Top Skills for This Career
BLS identifies these as the three highest-rated skills for this detailed occupation. TrustInEd adds the plain-language explanations so visitors understand what each skill means.
Paying close attention to accuracy, quality, instructions, and small but important details.
Understanding customer needs and providing helpful, professional service.
Adjusting effectively when priorities, conditions, tools, or expectations change.
How Do You Prepare for This Career?
BLS describes the typical preparation for this occupation. Requirements can vary by employer, state, licensing rules and individual circumstances.
How to Become One
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
Education
al 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 & 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.
Your Next Step
Review training, certifications, apprenticeships, or employer-based preparation that may support entry into this career.
Pay
the median annual wage for all workers was $50,980.
Job Outlook
Job Outlook Overall employment of postal service workers is projected to grow 1 percent from 2025 to 2035, decline. About 32,200 openings for postal service workers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different 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. Postal Service Workers Percent change in employment, projected 2025–35 Total, all occupations 3% Postal service workers -1% Material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distributing workers -2% Note: All Occupations includes all occupations in the U.S. Economy.
What They Do
What Postal Service Workers Do
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
Work Environment
Postal service workers held about 488,500 jobs in 2025. Employment in the detailed occupations that make up postal service workers was distributed as follows:
| Postal service mail carriers | 316,400 |
| Postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators | 101,200 |
| Postal service clerks | 70,900 |
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.
Important Qualities
The following are examples of qualities that are important for these workers to perform their duties. For more information, visit the Employment Projections (EP) skills data page. 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.
More Information
More Information, Including Links to O*NET
Learn more about postal service workers by visiting additional resources, including O*NET, a source on key characteristics of workers and occupations.
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Start with ED →Career data and occupational profile text are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook and Employment Projections program. Education requirements are typical entry-level requirements and may vary by employer, state, occupation or individual circumstance. View the official BLS profile.