Also called: Packer, Packager, Pack-Out Associate, Bagger
Packs products by hand into boxes, bags and crates, checking counts and quality before they ship.
At a packing station you build boxes, wrap fragile items, count and weigh orders, and seal and label each carton. In a produce plant you might pack strawberries into clamshells all shift.
BLS OEWS May 2025 (10th / median / 90th percentile).
No formal education, about 0 years after high school. No formal education required; trained on the job in a few days.
Ways in: On-the-job training. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Shrinking (about -5% over 10 years). BLS projects -5.0%, 2025-35, as packing machines spread; still about 555,000 jobs.
Medium risk in 5 years, high in 10. Box-making machines, auto-baggers and robot arms already pack many orders; hand packing jobs shrink by 2036.
Age 14+. One way to start: Apply as a grocery bagger (14+ in most states) or as a packer at a warehouse or packing plant (often 18+)
Classes: Math, PE or fitness.
Official data: O*NET occupation 53-7064.
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.