Skilled Trades
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 salary
$49,390
Typical range
$37k – $69k
Job outlook
See national outlook
AI exposure
Plan a path to Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Education
Typical entry: No degree required
Plan my path to this →Typical progression
Junior Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Entry / Junior
$36,610
~2 yrs to advance
Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Established
$49,390
~3 yrs to advance
Senior Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Senior
$59,015
Key skills
A typical day
- •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.
Fields of study
Any field
Top colleges for Skilled Trades
Explore all- Purdue University50% admit · $78,000 grad pay
- Ohio State University53% admit · $68,000 grad pay
- Pennsylvania State University55% admit · $70,000 grad pay
Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.