Career
Postal service mail carriers
Deliver the mail.
$60,550
Median pay
-0.3%
Job growth, 2025–35
19,600
Openings a year
No formal educational credential
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Scan labels on letters or parcels to confirm receipt.
- Obtain signed receipts for registered, certified, and insured mail, collect associated charges, and complete any necessary paperwork.
- Return to the post office with mail collected from homes, businesses, and public mailboxes.
- Sort mail for delivery, arranging it in delivery sequence.
- Deliver mail to residences and business establishments along specified routes by walking or driving, using a combination of satchels, carts, cars, and small trucks.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on information & systems, then objects & tools?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Scan labels on letters or parcels to confirm receipt.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Speaking, Social Perceptiveness.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though short-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $60,550 a year and 19,600 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- NO MATCHCIP 99.9999
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Postal Service Clerks$62,130 · -0.3%
- Couriers and Messengers$39,200 · +8.0%
- Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service$39,280 · -7.2%
- Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks$45,260 · -7.6%
- Cargo and Freight Agents$52,260 · +6.2%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.