Also called: Package Designer, Structural Packaging Designer
Designs the boxes, bottles, and labels for products, from cereal to sneakers to video game consoles.
A packaging designer might mock up a new energy-drink can, print it, wrap it on a real can, and see how it looks on a store shelf next to competitors. Structural packaging designers engineer folds and inserts so boxes ship safely. They work with printers on colors and special finishes like foil.
Estimate based on graphic designer and commercial designer wages.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in graphic or industrial design; packaging science degrees exist too.
Ways in: 4-year college. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Graphic Design, Packaging Science, Industrial Design.
Growing about average (about 2% over 10 years). Steady demand from consumer goods companies.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI speeds concept mockups and label variations; structural prototypes, print specs and retail testing stay human.
Classes: Graphic design CTE, Engineering or 3-D design, AP Studio Art.
Official data: O*NET occupation 27-1024.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.