Postal Service Mail Carriers

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

• Sell stamps and money orders.
• Meet schedules for the collection and return of mail.
• Travel to post offices to pick up the mail for routes or pick up mail from postal relay boxes.
• Return to the post office with mail collected from homes, businesses, and public mailboxes.
• Maintain accurate records of deliveries.
• Register, certify, and insure parcels and letters.
• Obtain signed receipts for registered, certified, and insured mail, collect associated charges, and complete any necessary paperwork.
• Turn in money and receipts collected along mail routes.
• Report any unusual circumstances concerning mail delivery, including the condition of street letter boxes.
• Bundle mail in preparation for delivery or transportation to relay boxes.
• Register, certify, and insure parcels and letters.
• Sort mail for delivery, arranging it in delivery sequence.
• Hold mail for customers who are away from delivery locations.
• Meet schedules for the collection and return of mail.
• Provide customers with change of address cards and other forms.
• Scan labels on letters or parcels to confirm receipt.
• Complete forms that notify publishers of address changes.
• Obtain signed receipts for registered, certified, and insured mail, collect associated charges, and complete any necessary paperwork.
• Answer customers' questions about postal services and regulations.
• Sign for cash-on-delivery and registered mail before leaving the post office.
• Record address changes and redirect mail for those addresses.
• Record address changes and redirect mail for those addresses.
• Return incorrectly addressed mail to senders.
• Leave notices telling patrons where to collect mail that could not be delivered.
• Deliver mail to residences and business establishments along specified routes by walking or driving, using a combination of satchels, carts, cars, and small trucks.

Skills

• Monitoring
  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
• Instructing
  • Teaching people how to do something.
• Operations Analysis
  • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
• Time Management
  • Managing your time and the time of other people.
• Equipment Selection
  • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
• Operation and Control
  • Using equipment or systems.
• Repairing
  • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
• Programming
  • Writing computer programs.
• Management of Material Resources
  • Managing equipment and materials.
• Complex Problem Solving
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
• Reading Comprehension
  • Reading work-related information.
• Quality Control Analysis
  • Testing how well a product or service works.
• Science
  • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
• Writing
  • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
• Speaking
  • Talking to others.
• Learning Strategies
  • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
• Troubleshooting
  • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
• Active Listening
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
• Operations Monitoring
  • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
• Judgment and Decision Making
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
• Management of Personnel Resources
  • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
• Critical Thinking
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
• Installation
  • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
• Service Orientation
  • Looking for ways to help people.
• Coordination
  • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
• Persuasion
  • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
• Equipment Maintenance
  • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
• Systems Evaluation
  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
• Technology Design
  • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
• Social Perceptiveness
  • Understanding people's reactions.
• Negotiation
  • Bringing people together to solve differences.
• Systems Analysis
  • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
• Active Learning
  • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
• Management of Financial Resources
  • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
• Mathematics
  • Using math to solve problems.

Abilities

• Fluency of Ideas
  • Coming up with lots of ideas.
• Near Vision
  • Seeing details up close.
• Auditory Attention
  • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
• Stamina
  • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
• Dynamic Strength
  • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
• Manual Dexterity
  • Holding or moving items with your hands.
• Speed of Limb Movement
  • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
• Category Flexibility
  • Grouping things in different ways.
• Time Sharing
  • Doing two or more things at the same time.
• Problem Sensitivity
  • Noticing when problems happen.
• Sound Localization
  • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
• Speech Recognition
  • Recognizing spoken words.
• Speech Clarity
  • Speaking clearly.
• Multilimb Coordination
  • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
• Explosive Strength
  • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
• Originality
  • Creating new and original ideas.
• Number Facility
  • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
• Response Orientation
  • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
• Wrist-Finger Speed
  • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
• Extent Flexibility
  • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Memorization
  • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
• Flexibility of Closure
  • Seeing hidden patterns.
• Static Strength
  • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
• Gross Body Coordination
  • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
• Rate Control
  • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
• Written Comprehension
  • Reading and understanding what is written.
• Inductive Reasoning
  • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
• Spatial Orientation
  • Knowing where things are around you.
• Selective Attention
  • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
• Reaction Time
  • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
• Oral Comprehension
  • Listening and understanding what people say.
• Oral Expression
  • Communicating by speaking.
• Deductive Reasoning
  • Using rules to solve problems.
• Visualization
  • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
• Night Vision
  • Seeing at night or under low light.
• Far Vision
  • Seeing details that are far away.
• Peripheral Vision
  • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
• Control Precision
  • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
• Glare Sensitivity
  • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
• Gross Body Equilibrium
  • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
• Hearing Sensitivity
  • Telling the difference between sounds.
• Written Expression
  • Communicating by writing.
• Mathematical Reasoning
  • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
• Information Ordering
  • Ordering or arranging things.
• Finger Dexterity
  • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
• Dynamic Flexibility
  • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Depth Perception
  • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
• Speed of Closure
  • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
• Perceptual Speed
  • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
• Trunk Strength
  • Using your lower back and stomach.
• Visual Color Discrimination
  • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

Knowledge

• Personnel and Human Resources
  • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Building and Construction
  • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Psychology
  • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Geography
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
• Education and Training
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• Public Safety and Security
  • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
• Foreign Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• Administration and Management
  • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Administrative
  • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Engineering and Technology
  • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Chemistry
  • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• Medicine and Dentistry
  • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Therapy and Counseling
  • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Philosophy and Theology
  • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
• Communications and Media
  • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Sales and Marketing
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• Customer and Personal Service
  • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Physics
  • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

Education

Education

No formal educational credential

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

Less than 1 month on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

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Education and Training Opportunities

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Pay

Washington Annual Salary

58390/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

28.07/hr

Washington Employment Trends

Currently Employed

6,410

Yearly Projected Openings

490

Personality

Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines. They do well at jobs that need:

• Integrity
• Attention to Detail
• Dependability
• Perseverance
• Cooperation

Tools

• Automobiles or cars
• Bar code reader equipment
• Carts
• Light trucks or sport utility vehicles
• Mail box
• Non metallic baskets
• Portable data input terminals
• Safety chains
• Storage racks or shelves
• Time card machines

Technology

• Data base user interface and query software
• Enterprise resource planning ERP software
• Human resources software
• Map creation software
• Office suite software
• Operating system software
• Time accounting software
• Word processing software