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Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, & Processing Machine Operators

What do they do?

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.

Education Required

These occupations usually require a high school diploma.

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What Does This Job Pay?

Median Annual Salary: $53,440

Median Hourly Salary: $26

$41,700

$53,440

$71,840

One out of ten earn less than $41,700

The median salary is $53,440

One out of ten earn more than $71,840

Top Skills For This Job

Basic Skills
Figuring out how to use new ideas or things
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it
Writing things for co-workers or customers
Reading work related information
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
Talking to others
Understanding people's reactions
Changing what is done based on other people's actions
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
Talking to others
Reading work related information
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
Teaching people how to do something
Changing what is done based on other people's actions
Reading work related information
Figuring out how to use new ideas or things
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
Talking to others
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
Talking to others
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements
Reading work related information
Problem Solving
Figuring out how to use new ideas or things
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it
Writing things for co-workers or customers
Reading work related information
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
Talking to others
Understanding people's reactions
Changing what is done based on other people's actions
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
Talking to others
Reading work related information
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
Teaching people how to do something
Changing what is done based on other people's actions
Reading work related information
Figuring out how to use new ideas or things
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
Talking to others
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
Talking to others
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements
Reading work related information
Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

Will There Be Jobs?

New job opportunities are very likely in the future.

Typical Daily 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.