Couriers and Messengers

Pick up and deliver messages, documents, packages, and other items between offices or departments within an establishment or directly to other business concerns, traveling by foot, bicycle, motorcycle, automobile, or public conveyance.

What you'd actually do

• Deliver and pick up medical records, lab specimens, and medications to and from hospitals and other medical facilities.
• Obtain signatures and payments, or arrange for recipients to make payments.
• Record information, such as items received and delivered and recipients' responses to messages.
• Receive messages or materials to be delivered, and information on recipients, such as names, addresses, telephone numbers, and delivery instructions, communicated via telephone, two-way radio, or in person.
• Load vehicles with listed goods, ensuring goods are loaded correctly and taking precautions with hazardous goods.
• Walk, ride bicycles, drive vehicles, or use public conveyances to reach destinations to deliver messages or materials.

How you get there

Typical entry-level education: High school diploma. Overall preparation: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).

The feel of the work

Much of the work happens outdoors; you're around people constantly; time pressure is a real part of the job; it rewards working independently. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)

Working for yourself

About 70.2% of couriers and messengers are self-employed.

Who it tends to fit

This work tends to fit people who are organized and detail-focused, hands-on and people-focused.

Related careers

• Brokerage Clerks
• First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers
• Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants
• Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service
• Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service
• Receptionists and Information Clerks

Quick questions

How much does a couriers and messenger make?

The median pay is $18.85 per hour — roughly $39,000 a year, with the real range running from about $15.17/hr (10th percentile) to $24.20/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Do you need a degree to be a couriers and messenger?

The typical entry-level education is: High school diploma. Overall preparation level: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).

What does a couriers and messenger actually do all day?

Deliver and pick up medical records, lab specimens, and medications to and from hospitals and other medical facilities. Obtain signatures and payments, or arrange for recipients to make payments. Record information, such as items received and delivered and recipients' responses to messages.