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Packers and Packagers, Hand vs Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index

A factual, source-backed comparison of Packers and Packagers, Hand and Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”

Packers and Packagers, Hand Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$35,580
$45,130
Employment · BLS OEWS
601,440
57,310
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
18th pct
21st pct

At a glance

Dimension Packers and Packagers, Hand Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Median pay $35,580 $45,130
Employment 601,440 57,310
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection Declining (-5.4%) About average (+2.0%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 74,000 5,200
Typical education · O*NET Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not. Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
AI exposure · published exposure studies Low · 18th pct Low · 21st pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 33rd pct · 20% of tasks 21st pct · 17% of tasks
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index — —
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman No No

Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.

Skills

Shared: Production and Processing, Near Vision, Problem Sensitivity, Trunk Strength, Monitoring, Oral Comprehension, Manual Dexterity, Multilimb Coordination, Static Strength, Speech Recognition, Oral Expression, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Information Ordering, Selective Attention, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Finger Dexterity, Mechanical, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Deductive Reasoning, Computers and Electronics, Inductive Reasoning, Stamina, Depth Perception, Category Flexibility, Perceptual Speed, Control Precision.

Specific to Packers and Packagers, Hand

  • Customer and Personal Service
  • English Language
  • Administrative
  • Extent Flexibility
  • Mathematics
  • Public Safety and Security
  • Coordination
  • Speech Clarity

Specific to Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

  • Operations Monitoring
  • Operation and Control
  • Rate Control
  • Reaction Time
  • Far Vision
  • Auditory Attention
  • Written Comprehension
  • Visualization

Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).

Tools & technology

Shared: Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Word processing software , Enterprise resource planning ERP software .

Specific to Packers and Packagers, Hand

Specific to Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Packers and Packagers, Hand or Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.

More comparisons

Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Packers and Packagers, Hand vs Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/packers-and-packagers-hand-vs-extruding-forming-pressing-and-compacting-machine-setters-operators-and-tenders

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Packers and Packagers, Hand vs Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/packers-and-packagers-hand-vs-extruding-forming-pressing-and-compacting-machine-setters-operators-and-tenders

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-packers-and-packagers-hand-vs-extruding-forming-pressing-and-compacting-machine-setters-operators-and-tenders,
  title  = {Packers and Packagers, Hand vs Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/compare/packers-and-packagers-hand-vs-extruding-forming-pressing-and-compacting-machine-setters-operators-and-tenders}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.