Also called: Package Development Engineer, Packaging Scientist
Designs the boxes, bottles, blister packs and shipping cartons that protect products and get them to you in one piece.
You drop a box holding a new game console off a test tower again and again, then shake it on a vibration table that mimics a truck ride across the country. If something cracks, you redesign the foam insert in CAD and cut a new prototype on the sample table. You also hunt for plastic-free materials that still protect the product.
Estimated from industry salary surveys; BLS groups packaging engineers with other engineers.
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 packaging science or engineering (Michigan State, Clemson, RIT, Cal Poly) or mechanical engineering.
Ways in: 4-year college. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Packaging Science, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Materials Science.
Growing faster than average. No separate BLS projection; e-commerce and sustainability rules are boosting demand.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. AI speeds design and drop-test simulation; testing real packages and balancing cost, safety and new laws stay human.
Classes: AP Physics, AP Chemistry, Drafting/CAD class.
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.