Production
Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Also called: Corrugator Operator, Cup Room Technician, Folder Machine Operator, Gluer Operator
US median pay
$50,270
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
-3.6%
declining
Openings a year (US)
9,000
96,100 employed
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
Preparation 2/5 · Some preparation
What this job is
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.
What they do day to 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.
- Install attachments to machines for gluing, folding, printing, or cutting.
- Cut products to specified dimensions, using hand or power cutters.
- Place rolls of paper or cardboard on machine feed tracks, and thread paper through gluing, coating, and slitting rollers.
- Monitor finished cartons as they drop from forming machines into rotating hoppers and into gravity feed chutes to prevent jamming.
- Adjust guide assemblies, forming bars, and folding mechanisms according to specifications, using hand tools.
- Measure, space, and set saw blades, cutters, and perforators, according to product specifications.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Operations Monitoring3.6/5
- Operation and Control3.2/5
- Quality Control Analysis3.1/5
- Time Management3.0/5
- Social Perceptiveness2.9/5
- Equipment Maintenance2.9/5
- Coordination2.9/5
- Complex Problem Solving2.9/5
Knowledge
- Production and Processing3.7/5
- Mechanical3.6/5
- Mathematics3.5/5
- English Language3.2/5
- Customer and Personal Service3.2/5
- Education and Training2.7/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 2 of 5 — Some preparation. Usually a high school diploma; some previous work experience or training helps.
Typical entry education (BLS): High school diploma or equivalent.
Highest education of people in this job:
- High school diploma69%
- Less than high school20%
Who this job suits
Mostly Realistic
Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Conventional
Organising data, details and procedures
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.