102 Lower-income Occupations
For its 2017 report License to Work, the Institute for Justice documented the requirements to get a license for 102 lower-income occupations across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Read more about the research methods.
State Profiles
For its 2017 report License to Work, the Institute for Justice documented the requirements to get a license for 102 lower-income occupations across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Read more about the research methods.
Select A State
What is Occupational Licensing?
An “occupational license” is, put simply, government permission to work in a particular field. To earn the license, an aspiring worker must clear various hurdles, such as earning a certain amount of education or training or passing an exam. In the 1950s, only one in 20 U.S. workers needed the government’s permission to pursue their chosen occupation. Today, that figure stands at almost one in four.
Still Machine Setter, Dairy Equipment
License required in 3 states
89th most burdensome licensing requirements among moderate-income occupations
92nd most heavily regulated occupation among moderate-income occupations
What They Do
Still machine setters set up, operate or tend continuous flow or vat-type equipment; filter presses; shaker screens; centrifuges; condenser tubes; precipitating, fermenting or evaporating tanks; scrubbing towers; or batch stills. These machines extract, sort or separate liquids, gases or solids from other materials to recover a refined product. Within this category, this report looks at dairy processing equipment operators only.Licensing
Three states require a license to work as a dairy equipment still machine setter: California, Oregon and Washington. California and Oregon both require two exams, while Washington requires none. Oregon also sets a minimum age of 18 years. None of the states requires any education or experience. The three states require an average of $67 in fees. These requirements are the 89th most burdensome of the 102 occupations studied here. Also, because so few states license the occupation, it ranks as the 92nd most widely and onerously licensed.
License to Work
The data and information here come from IJ’s License to Work report, released in November 2017.
States Ranked by Average Licensing Burden for 102 Lower-Income Occupations
More Burdensome Less Burdensom
Based on data released in November 2017| Burden Rank | State | States Licensed | Fees | Estimated Calendar Days Lost | Education | Experience | Exams | Minimum Grade | Minimum Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 3 | $100 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1 | Oregon | 3 | $50 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 18 | ||
| 3 | Washington | 3 | $50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |