Skills it runs on
The capabilities O*NET rates most important for this occupation — the human ground the work is built on.
See all skills →Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Occupation · SOC 51-9196.00
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.
Also called: Cup Room Technician · Folder Machine Operator · Paper Machine Backtender · Paper Machine Operator · Corrugator Operator · Gluer Operator · Paper Cutter Operator · Stitching Machine Operator · Bag Machine Operator · Bag Machine Tender · Bag Maker · Bag Presser
Job family: Production Occupations
Take this to your AI
A source-stamped Markdown brief of this occupation — paste it into an agent, or fetch
/roles/role-51-9196-00/context.md directly.
AI work map
A fast read on where AI already shows up in this occupation, where it stays a copilot, where humans remain in the loop, and what the labor market is doing. Built from observed Claude.ai conversations mapped to O*NET tasks and from published research — measures of usage and exposure, not advice or predictions that the job is going away.
Market signal
Independent published positions, read together — not a forecast.
- Declining employment outlook (-6.3% by 2034)
- 8,100 openings/yr
- Low AI exposure
- Median pay $49,390/yr
- Work is mostly on-site (not teleworkable)
- 2013 flagged this for computerization (56th); today's AI task-overlap is comparatively low (14th)
14th-percentile task overlap — yet about 8,100 openings a year (-6.3% projected, BLS) . What exposure means →
AI & job outlook
What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.
Exposure to current AI
Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.
| Measure | Rank vs all occupations | Percentile | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.) Low | 22nd | -0.9 | |
| LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) Low | 3rd | 0.0 | |
| AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) Low | 27th | 0.1 |
OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.0), with simple added tooling (β 0.0), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.0). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.
This job mostly cannot be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman) — its hands-on tasks sit outside what software-based AI reaches.
Historical automation estimate (2013)
A pre-LLM (2013) estimate of how automatable this job is by computerization and robotics. Shown for historical context only — it is not part of any current AI ranking.
Frey–Osborne probability 0.7 · 56th percentile among occupations · Moderate
Job outlook
Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.
| Outlook | Declining · -6.3% by 2034 |
| Projected annual openings | 8,100 |
| Employment 2024 → 2034 | 97,500 → 91,400 |
“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.
Where this work sits on the global GenAI gradient
The ILO's 2025 global study scores generative-AI exposure on the international ISCO-08 occupation system, not US SOC. Bridged through the published (and approximate, many-to-many) IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 crosswalk, this US occupation corresponds to the international 2 occupations below. Exposure here means how much of the work's tasks today's AI can attempt — task overlap, not automation, adoption, or jobs lost.
Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders sits at the 46th percentile of 427
occupations on the global GenAI task-exposure gradient
— exposure eased from 2023 to 2025. Each dot is one occupation; the
ringed one is this work. Exposure is task overlap, not automation or jobs lost.
25% mean task exposure (2025)
46th percentile of 427 placed occupations
−5 pts shift 2023 → 2025
| International occupation (ISCO-08) | Task exposure (2025) | Most tasks fall in |
|---|---|---|
| Pulp and Papermaking Plant Operators · 8171 | 28% | Minimal |
| Paper Products Machine Operators · 8143 | 18% | Not exposed |
Read the whole six-band gradient on the GenAI exposure gradient page. The crosswalk is approximate: a US occupation can map to several international ones, and the ILO scores describe the international occupation, not this exact US role.
Tasks
All 15 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.
