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.

What you'd actually do

• 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.

How you get there

Typical entry-level education: Less than high school. Overall preparation: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).

The feel of the work

Much of the day is spent working solo; time pressure is a real part of the job. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)

Working for yourself

About 0% of postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators are self-employed.

Who it tends to fit

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

Related careers

• Brokerage Clerks
• First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers
• Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants
• Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks
• Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks
• Postal Service Mail Carriers

Quick questions

How much does a postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operator make?

The median pay is $28.11 per hour — roughly $58,500 a year, with the real range running from about $21.89/hr (10th percentile) to $36.19/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Do you need a degree to be a postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operator?

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

What does a postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operator actually do all day?

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.