How to become a Mail Clerk or Mail Machine Operator

Official title: Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service

Also called: Insert Operator, Inserter Operator, Mail Clerk, Mail Handler, Mail Machine Operator, Mail Processor, Mail Sorter, Mailing Equipment Operator, Mailroom Processor, Postal Clerk

Prepare incoming and outgoing mail for distribution. Time-stamp, open, read, sort, and route incoming mail; and address, seal, stamp, fold, stuff, and affix postage to outgoing mail or packages. Duties may also include keeping necessary records and completed forms.

Main tasks

• Lift and unload containers of mail or parcels onto equipment for transportation to sortation stations.
• Verify that items are addressed correctly, marked with the proper postage, and in suitable condition for processing.
• Clear jams in sortation equipment.
• Place incoming or outgoing letters or packages into sacks or bins based on destination or type, and place identifying tags on sacks or bins.
• Release packages or letters to customers upon presentation of written notices or other identification.
• Remove containers of sorted mail or parcels and transfer them to designated areas according to established procedures.
• Determine manner in which mail is to be sent, and prepare it for delivery to mailing facilities.
• Sort and route incoming mail, and collect outgoing mail, using carts as necessary.

How to become one

Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent

Ways in

• Apprenticeship: Mailer.

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Median pay: $39,280 a year The middle half earn $35,470 to $46,450.
• About 57,800 people work in this job now, and about 53,600 are projected by 2035. (-7.2%)
• People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Related jobs

• Data Entry Keyers
• Word Processors and Typists
• Desktop Publishers
• Insurance Claims and Policy Processing Clerks
• Office Clerks, General
• Office Machine Operators, Except Computer

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Mail Clerk or Mail Machine Operator?

Ways in include: Mailer.

How much does a Mail Clerk or Mail Machine Operator earn in the US?

Median full-time pay is $39,280 a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The middle half earn $35,470 to $46,450.

Is a Mail Clerk or Mail Machine Operator a growing career in the US?

Employment is projected to fall 7% by 2035, from about 57,800 to about 53,600 people (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Do you need a degree to become a Mail Clerk or Mail Machine Operator?

Usually not. Only 21% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Mailer.

Will AI change the work of a Mail Clerk or Mail Machine Operator?

People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Sources

• Microsoft Research: Working with AI: AI applicability by occupation (2025-12-22 (built on O*NET 29.0)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Projections (2025-35 (released 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.