Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators

Prepare incoming and outgoing mail for distribution for the United States Postal Service (USPS). Examine, sort, and route mail. Load, operate, and occasionally adjust and repair mail processing, sorting, and canceling machinery. Keep records of shipments, pouches, and sacks, and perform other duties related to mail handling within the postal service. Includes postal service mail sorters and processors employed by USPS contractors.

On the job, you would:

Clear jams in sorting equipment.
Operate various types of equipment, such as computer scanning equipment, addressographs, mimeographs, optical character readers, and bar-code sorters.
Sort odd-sized mail by hand, sort mail that other workers have been unable to sort, and segregate items requiring special handling.

Important Qualities

Customer-service skills. Postal service workers, particularly clerks, regularly interact with customers. As a result, they must be courteous and tactful and provide good client service.

Detail oriented. Postal service workers must pay attention to detail to ensure accuracy in sorting and delivering mail.

Physical stamina. Postal service workers may need to stand or walk for long periods.

Physical strength. Postal service workers must be able to lift and carry heavy mail bags and parcels.

Time-management skills. Postal service workers often need to prioritize and handle several tasks at once.

Visual ability. To have a driver’s license, postal service workers must be able to pass a state vision test.

Personality

A3	Your Strengths	Importance	Characteristics of this Career
		78%	Integrity - Job requires being honest and ethical.
		75%	Attention to Detail - Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
		74%	Dependability - Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
		73%	Cooperation - Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
		73%	Self-Control - Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
		67%	Stress Tolerance - Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
		66%	Independence - Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
		65%	Adaptability/Flexibility - Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
		61%	Achievement/Effort - Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
		61%	Initiative - Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
		57%	Concern for Others - Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
		56%	Persistence - Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
		55%	Social Orientation - Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.
		53%	Leadership - Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.

A3	Your Strengths	Importance	Strengths
		100%	Conventional - Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources.
		61%	Realistic - Work involves designing, building, or repairing of equipment, materials, or structures, engaging in physical activity, or working outdoors. Realistic occupations are often associated with engineering, mechanics and electronics, construction, woodworking, transportation, machine operation, agriculture, animal services, physical or manual labor, athletics, or protective services.

A3	Your Strengths	Importance	Values of the Work Environment
		61%	Support - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
		56%	Relationships - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.

Aptitude

A3	Your Strengths	Importance	Abilities \| Cognitive, Physical, Personality
		69%	Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
		60%	Manual Dexterity - The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
		53%	Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
		53%	Perceptual Speed - The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
		53%	Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
		53%	Multilimb Coordination - The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
		53%	Static Strength - The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
		53%	Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

Job Details

Responsibilities

Route mail to correct destinations.

Package objects for shipping.

Route mail to correct destinations.

Train personnel.

Distribute incoming mail.

Operate computers or computerized equipment.

Obtain personal or financial information about customers or applicants.

Maintain office equipment in proper operating condition.

Verify shipping documentation.

Attach identification information to products, items or containers.

Package objects for shipping.

Weigh parcels to determine shipping costs.

Operate vehicles or material-moving equipment.

Sort mail.

Receive shipments.

Load materials or equipment.

Unload materials or equipment.

Prepare outgoing mail.

Unload materials or equipment.

A3	Your Strengths	Importance	Attributes & Percentage of Time Spent
		100%	Indoors, Environmentally Controlled - How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?
		92%	Time Pressure - How often does this job require the worker to meet strict deadlines?
		89%	Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions - How much does this job require making repetitive motions?
		88%	Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls - How much does this job require using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls?
		85%	Sounds, Noise Levels Are Distracting or Uncomfortable - How often does this job require working exposed to sounds and noise levels that are distracting or uncomfortable?
		83%	Spend Time Standing - How much does this job require standing?
		81%	Face-to-Face Discussions - How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?
		78%	Exposed to Contaminants - How often does this job require working exposed to contaminants (such as pollutants, gases, dust or odors)?
		76%	Work With Work Group or Team - How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?
		76%	Importance of Being Exact or Accurate - How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job?
		73%	Pace Determined by Speed of Equipment - How important is it to this job that the pace is determined by the speed of equipment or machinery? (This does not refer to keeping busy at all times on this job.)
		70%	Contact With Others - How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?
		69%	Spend Time Walking and Running - How much does this job require walking and running?
		68%	Degree of Automation - How automated is the job?
		67%	Spend Time Bending or Twisting the Body - How much does this job require bending or twisting your body?
		67%	Importance of Repeating Same Tasks - How important is repeating the same physical activities (e.g., key entry) or mental activities (e.g., checking entries in a ledger) over and over, without stopping, to performing this job?
		65%	Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets - How much does this job require wearing common protective or safety equipment such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hard hats or life jackets?
		63%	Physical Proximity - To what extent does this job require the worker to perform job tasks in close physical proximity to other people?
		61%	Deal With Unpleasant or Angry People - How frequently does the worker have to deal with unpleasant, angry, or discourteous individuals as part of the job requirements?
		59%	Frequency of Decision Making - How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization?
		56%	Freedom to Make Decisions - How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?
		53%	Responsible for Others' Health and Safety - How much responsibility is there for the health and safety of others in this job?
		53%	Structured versus Unstructured Work - To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals?
		52%	Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results - What results do your decisions usually have on other people or the image or reputation or financial resources of your employer?
		66%	Duration of Typical Work Week - Number of hours typically worked in one week.

A3	Your Strengths	Importance	Tasks & Values
		70%	Performing General Physical Activities - Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
		70%	Handling and Moving Objects - Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
		69%	Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates - Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
		63%	Getting Information - Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
		57%	Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships - Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
		55%	Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events - Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
		52%	Processing Information - Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
		52%	Controlling Machines and Processes - Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).

