Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders
Operate or tend machines to prepare industrial or consumer products for storage or shipment. Includes cannery workers who pack food products.
Most important skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Coordination
- Operation and Control
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Social Perceptiveness
Key knowledge
- Production and Processing
- Mechanical
- Public Safety and Security
- Education and Training
- English Language
- Customer and Personal Service
- Mathematics
- Administration and Management
What the work involves
- Observe machine operations to ensure quality and conformity of filled or packaged products to standards.
- Adjust machine components and machine tension and pressure according to size or processing angle of product.
- Tend or operate machine that packages product.
- Remove finished packaged items from machine and separate rejected items.
- Regulate machine flow, speed, or temperature.
- Stop or reset machines when malfunctions occur, clear machine jams, and report malfunctions to a supervisor.
- Secure finished packaged items by hand tying, sewing, gluing, stapling, or attaching fastener.
- Stock and sort product for packaging or filling machine operation, and replenish packaging supplies, such as wrapping paper, plastic sheet, boxes, cartons, glue, ink, or labels.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Enterprising.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (79.7% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (36.6%)
- On-the-job training
- Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (37.3%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Moderate | Higher on contact with others than 51% of occupations compared | 57% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 94% of occupations compared | 54% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Teamwork | Low | Lower on teamwork than 68% of occupations compared | 40% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 85% of occupations compared | 43% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very high | Higher on time pressure than 88% of occupations compared | 63% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Low | Lower on conflict situations than 71% of occupations compared | 34% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 75% of occupations compared | 25% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | High | Higher on consequence of error than 67% of occupations compared | 29% of surveyed respondents chose “Very serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very high
- Conflict situations: low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- Consequence of error: high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 2.83%
- Occasional contact with others: 0.52%
- Contact with others about half the time: 7.84%
- Contact with others most of the time: 31.77%
- Constant contact with others: 57.03%
n = 30, Incumbent 07/2017
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 54.28%
- Fairly important: 11.51%
- Important: 21.02%
- Very important: 11.53%
- Extremely important: 1.65%
n = 29, Incumbent 07/2017
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0.52%
- Fairly important: 7.03%
- Important: 19.72%
- Very important: 32.91%
- Extremely important: 39.82%
n = 30, Incumbent 07/2017
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0.53%
- Very little freedom: 12.63%
- Limited freedom: 29.09%
- Some freedom: 43.17%
- A lot of freedom: 14.59%
n = 29, Incumbent 07/2017
Time pressure
- Never: 0.53%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 16.71%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 20.22%
- Every day: 62.54%
n = 29, Incumbent 07/2017
Conflict situations
- Never: 20.43%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 34.27%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 27.06%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 10.33%
- Every day: 7.91%
n = 29, Incumbent 07/2017
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 9.49%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 25.18%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 16.18%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 25.07%
- Every day: 24.09%
n = 30, Incumbent 07/2017
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 4.71%
- Fairly serious: 25.57%
- Serious: 18.44%
- Very serious: 29.35%
- Extremely serious: 21.93%
n = 29, Incumbent 07/2017
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O*NET-SOC 51-9111.00 · SOC 51-9111 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8