Human edge, growing

Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders

Operate or tend machines to prepare industrial or consumer products for storage or shipment. Includes cannery workers who pack food products.

AI Resistance Index 91 of 99

Among the most resilient careers: more resilient than 91% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is very low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it low), and US jobs are projected to change by +4.1% by 2035, faster than average. The work leans on physical dexterity.

AI struggles with much of this work, and US employers are expected to hire more people into it than average.

Median pay (2025): $43,220
Job growth to 2035: +4.1%
Openings a year: 41,400
People doing it (2025): 378,000
Usual route in: High school diploma, then moderate on-the-job training

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Where people already use AI for this work

Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance
Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment

From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).

Work AI rarely helps with

Package objects
Remove workpieces from production equipment
Maintain tools or equipment

What the work looks like

Attach identification labels to finished packaged items, or cut stencils and stencil information on containers, such as lot numbers or shipping destinations.
Sort, grade, weigh, and inspect products, verifying and adjusting product weight or measurement to meet specifications.
Stop or reset machines when malfunctions occur, clear machine jams, and report malfunctions to a supervisor.
Observe machine operations to ensure quality and conformity of filled or packaged products to standards.
Remove finished packaged items from machine and separate rejected items.

From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.

What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects

Fewer of these jobs, as automated filling, bagging, packing, and palletizing equipment is used in new facilities and will require fewer operators and tenders.
More of these jobs, as a variety of new baked goods are produced to meet increasing demand for convenient food.

Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook

Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleanersHuman edge, growing, Index 93, +7.8%
Construction laborersHuman edge, growing, Index 93, +7.3%
Helpers--installation, maintenance, and repair workersHuman edge, growing, Index 99, +5.3%
Automotive and watercraft service attendantsHuman edge, growing, Index 92, +3.8%

Also known as: Bundler, Filler Operator, Machine Operator, Packaging Operator, Closing Machine Operator, Computer Numerical Control Machine Operator (CNC Machine Operator), Packing Attendant, Packing Machine Operator.

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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.