Also called: Paper Mill Engineer, Paper Science Engineer
Runs the process that turns trees into paper, cardboard and tissue at giant mills.
You walk beside a paper machine as long as a football field that spits out a sheet faster than a car on the highway. The paper is tearing too often, so you dig into steam pressure, pulp chemistry and wire speed until you find the cause.
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 chemical engineering or paper science and engineering.
Ways in: 4-year college. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Chemical Engineering, Paper Science & Engineering.
Growing slowly. Paper is shrinking but packaging and cardboard keep demand alive.
Medium risk for 10 years. Mills are heavily automated and AI tunes paper machines; troubleshooting the mill and managing upsets on shift stay human.
Classes: Chemistry, Physics, Algebra II, Environmental science.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2041.
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.