Main versus reserve
Every rig carries two parachutes: the main, which you deploy on every jump, and the reserve, which is there if the main does not work. They are packed by different people under different rules.
The main is yours to learn to pack. The reserve is not — it is packed by a certificated rigger, on a fixed cycle, and signed for. Our guide to reserve repacks covers the why.
Who can pack a main
In most jurisdictions a licensed jumper may pack their own main canopy, and may pack a main for another jumper. Packing is taught during student progression, and many dropzones also have paid packers for jumpers who would rather keep jumping than pack between loads.
Learning to pack your own main well is worth it regardless — it is the most thorough look at your canopy and lines you get, on every single jump.
What a pack job involves
A main pack job, broadly: check the canopy and lines for damage, flake the canopy so the cells and lines are organised, fold it, fold it into the deployment bag, stow the lines, route the bridle, and close the container with the pilot chute set correctly.
It is methodical, and it rewards consistency. A rushed or distracted pack job is how avoidable malfunctions happen — slow is smooth, and smooth is safe.
Learn from a person, not a page
Packing is taught hands-on. Your instructors and your dropzone's packers are the people to learn it from — watch, do it under supervision, and keep doing it until it is muscle memory.
This page explains the shape of the task. It is not a packing course, and nothing online is.