- Examine completed work to detect defects and verify conformance to work orders, and adjust machinery as necessary to correct production problems. Core · importance 4.7
- Observe operation of various machines to detect and correct machine malfunctions such as improper forming, glue flow, or pasteboard tension. Core · importance 4.4
- Install attachments to machines for gluing, folding, printing, or cutting. Supplemental · importance 4.4
- Cut products to specified dimensions, using hand or power cutters. Supplemental · importance 4.3
- Place rolls of paper or cardboard on machine feed tracks, and thread paper through gluing, coating, and slitting rollers. Supplemental · importance 4.3
- Monitor finished cartons as they drop from forming machines into rotating hoppers and into gravity feed chutes to prevent jamming. Supplemental · importance 4.3
- Adjust guide assemblies, forming bars, and folding mechanisms according to specifications, using hand tools. Supplemental · importance 4.2
- 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. Core · importance 4.2
- Fill glue and paraffin reservoirs, and position rollers to dispense glue onto paperboard. Supplemental · importance 4.1
- Measure, space, and set saw blades, cutters, and perforators, according to product specifications. Supplemental · importance 4.1
- Disassemble machines to maintain, repair, or replace broken or worn parts, using hand or power tools. Core · importance 4.0
- Stamp products with information such as dates, using hand stamps or automatic stamping devices. Supplemental · importance 3.9
- Lift tote boxes of finished cartons, and dump cartons into feed hoppers. Supplemental · importance 3.9
- Remove finished cores, and stack or place them on conveyors for transfer to other work areas. Supplemental · importance 3.9
- Load automatic stapling mechanisms. Supplemental
Work activities
- Inspect finished products to locate flaws.
- Adjust equipment to ensure optimal performance.
- Adjust temperature controls of ovens or other heating equipment.
- Set equipment guides, stops, spacers, or other fixtures.
- Mount attachments or tools onto production equipment.
- Set equipment controls to meet cutting specifications.
- Watch operating equipment to detect malfunctions.
- Mark products, workpieces, or equipment with identifying information.
- Load materials into production equipment.
- Feed materials or products into or through equipment.
- Cut industrial materials in preparation for fabrication or processing.
- Disassemble equipment for maintenance or repair.
- Stack finished items for further processing or shipment.
- Remove products or workpieces from production equipment.
Knowledge, skills & abilities
O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).
Knowledge
| Production and Processing | 3.7 | |
| Mechanical | 3.6 | |
| Mathematics | 3.5 | |
| Customer and Personal Service | 3.2 | |
| English Language | 3.2 |
Transferable skills
| Operations Monitoring | 3.6 | |
| Operation and Control | 3.3 | |
| Quality Control Analysis | 3.1 | |
| Time Management | 3.0 | |
| Social Perceptiveness | 2.9 | |
| Coordination | 2.9 | |
| Complex Problem Solving | 2.9 | |
| Equipment Maintenance | 2.9 |
Abilities
| Near Vision | 3.4 | |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.3 | |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 3.3 | |
| Control Precision | 3.3 | |
| Information Ordering | 3.1 | |
| Selective Attention | 3.1 | |
| Manual Dexterity | 3.1 | |
| Finger Dexterity | 3.1 | |
| Oral Comprehension | 3.0 | |
| Oral Expression | 3.0 | |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.0 | |
| Rate Control | 3.0 | |
| Reaction Time | 3.0 | |
| Inductive Reasoning | 2.9 | |
| Category Flexibility | 2.9 | |
| Flexibility of Closure | 2.9 | |
| Trunk Strength | 2.9 | |
| Extent Flexibility | 2.9 | |
| Hearing Sensitivity | 2.9 | |
| Auditory Attention | 2.9 | |
| Speech Recognition | 2.9 |
Essential skills
| Active Listening | 3.0 | |
| Speaking | 3.0 | |
| Critical Thinking | 3.0 | |
| Monitoring | 3.0 | |
| Active Learning | 2.9 | |
| Reading Comprehension | 2.8 |
Skills in demand
Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.
Tools & technology
| Example | Category | |
|---|---|---|
| Adobe Acrobat | Document management software | Hot technology |
| Adobe Illustrator | Graphics or photo imaging software | Hot technology |
| Adobe InDesign | Desktop publishing software | Hot technology |
| Adobe Photoshop | Graphics or photo imaging software | Hot technology |
| Microsoft Excel | Spreadsheet software | Hot technology |
| Microsoft Office software | Office suite software | Hot technology |
| Microsoft Word | Word processing software | Hot technology |
| Objectif Lune PrintShop Mail | Electronic mail software | |
| Quark enterprise publishing software | Desktop publishing software | |
| Virtual Systems Mail-Shop | Customer relationship management CRM software |
Work context
How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.
