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Career overview · SOC 43-5053

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.

Also called: Automation Clerk · Computer Forwarding System Markup Clerk (CFS Markup Clerk) · Distribution Clerk · Flat Sorting Machine Clerk (FSM Clerk) · Mail Handler · Mail Handler Equipment Operator

Median pay (national)
$56,530
$42,600–$74,050 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
111,930
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
-8.4%
~7,800 openings/yr
Typical entry
No formal educational credential

What the numbers say

Refit analysis ·Pay for postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators shows a relatively narrow range: the top 10% earn $74,050 versus $42,600 at the bottom 10% — 1.7x. The median of $56,530 leaves roughly 31% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change -8.4% from 2024 to 2034 — a projected decline, against +3% across all occupations. Even so, BLS projects about 7,800 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 53 states with released data, District of Columbia pays the most for this role (median $67,830, +20% vs the national median), while Alaska sits lowest at $53,350 — a 27% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Monitoring, Reading Comprehension, Speaking as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list.

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Top skills employers ask for

Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.

  • Monitoring
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Speaking
  • Critical Thinking
  • Active Listening
  • Writing
  • Active Learning
  • Learning Strategies
  • Mathematics
  • Science

What they actually do

Core O*NET tasks for this role.

  • 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.
  • Bundle, label, and route sorted mail to designated areas, depending on destinations and according to established procedures and deadlines.
  • Move containers of mail, using equipment, such as forklifts and automated "trains".
  • Load and unload mail trucks, sometimes lifting containers of mail onto equipment that transports items to sorting stations.
  • Distribute incoming mail into the correct boxes or pigeonholes.
  • Rewrap soiled or broken parcels.

Tools & technology

  • SAP software
  • Teradata Database
  • Address Management System AMS
  • Automated Package Processing System APPS
  • Barcode reader software
  • Delivery operations information system DOIS
  • Delivery Routing System DRS
  • Directory software
  • Electronic Time Clock ETC
  • Multi-line optical character reader OCR software
  • NCR Advanced Store
  • Time and Attendance Collection System TACS
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Microsoft SharePoint

Knowledge areas

  • English Language
  • Production and Processing
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Administrative
  • Administration and Management
  • Public Safety and Security
  • Transportation
  • Computers and Electronics