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.
Most important skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Quality Control Analysis
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Time Management
Key knowledge
- Production and Processing
- Mechanical
- Mathematics
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Education and Training
- Public Safety and Security
- Engineering and Technology
What the work involves
- Examine completed work to detect defects and verify conformance to work orders, and adjust machinery as necessary to correct production problems.
- 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.
- Observe operation of various machines to detect and correct machine malfunctions such as improper forming, glue flow, or pasteboard tension.
- Disassemble machines to maintain, repair, or replace broken or worn parts, using hand or power tools.
- Adjust guide assemblies, forming bars, and folding mechanisms according to specifications, using hand tools.
- Install attachments to machines for gluing, folding, printing, or cutting.
- Measure, space, and set saw blades, cutters, and perforators, according to product specifications.
- Stamp products with information such as dates, using hand stamps or automatic stamping devices.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (69.4% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Up to and including 1 month (25.4%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months (46.3%)
- 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 Paper Goods Machine Setters, 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 54% of occupations compared | 71% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 89% of occupations compared | — |
| Teamwork | High | Higher on teamwork than 73% of occupations compared | — |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 90% of occupations compared | 36% of surveyed respondents chose “Limited freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very high | Higher on time pressure than 80% of occupations compared | — |
| Conflict situations | Moderate | Higher on conflict situations than 55% of occupations compared | 36% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 67% of occupations compared | 35% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | Moderate | Lower on consequence of error than 51% of occupations compared | 33% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very high
- Conflict situations: moderate
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: low
- Consequence of error: moderate
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: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 13.69%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0.62%
- Contact with others most of the time: 14.22%
- Constant contact with others: 71.47%
n = 27, Incumbent 08/2018
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Fairly important: 12.98%
- Important: 5.93%
- Very important: 2.38%
- Extremely important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 26, Incumbent 08/2018
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0.65%
- Fairly important: 0.65%
- Important: 3.11%
- Very important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Extremely important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 26, Incumbent 08/2018
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 5.23%
- Very little freedom: 12.13%
- Limited freedom: 36.28%
- Some freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- A lot of freedom: 19.15%
n = 28, Incumbent 08/2018
Time pressure
- Never: 0.57%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 1.97%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 22.5%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 19.68%
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 27, Incumbent 08/2018
Conflict situations
- Never: 16.58%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 22.83%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 35.67%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 2.41%
- Every day: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
n = 27, Incumbent 08/2018
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 17.04%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 32.32%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 34.51%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 15.52%
- Every day: 0.61%
n = 27, Incumbent 08/2018
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 25.79%
- Fairly serious: 24.57%
- Serious: 12.69%
- Very serious: 3.46%
- Extremely serious: 33.48%
n = 28, Incumbent 08/2018
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O*NET-SOC 51-9196.00 · SOC 51-9196 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8