Packaging Machine Operator

Explore This Path

Ideal for those who enjoy hands-on work and ensuring product quality.
Play a crucial role in preparing products for safe storage and shipment.
Unique chance to work with diverse products and solve machine challenges.

💰 Earn $36K-$47K

📚 High School Diploma or GED

⏱️ 6–12 MONTH TRAINING

📈 6.7% JOB GROWTH

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What You’ll Do

Operate or tend machines to prepare industrial or consumer products for storage or shipment. Includes cannery workers who pack food products.

Attach identification labels to finished packaged items, or cut stencils and stencil information on containers, such as lot numbers or shipping destinations.
Sort, grade, weigh, and inspect products, verifying and adjusting product weight or measurement to meet specifications.
Stop or reset machines when malfunctions occur, clear machine jams, and report malfunctions to a supervisor.
Observe machine operations to ensure quality and conformity of filled or packaged products to standards.
Remove finished packaged items from machine and separate rejected items.

Scoop

Minimum Education

High School Diploma or GED

Career Prospects

Excellent (Increasing by 5% or more)

Training Time

6 months to 1 year

Job Openings

43,900 Annually

Median Earnings

$38,790 in California

$38,330 Nationally

$25K

$50K

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Best For You If...

YOU Like 💕

Using data or completing tasks
Working with my hands

You are skilled in 💫

Active Listening
Critical Thinking
Monitoring
Operation and Control
Operations Monitoring

You value 🙏

Having support
Having freedom
Personal relationships

Deep Dive

Packaging Machine Operator

Explore career pathways, key skills, and what each role has to offer.

Pathways to this Career

Learn about the education and training paths that can lead to this career — and what to expect from each one.

Strategic Employment

Strategic employment provides individuals with valuable work experience, opportunities for professional growth and networking, and exposure to an industry where they may want to pursue advancement.

🎓 Paid Work

⏱️ FINISH IN 1-3 years

Vocational School

A vocational school typically equips students with specialized skills and practical training in specific trades or occupations, enhancing their employability and providing direct pathways to relevant careers.

🎓 Skills-Focused

⏱️ FINISH IN 6 months - 2 years

Workforce Development Program

A workforce development program typically enhances participants' opportunities to succeed in the workforce through employment skill-building, career counseling, connections to employers, and pathways to high-demand and high-wage jobs.

🎓 Skills-Focused

⏱️ FINISH IN 6 months - 2 years

Apprenticeship

An apprenticeship typically offers a combination of hands-on training and classroom instruction, leading to practical skills, industry-specific knowledge, and the potential for long-term employment in a specific trade or profession.

🎓 Paid Work

⏱️ FINISH IN 2-5 years