Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Set up, operate, or tend paper goods machines that perform a variety of functions, such as converting, sawing, corrugating, banding, wrapping, boxing, stitching, forming, or sealing paper or paperboard sheets into products.
- Median annual earnings
- $50,274
- Projected change
- −2.8%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 98.25K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
89.5% of the workforce
Growing to 95.52K by 2035
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Build the skills
ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
The work
What paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenders do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Examine completed work to detect defects and verify conformance to work orders, and adjust machinery as necessary to correct production problems.
- Observe operation of various machines to detect and correct machine malfunctions such as improper forming, glue flow, or pasteboard tension.
- Start machines and move controls to regulate tension on pressure rolls, to synchronize speed of machine components, and to adjust temperatures of glue or paraffin.
- Disassemble machines to maintain, repair, or replace broken or worn parts, using hand or power tools.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $37,294
- 25th percentile
- $44,928
- 50th percentile
- $50,274
- 75th percentile
- $60,174
- 90th percentile
- $70,325
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $50,274 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
2,728 fewer positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 89.5%
- Some college
- 9.4%
- Associate degree
- 0.6%
- Certificate
- 0.5%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Envelope Machine Adjusters32 postings
- 02Bag Machine Operators3 postings
- 03Machine Operators3 postings
- 04Operations Schedulers1 postings
Top employers
- 01Staff Financial Group6 postings
- 02Taylor Corporation4 postings
- 03Data-Mail3 postings
- 04Wincup3 postings
- 05Action Personnel2 postings
- 06I.w.c.o2 postings
- 07Innovairre2 postings
- 08Iwco Direct2 postings
- 09Proampac Holdings2 postings
- 10Winsted Corporation2 postings
- 11Icolor Printing & Mailing1 postings
- 12Moore Corporation1 postings
- 13Printlink1 postings
- 14ProAmpac's1 postings
- 15Southwest Publishing And Mailing Corporation1 postings
- 16Staffmark1 postings
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