All careersEveryday & transport

Hand Packer

$36,280
median / year
$27,890 – $47,100
what most earn per year (10th–90th percentile)

What the job actually is

Pack, wrap, and label products by hand, then sort them for shipping along a production or fulfillment line.

You may also see this posted as: Bagger, Packager, Packer, Selector Packer, Crater, Mini Shifter.

Where you work

Warehouses, factories, and packing lines

The hours

Shift work, including nights and weekends

The day to day

What you'd actually spend time doing

  • Examine and inspect containers, materials, or products to ensure that product quality and packing specifications are met.
  • Measure, weigh, and count products and materials.
  • Record product, packaging, and order information on specified forms and records.
  • Seal containers or materials, using glues, fasteners, nails, and hand tools.
  • Assemble, line, and pad cartons, crates, and containers, using hand tools.

Good fit if you like…

Realistic

working with tools, equipment, materials, or the physical world

Conventional

organizing information, following systems, and getting details right

Enterprising

leading, persuading, selling, or turning an idea into action

O*NET job zone 2 of 5

Some preparation—often a high school credential and on-the-job learning—is usually needed.

Work styles that matter most

Attention to DetailDependabilityCautiousnessIntegrity

Software that shows up in the work

Examples employers report—not a checklist you must already know.

Autodesk AutoCADMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft WordSAP softwareInventory tracking software

By the numbers

May 2025 BLS wage & employment data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.

Median pay
$36,280
per year
Hourly median
$17.44
per hour
What most earn
$27,890–$47,100
yearly, 10th to 90th percentile
Openings a year
~74,000
projected, 2024–34
Outlook to 2034
-5.4%
Declining
Working in the U.S.
559,820
people, nationwide

Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.

“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.

BLS estimates 0.7% of workers in this occupation are self-employed.

What it pays in your state

Statewide medians are a better starting point than the national number. Your city and experience still matter.

BLS state wage tables

How you get in

Typical starting education

No formal credential

Training path: On-the-job training, paid.

Related work experience: None.

On-the-job training: Short-term on-the-job training.

License or certification

No license required to start in most places.

You can earn while you train. This field has a genuinely paid pathway in — an apprenticeship, a paid academy, or employer-funded training — so you draw a paycheck instead of taking on debt to learn it.

Check the path where you live

Licensing rules and available programs change by state. These federal tools take you to the current official listings.

What it takes

Manual dexteritySpeedAttention to detailPhysical stamina

The honest take

Entry-level line work anyone can start fast, but automation keeps chipping away at these roles.

Standard Occupational Classification 53-7064. Pay and employment from the BLS May 2025 OEWS survey; outlook and openings from the 2024–34 employment projections; job context from the Occupational Outlook Handbook; tasks, interests, work styles, software examples, and job zone from O*NET 30.3. See something off? Tell us.