How To Become A Paper Machine Operator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a paper machine operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a paper machine operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $16.26 an hour? That's $33,822 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 7% and produce 56,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScorePaper Machine OperatorUS Average

Salary

2.6

Avg. Salary $33,822

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.3

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.48%

Asian 3.61%

Black or African American 14.64%

Hispanic or Latino 14.02%

Unknown 3.87%

White 60.38%

Gender

female 14.41%

male 85.59%

Age - 49

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 49

Stress level

5.3

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.8

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a paper machine operator

Explore paper machine operator education requirements

Most common paper machine operator degrees

High School Diploma

48.4 %

Bachelor's

19.5 %

Associate

15.6 %

Start to develop specific paper machine operator skills

Skills	Percentages
DCS	16.99%
Production Problems	14.36%
Safety Procedures	14.35%
Detect Defects	10.00%
Machine Components	8.95%

Complete relevant paper machine operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New paper machine operators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a paper machine operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real paper machine operator resumes.

Research paper machine operator duties and responsibilities

Train as a 1st responder.
Set up and operate Flexo printing machine using inline folding-gluing process.
Operate cranes and hoists to move reels of paper and machine rolls.
Control & troubleshoot automate extrusion line adjusting speed & feed, monitoring temperature, & finish material specification per customers order.

Prepare your paper machine operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your paper machine operator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a paper machine operator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable paper machine operator resume templates

Build a professional paper machine operator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your paper machine operator resume.