Also called: Mail Clerks
Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators build time management, judgment and decision making and operations monitoring skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators (89%).
Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers
Sorted by skill match.
| # | Career | Skill match | Median pay | Pay change | Extra education |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators | 89% | $58,470 | +49% | None |
| 2 | Couriers and Messengers | 83% | $39,200 | 0% | None |
| 3 | Postal Service Mail Carriers | 80% | $60,550 | +54% | None |
| 4 | Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | 78% | $40,240 | +2% | None |
| 5 | Postal Service Clerks | 78% | $62,130 | +58% | None |
| 6 | Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks | 77% | $45,260 | +15% | None |
| 7 | Stockers and Order Fillers | 76% | $37,330 | −5% | None |
| 8 | Light Truck Drivers | 76% | $44,860 | +14% | None |
| 9 | Packers and Packagers, Hand | 74% | $36,280 | −8% | None |
| 10 | Aircraft Service Attendants | 72% | $40,450 | +3% | None |
Compared with Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service, median $39,280. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.
How important each skill is in work as mail clerks and mail machine operators (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).
The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.
Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.
A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.
89% skill match · $58,470 · +49% pay
Operations Analysis · Instructing · Complex Problem Solving
83% skill match · $39,200 · 0% pay
Persuasion · Service Orientation · Negotiation
80% skill match · $60,550 · +54% pay
Operations Analysis · Negotiation · Social Perceptiveness
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators (89% skill match, median $58,470), Couriers and Messengers (83% skill match, median $39,200) and Postal Service Mail Carriers (80% skill match, median $60,550), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
Among the 25 matches, 14 pay more than mail clerks and mail machine operators at the median. The biggest increases: Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers (+75%, $68,840), Transportation Security Screeners (+70%, $66,770) and Postal Service Clerks (+58%, $62,130).
25 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones.
We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.