main tasks

Make sure products meet quality standards
Develop and improve new foods and drinks
Test and refine food and drink samples
Analyse food for nutritional content
Choose ingredients for recipes
Improve how food and drinks are made
Develop and improve food packaging

How to become one

You need a qualification to become a food scientist and technologist and experience may be useful. You need University Entrance to do the study or training for this job. Required: a bachelor's degree in food science and biotechnology or similar area. Other requirements: a Bachelor of Food Technology (Honours); a master's degree in food science and biotechnology, food processing or similar area; experience in similar work; to be a member of The New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology.

See the full Tahatū profile

Ways in

University: Science degrees, Offered by 6 universities in New Zealand
University: Engineering degrees, Offered by 5 universities in New Zealand

Pay · Past change · AI and this job

Most common pay: $69,000 to $118,000 a year (median $90,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
Lower: $53,000 a year · Upper: $153,000 a year
TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Decrease (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
People employed in the group Chemists, and Food and Wine Scientists: 2,424 at the 2018 Census and 2,265 at the 2023 Census (-6.6%). Past change, not a forecast.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

About 880 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
In the group Chemists, and Food and Wine Scientists, 46% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
Where people in the group Chemists, and Food and Wine Scientists work (2023 Census): Auckland 34.7%, Marlborough 12.1%, and Canterbury 9.7%.

Questions people ask

How do I become a food scientist and technologist?

How much does a food scientist and technologist earn in New Zealand?

The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $90,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $69,000 to $118,000 a year.

Has the number of people working as a food scientist and technologist grown in New Zealand?

It has shrunk: TEC records a decrease in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.

Will AI change the work of a food scientist and technologist?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census totals by topic for individuals 2013, 2018, 2023 (CEN23_TBT_004): employed by occupation, ANZSCO V1.3, summed to unit group (2023 Census (CEN23_TBT_004)), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.

Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.

This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.

Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.

These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Updated 4 October 2026