Description
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.
Interests
- Conventional
- Realistic
Work Values
- Support
- Relationships
- Working Conditions
Work Styles
- Integrity
- Attention to Detail
- Dependability
- Cooperation
- Self-Control
Tasks
- 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.
- Direct items according to established routing schemes, using computer-controlled keyboards or voice-recognition equipment.
- Check items to ensure that addresses are legible and correct, that sufficient postage has been paid or the appropriate documentation is attached, and that items are in a suitable condition for processing.
Work Activities
- Handling and Moving Objects
- Performing General Physical Activities
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
- Getting Information
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
Detailed Work Activities
- Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
- Performing general physical activities includes doing 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.
- Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
- Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
- Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
- Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
- Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
- Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
- Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
- Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
Technology Skills
- Enterprise resource planning ERP software
- Data base user interface and query software
- Spreadsheet software
- Electronic mail software
- Optical character reader OCR or scanning software
Abilities
- Near Vision
- Manual Dexterity
- Category Flexibility
- Information Ordering
- Multilimb Coordination
Skills
- Monitoring
- Coordination
- Critical Thinking
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
Knowledge
- English Language
Most Common Education Level
The “Most Common Education Level” refers to the level of education held by the majority of workers in a given occupation. For example, if the highest percentage of workers in a role have an Associate’s Degree, that suggests this is the typical educational requirement. Knowing this helps you plan how many years of education you may need to pursue that career.
Certificates
Certificate name
Certified Mail ManagerCertifying Organization
In-Plant Printing and Mailing Association
Type
Advanced
Income Percentile
The income percentiles show how earnings are distributed within a profession. The 10th percentile means that 10% of workers earned less than that amount. The median (50th percentile) indicates that half of workers earned more, and half earned less. The 90th percentile reflects what the top 10% of earners in the field make.
| Income Percentile | Annual Income |
|---|---|
| Low (10%) | $45,572 |
| Median (50%) | $54,464 |
| High (90%) | $55,237 |
Income by Experience
This table shows how income typically grows with experience—from entry level (0–2 years), to mid-level (3–5 years), to senior level (6–8 years), to expert level (8+ years).
| Experience | Income |
|---|---|
Entry Level  | $53,398 |
| Mid Level | N/A |
| Senior Level | N/A |
| Expert Level | N/A |
Employability
There are currently 111,300 jobs in this career path. Over the next 10 years, that number is expected to decrease to 102,500 positions, reflecting a projected decline of -8%.
The Projected Job Growth figure refers to the expected increase or decrease in employment within a specific career field over a certain period of time.
Projected Job Growth of -8%
Related Careers
The career information and data on this site incorporates information from O*NET Web Services, Lightcast, CareerOneStop, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). For more details regarding the data sources and the specific information sourced, click here.
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