What Postal Service Workers Do

Carriers deliver mail to homes and businesses.

Postal service workers sell postage and related products and collect, sort, and deliver mail.

Duties

Postal service workers typically do the following:

Collect letters and parcels
Sort incoming letters and parcels
Sell stamps and other postal products
Get customer signatures for registered, certified, and insured mail
Operate various types of postal equipment
Distribute letters and parcels

Postal service workers receive and process mail for delivery to homes, businesses, and post office boxes. Workers are classified based on the type of work they do.

The following are examples of types of postal service workers:

Postal service clerks, also called sales and services distribution associates, sell stamps, money orders, mailing envelopes and boxes, and other postal products in post offices. These workers register, certify, and insure mail, calculate and collect postage, and answer questions about postal matters. They also may help sort mail.

Postal service mail carriers deliver mail to homes and businesses in cities, towns, and rural areas. Most travel established routes, delivering and collecting mail. Mail carriers cover their routes by foot or vehicle or a combination of both. Some mail carriers collect money for postage due. Others, particularly in rural areas, sell postal products, such as stamps and money orders. Mail carriers also answer customers’ questions about postal regulations and services and, upon request, provide change-of-address cards and other postal forms.

Postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators, also called mail handlers and processing clerks, prepare incoming and outgoing mail for distribution at post offices and mail processing centers. They load and unload postal trucks and move mail around processing centers. They also operate and adjust mail processing and sorting machinery.

Work Environment

Postal service workers held about 504,300 jobs in 2022. Employment in the detailed occupations that make up postal service workers was distributed as follows:

Postal service mail carriers	314,500
Postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators	115,000
Postal service clerks	74,800

The largest employers of postal service workers were as follows:

Postal service

100%

Postal service clerks and mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators work indoors, typically in a post office. Mail carriers mostly work outdoors, delivering mail in all kinds of weather. Although mail carriers face many natural hazards, such as extreme temperatures and wet or icy roads and sidewalks, the work is not especially dangerous. However, they may experience repetitive stress injuries from lifting and bending.

Work Schedules

Most postal service workers work full time, and some work more than 40 hours per week. Because mail usually is delivered 6 days a week, many postal service workers must work on Saturdays. Some also work on Sundays.

Getting Started

Education:

81%

High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)

12%

Less than a High School Diploma

How to Become a Postal Service Worker

Mail carriers must receive a passing grade on a road test.

To enter these occupations, postal service workers typically need no formal educational credential. However, job candidates must pass a written exam as part of the application process. The exam covers four areas: address cross comparison, forms completion, memory and coding, and personal characteristics and experience. For more information, contact the post office or mail processing center where you want to work.

Postal service workers must meet certain employment qualifications. For example, they must be at least 18 years old, or 16 years old with a high school diploma; be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident; and pass a criminal background check, a medical assessment, and a drug screening. They also may be asked to show that they can lift and handle heavy mail sacks.

Education

Although no formal educational credential is typically required to enter these occupations, most postal service workers have at least a high school diploma or the equivalent.

Training

Newly hired postal service workers receive on-the-job training that usually lasts a few weeks. Beginning carriers may work alongside an experienced carrier.

Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations

Postal service workers who operate a motor vehicle need a driver's license. In addition, mail carriers must have a safe driving record and pass a road test before driving on the job.

Job Outlook

Overall employment of postal service workers is projected to decline 8 percent from 2022 to 2032.

Despite declining employment, about 34,400 openings for postal service workers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. All of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to other occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

Employment

The postal service likely will need fewer workers because new mail sorting technology can read text and automatically sort, forward, and process mail. The greater use of online services to pay bills and the increased use of online communications should also reduce the need for sorting and processing workers.

Meanwhile, the amount of time carriers save on sorting letter mail and flat mail will allow them to increase the size of their routes, which should reduce the need to hire more carriers. In addition, the postal service is adopting more centralized mail delivery, such as the use of cluster mailboxes, to cut down on the number of door-to-door deliveries.

Contacts for More Information

For more information about postal service workers, including job requirements, entrance examinations, and employment opportunities, visit

United States Postal Service

Similar Occupations

This table shows a list of occupations with job duties that are similar to those of postal service workers.

Occupation	Job Duties	Entry-Level Education	Median Annual Pay, May 2022
Customer Service Representatives	Customer service representatives interact with customers to handle complaints, process orders, and answer questions.	High school diploma or equivalent	$37,780
Delivery Truck Drivers and Driver/Sales Workers	Delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers pick up, transport, and drop off packages and small shipments within a local region or urban area.	High school diploma or equivalent	$38,220
Hand Laborers and Material Movers	Hand laborers and material movers manually move freight, stock, or other materials.	See How to Become One	$34,960
Information Clerks	Information clerks perform routine clerical duties, maintain records, collect data, and provide information to customers.	See How to Become One	$38,710
Material Recording Clerks	Material recording clerks track product information in order to keep businesses and supply chains on schedule.	High school diploma or equivalent	$40,490
Metal and Plastic Machine Workers	Metal and plastic machine workers set up and operate equipment that cuts, shapes, and forms metal and plastic materials or pieces.	See How to Become One	$41,060
Receptionists	Receptionists do tasks such as answering phones, receiving visitors, and providing information about their organization to the public.	High school diploma or equivalent	$33,960
Retail Sales Workers	Retail sales workers help customers find products they want and process customers’ payments.	No formal educational credential	$30,750
Taxi Drivers, Shuttle Drivers, and Chauffeurs	Taxi drivers (including ride-hailing drivers), shuttle drivers, and chauffeurs transport people to and from the places they need to go.	No formal educational credential	$32,440
Tellers	Tellers are responsible for accurately processing routine transactions at a bank.	High school diploma or equivalent	$36,380