How much does a mail sorter make?

In the U.S., pay can vary with experience, location, and employer or job type. USPS may add pay for night, Sunday, or overtime hours, so shifts and hours matter too.

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. Excludes “Postal Service Clerks” (43-5051) and “Postal Service Mail Carriers” (43-5052).

What's a typical day like?

At a U.S. mail center, sorters prepare incoming and outgoing letters and parcels, moving mail between trucks and processing areas. They sort each batch toward its next stop indoors, and may work weekends.

In the U.S., apply online for USPS mail-processing jobs; a diploma is usually not required. Most entry jobs require an online assessment; applicants must be 18 (or 16 with a diploma), pass background, drug, and medical checks, and learn on the job.

High school plus some training (preparation level 2 of 5)

Good for people who like keeping things organized and building and doing.

One USPS machine reads barcodes and sorts 36,000 letters in an hour—that's about 600 every minute!