Also called: Paper Machine Operator, Papermaker, Backtender
Runs a paper machine the length of a football field that turns watery pulp into rolls of paper, cardboard or tissue at highway speeds.
Pulp that is 99 percent water sprays onto a moving screen, then races through presses and steam-heated rollers, coming out as paper a mile a minute. You watch quality readings, fix sheet breaks, and threading a new tail through the machine is a real skill. It takes years to become a lead tender.
Estimated; mill machine tenders earn well above the BLS paper goods machine operator average.
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.
Majors to look at: Pulp & Paper Technology.
Shrinking (about -4% over 10 years). Paper goods machine setters and operators overall.
Medium risk for 10 years. Mill control systems automate much of the machine; skilled tenders still run grades and handle breaks.
Age 18+. One way to start: Apply at paper and tissue mills or through a staffing agency; new hires are trained on the job
Classes: Chemistry, Physics, Algebra.
Official data: O*NET occupation 51-9196.
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.