Also called: Packaging Operator, Case Packer Operator, Bagger Operator
Runs machines that fill, seal, wrap, label and box products in factories, from cereal to medicine to dog food.
You load film rolls, boxes and labels into your machines and watch products zip through. When a bagger jams or a label skews, you stop, fix it and restart fast. It's a common first job in manufacturing with a path into maintenance.
BLS packaging and filling machine operators and tenders.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 0 years after high school. High school diploma; trained on the job.
Ways in: On-the-job training. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Growing about average (about 4% over 10 years). Packaging and filling machine operators.
High risk for 10 years. Robotic case packers, palletizers and vision checks are standard; operator headcount keeps dropping.
Age 18+. One way to start: Apply at food, drug and consumer-goods plants or through a staffing agency; new hires are trained on the job
Classes: Shop class, Algebra.
Official data: O*NET occupation 51-9111.
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.