# Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators

> 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.

- Code: 43-5053.00 (O*NET-SOC; SOC 2018 43-5053)
- Family: [Office & Administrative Support](https://foundation.org.ai/occupations#family-43), one of its 55 occupations
- Tasks: 14 tasks (3 core and 11 supplemental)
- Page: https://foundation.org.ai/occupations/43-5053.00
- JSON: https://foundation.org.ai/data/tasks/43-5053.00.json

## What the work is made of

1. Clear jams in sorting equipment.  
   Core task · Task 8221 · Rated by 105 people who do the job, July 2016
2. Operate various types of equipment, such as computer scanning equipment, addressographs, mimeographs, optical character readers, and bar-code sorters.  
   Core task · Task 8219 · Rated by 103 people who do the job, July 2016
3. Sort odd-sized mail by hand, sort mail that other workers have been unable to sort, and segregate items requiring special handling.  
   Core task · Task 8227 · Rated by 103 people who do the job, July 2016
4. Direct items according to established routing schemes, using computer-controlled keyboards or voice-recognition equipment.  
   Supplemental task · Task 8213 · Rated by 103 people who do the job, July 2016
5. Check items to ensure that addresses are legible and correct, that sufficient postage has been paid or the appropriate documentation is attached, and that items are in a suitable condition for processing.  
   Supplemental task · Task 8222 · Rated by 103 people who do the job, July 2016
6. Bundle, label, and route sorted mail to designated areas, depending on destinations and according to established procedures and deadlines.  
   Supplemental task · Task 8214 · Rated by 103 people who do the job, July 2016
7. Move containers of mail, using equipment, such as forklifts and automated "trains".  
   Supplemental task · Task 8226 · Rated by 103 people who do the job, July 2016
8. Open and label mail containers.  
   Supplemental task · Task 8223 · Rated by 102 people who do the job, July 2016
9. Load and unload mail trucks, sometimes lifting containers of mail onto equipment that transports items to sorting stations.  
   Supplemental task · Task 8229 · Rated by 103 people who do the job, July 2016
10. Distribute incoming mail into the correct boxes or pigeonholes.  
   Supplemental task · Task 8218 · Rated by 103 people who do the job, July 2016
11. Rewrap soiled or broken parcels.  
   Supplemental task · Task 8224 · Rated by 103 people who do the job, July 2016
12. Train new workers.  
   Supplemental task · Task 8217 · Rated by 103 people who do the job, July 2016
13. Search directories to find correct addresses for redirected mail.  
   Supplemental task · Task 8220 · Rated by 103 people who do the job, July 2016
14. Cancel letter or parcel post stamps by hand.  
   Supplemental task · Task 8230 · Rated by 103 people who do the job, July 2016

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## Where this comes from

Quoted from O*NET 29.0, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, under CC BY 4.0: free to copy and reuse, with credit. Nothing on this page is written by the Org.AI Foundation.
