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.
Based on O*NET work context for this occupation. This score does not predict individual job losses.
What drives the score
Automation and repetition raise exposure; freedom to set tasks lowers it. Each measure uses a 0–100 scale.
How well your skills transfer
Each skill is scored on how well it transfers into occupations that are growing and less exposed. The ones high on both importance and transfer are worth deepening.
| Skill | Transferability | Importance in current role |
|---|---|---|
| Monitoring | 63 | 53 |
| Speaking | 63 | 50 |
| Critical Thinking | 63 | 50 |
| Active Listening | 63 | 47 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 63 | 47 |
| Coordination | 62 | 50 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 62 | 38 |
| Active Learning | 62 | 28 |
| Reading Comprehension | 61 | 50 |
| Time Management | 61 | 47 |
Show 25 more skills
| Skill | Transferability | Importance in current role |
|---|---|---|
| Social Perceptiveness | 60 | 44 |
| Writing | 60 | 31 |
| Instructing | 58 | 31 |
| Learning Strategies | 58 | 28 |
| Systems Analysis | 57 | 28 |
| Service Orientation | 56 | 38 |
| Systems Evaluation | 56 | 22 |
| Persuasion | 54 | 25 |
| Mathematics | 53 | 25 |
| Negotiation | 52 | 19 |
| Science | 52 | 0 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | 50 | 28 |
| Operations Analysis | 49 | 13 |
| Installation | 48 | 0 |
| Quality Control Analysis | 47 | 31 |
| Troubleshooting | 47 | 28 |
| Equipment Maintenance | 47 | 16 |
| Equipment Selection | 47 | 3 |
| Technology Design | 47 | 0 |
| Management of Financial Resources | 47 | 0 |
| Management of Material Resources | 47 | 0 |
| Operations Monitoring | 46 | 47 |
| Repairing | 46 | 9 |
| Programming | 45 | 16 |
| Operation and Control | 43 | 44 |
Compare how well you can use each skill in growing, low-exposure occupations with its importance in your current role. How we score skills.
Jobs you could move to
Compare related occupations by skill overlap, retraining effort, pay and projected growth. Choose a priority to adjust the ranking. Licensing requirements may limit some routes.
- Median pay · U.S.
- $135,880
- 10-yr growth
- +21.1%
- Skill gap
- 35%
- Retraining
- Moderate
Skills to build: Active Learning, Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Writing
- Median pay · U.S.
- $129,180
- 10-yr growth
- +21%
- Skill gap
- 37%
- Retraining
- High
Skills to build: Writing, Systems Analysis, Complex Problem Solving, Active Learning
- Median pay · U.S.
- $98,100
- 10-yr growth
- +8%
- Skill gap
- 27%
- Retraining
- Moderate
Skills to build: Persuasion, Active Listening, Writing, Active Learning
- Median pay · U.S.
- $96,590
- 10-yr growth
- +13.9%
- Skill gap
- 33%
- Retraining
- Moderate
Skills to build: Active Listening, Writing, Active Learning, Speaking
- Median pay · U.S.
- $68,270
- 10-yr growth
- -1.6%
- Skill gap
- 7%
- Retraining
- Low
- Median pay · U.S.
- $92,100
- 10-yr growth
- +2.2%
- Skill gap
- 23%
- Retraining
- Moderate
Skills to build: Quality Control Analysis, Troubleshooting, Operations Monitoring, Active Listening
A second source of income, before you need it
This page can tell you where Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators could go and what the move costs. The other route is not a move at all: something small of your own, running alongside the job, started while there is no pressure on it.
Where to learn the missing half: Google Career Certificates for systems analysis · active learning, LinkedIn Learning for writing · speaking, edX for mathematics · reading and PlanetNoCode for complex problem solving. Some of those are affiliate links. It never changes what we list.
Snapshot: O*NET 31.0, BLS OEWS May 2025, BLS Employment Projections 2025-2035. Scoring v2.1.0-onet-31.0. Method on the how it works page.