How to get in
- Job zone
- Zone 2 — Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Education
- Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
- Typical entry-level education
- High school diploma or equivalent · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement
- Related experience
- Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
- Preparation level
- SVP (Below 6.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.
Education of current workers
Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.
| High School Diploma | 69.3% | |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 20.1% | |
| Some College Courses | 9.4% | |
| Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 0.6% | |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 0.5% |
Interests & work styles
The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.
Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)
| Realistic | 6.5 | |
| Conventional | 4.5 | |
| Investigative | 1.7 | |
| Enterprising | 1.4 | |
| Artistic | 1.3 |
Interest areas
Work styles
| Attention to Detail | 2.2 | |
| Dependability | 2.1 | |
| Cautiousness | 1.8 |
Wages & employment
U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)
| 10th percentile | $36,610 |
| 25th percentile | $43,520 |
| Median (50th) | $49,390 |
| 75th percentile | $59,220 |
| 90th percentile | $68,640 |
| People employed | 96,950 |
Industries that employ this occupation
Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.
| Industry | Workers | National median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing · Sector | 92,900 | $49,570 |
| Wholesale Trade · Sector | 1,770 | $46,610 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector | 1,580 | $32,280 |
| Temporary Help Services · National industry | 1,330 | $33,090 |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting · Sector | 320 | $36,760 |
| Transportation and Warehousing · Sector | 200 | $40,380 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector | 110 | $38,980 |
Where this work is most concentrated
Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).
| Industry | Concentration | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing · Sector | 11.58× | 92,900 |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting · Sector | 1.2× | 320 |
| Temporary Help Services · National industry | 0.8× | 1,330 |
| Wholesale Trade · Sector | 0.47× | 1,770 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector | 0.28× | 1,580 |
| Transportation and Warehousing · Sector | 0.04× | 200 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector | 0.02× | 110 |
Related occupations
Part of the Advanced Manufacturing career cluster.
- Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders · 51-9191.00 Compare →
- Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders · 51-9032.00 Compare →
- Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders · 51-6062.00 Compare →
- Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers · 51-6091.00 Compare →
- Machine Feeders and Offbearers · 53-7063.00 Compare →
- Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders · 51-9041.00 Compare →
- Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic · 51-4031.00 Compare →
- Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing · 51-7042.00 Compare →
- Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic · 51-4023.00 Compare →
- Industrial Machinery Mechanics · 49-9041.00 Compare →
- Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders · 51-9111.00 Compare →
- Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic · 51-4081.00 Compare →
Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.
What you can do with this
Options the data surfaces for Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.
Skills that travel
Capabilities this work builds that are used across many other occupations.
Adjacent roles
Occupations O*NET rates as related — the nearby moves on the map.
- Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders Compare →
- Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders Compare →
- Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders Compare →
- Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers Compare →
- Machine Feeders and Offbearers Compare →
Paths in
How people typically prepare for this work.
- High school diploma or equivalent · typical entry level
- Job zone 2 — Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed · preparation tier
Zoom out
On the global GenAI exposure gradient this work sits around the 46th percentile of 427 international occupations.
Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation
Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders show 14th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 8,100 annual U.S. openings
- Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders rank in the 14th percentile (Low band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated.Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE
- The occupation is projected to see about 8,100 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- BLS projects employment to be declining (-6.3%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- Median annual pay is $49,390, across about 96,950 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
Copy the whole kit
Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders show 14th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 8,100 annual U.S. openings • Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders rank in the 14th percentile (Low band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated. (Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE) • The occupation is projected to see about 8,100 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • BLS projects employment to be declining (-6.3%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • Median annual pay is $49,390, across about 96,950 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024)) Source: Singulariki — "Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-51-9196-00 Note: AI task overlap measures what today's AI can attempt, not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
AssetsShare imageMethodology & sourcesPress & newsroomThe newsroom
Every line is built only from figures this page already shows and cites. AI task overlap means what today's AI can attempt — not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
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.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
- ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
- IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
- Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
- Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Plain
Singulariki. "Paper Goods 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/roles/role-51-9196-00
APA
Singulariki. (2026). Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-51-9196-00
BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-51-9196-00,
title = {Paper Goods 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/roles/role-51-9196-00}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.