A daily delivery role for letters and small parcels, you bring the mail along an established route — sorting at the office or station each morning, then covering the route on foot or by vehicle through whatever the day brings.
Most days start at the casing area with the morning sort — letters and flats to delivery sequence, parcels scanned and staged, the truck or satchel loaded. The route then runs for hours through stops scattered across neighborhoods or commercial streets. Stops completed and mail delivered tend to be the daily measures.
What surprises people new to the role is how much micro-knowledge a route accumulates — which buildings have rear access, which dogs are friendly, which apartment numbers don't exist despite the database. Route type variance is real: urban walks differ from suburban drives or rural mounted routes, each with their own physical and time demands.
The role tends to suit people who are comfortable outdoors and steady with daily physical routine. Postal-service careers operate under union-protected step pay structures with health and retirement benefits that anchor a working life. The trade-off is the joint, foot, and back wear that builds over decades — even careful carriers carry the cost into retirement.
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Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
Roles with similar work and overlapping career paths
View all Admin & Office roles →A daily delivery role for letters and small parcels, you bring the mail along an established route — sorting at the office or station each morning, then covering the route on foot or by vehicle through whatever the day brings.
Median pay for a Postman is about $57K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $42K to $77K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Active Listening, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Social Perceptiveness, and Time Management.
Most people in this role hold a high school diploma.
Employment in this field is projected to decline about 3.5% through 2034, with roughly 336,040 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Rural Carrier, Mail Clerk, and City Carrier.
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