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Packers and Packagers, Hand
Pack or package by hand a wide variety of products and materials.
Also Known As:
Bagger
Crater
Mini Shifter
Pack Out Operator
Packager
Packaging Specialist
Packer
Picker and Packer
Sacker
Selector Packer
Wages
Annual wages for Packers and Packagers, Hand in United States
Job Outlook
Below Average
New job opportunities are less likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
559,700
-5% Change From 2024
Explore Hand Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Seal containers or materials, using glues, fasteners, nails, and hand tools.
- Measure, weigh, and count products and materials.
- Obtain, move, and sort products, materials, containers, and orders, using hand tools.
- Measure, weigh, and count products and materials.
- Examine and inspect containers, materials, or products to ensure that product quality and packing specifications are met.
- Examine and inspect containers, materials, or products to ensure that product quality and packing specifications are met.
- Obtain, move, and sort products, materials, containers, and orders, using hand tools.
- Assemble, line, and pad cartons, crates, and containers, using hand tools.
- Place or pour products or materials into containers, using hand tools and equipment, or fill containers from spouts or chutes.
- Record product, packaging, and order information on specified forms and records.
- Remove completed or defective products or materials, placing them on moving equipment, such as conveyors, or in specified areas, such as loading docks.
- Clean containers, materials, supplies, or work areas, using cleaning solutions and hand tools.
- Mark and label containers, container tags, or products, using marking tools.
- Load materials and products into package processing equipment.
- Remove completed or defective products or materials, placing them on moving equipment, such as conveyors, or in specified areas, such as loading docks.
- Transport packages to customers' vehicles.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")