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The differences between packaging associates and pack machine operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a pack machine operator has an average salary of $35,157, which is higher than the $31,519 average annual salary of a packaging associate.
The top three skills for a packaging associate include pallets, defective products and basic math. The most important skills for a pack machine operator are basic math, defective products, and team-oriented environment.
| Packaging Associate | Pack Machine Operator | |
| Yearly salary | $31,519 | $35,157 |
| Hourly rate | $15.15 | $16.90 |
| Growth rate | -3% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 40,179 | 68,876 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 34% | High School Diploma, 54% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
Packaging associates are skilled employees who are responsible for wrapping material around consumer items. This serves to protect and clean products, making them marketable. These associates must perform maintenance on the packaging equipment to ensure that they are running efficiently with minimal downtime. They must inspect completed products for defects and abnormalities to satisfy their customers. Packaging associates must also communicate with technicians and supervisors to rectify problems and ensure that the products are with standards and following their customers' requirements.
A pack machine operator is an employee who is responsible for operating and maintaining packaging machines to prepare industrial and consumer products for storage or shipment. Pack machine operators observe machine operations to ensure quality and conformity of filled or packaged products are up to standards. They monitor the production line to avoid problems such as pile-ups or jams while removing defective products and packaging material. Pack machine operators must also conduct maintenance of the packaging machines on a weekly to monthly basis.
Packaging associates and pack machine operators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Packaging Associate | Pack Machine Operator | |
| Average salary | $31,519 | $35,157 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $39,000 | Between $28,000 And $43,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Minneapolis, MN |
| Highest paying state | Washington | North Dakota |
| Best paying company | PepsiCo | Reser's Fine Foods |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a packaging associate and a pack machine operator in terms of educational background:
| Packaging Associate | Pack Machine Operator | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 34% | High School Diploma, 54% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between packaging associates' and pack machine operators' demographics:
| Packaging Associate | Pack Machine Operator | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.9% Female, 42.1% | Male, 53.6% Female, 46.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 7.9% White, 60.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% | Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 7.4% White, 59.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |