US dataswitch to UK
Postal Service Mail Carriers
scanning labels on letters or parcels to confirm receipt, signing for cash-on-delivery and registered mail before leaving the post office and holding mail for customers who are away from delivery locations. If that's your week, this page is about your job.
The honest answer
AI changes the edges of this job, not the middle: scanning labels on letters or parcels to confirm receipt is work software can't reach.
What shifts is completing forms that notify publishers of address changes. This page scores what today's tools actually do, not headlines.
Your week, as this page understands it
Sort and deliver mail for the United States Postal Service (USPS). Deliver mail on established route by vehicle or on foot. Includes postal service mail carriers employed by USPS contractors. The job title says “postal service mail carriers”. The real job is the part underneath: scanning labels on letters or parcels to confirm receipt. That is the thing someone has to be right about.
The exposed part of this job is specific, and we won’t pretend it is coming back. But postal service mail carriers is not one task. It is 21 scored ones, and they are nowhere near equally exposed. The most durable of them, on this evidence, is scanning labels on letters or parcels to confirm receipt, and the ledger below shows exactly why.
Where the work sits, by task weight
- shifting to AI
- 0%
- changing shape
- 2%
- staying human
- 98%
These bars are tasks changing hands, not people being counted out. The ledger below shows which.
Whole-job exposure score 11 out of 100 (7–17 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, across 21 scored tasks. The number is the support for the sentence above it, not a headline about anyone’s future.
How we know this
What is measured: Every published task statement for postal service mail carriers is rated on five dimensions: can a model produce the output, does the work need a body in a room, does it need a legally accountable person, does it depend on a person being trusted in the moment, and how much data exists. A published formula turns those five ratings into the score; the model never writes the number.
How the bar is built: Each task’s share of the bar is its published importance weight, so a task you do all day counts for more than one you do twice a year.
Release: 2026-q4.1, scores computed 2026-08-04. Read the full method.
Your job, task by task
These are the official task statements for this occupation, in plain English, sorted by what the evidence says is happening to each one. The official wording sits under every line so you can check the rewrite against it.
- One row is marked low confidence, so treat it as a ballpark rather than a fine measurement.
- 4 of this occupation's scored task statements carry a score that was measured under a different occupation's context, because the statement is shared between jobs and has only been scored once so far. Each one names the occupation it was measured under in the free routes below; none is presented as a measurement for this job.
- Task clusters are not derived in this release, so the task-cluster field is empty and no Collab365 Space routing is attached to this occupation yet.
Shifting to AI
0 tasksTasks today’s tools can already do most of. This is the part we will not soften: where these rows are the bulk of your week, the week changes.
Nothing in this job’s scored task list landed in this group. That is the measurement, not an editorial choice, and it is worth knowing either way.
Changing shape
1 taskTasks where the machine takes the producing and a person keeps the checking, the deciding, or the answering-for-it. For most jobs this is the biggest group, and it is where "transformation, not termination" is literally visible.
Completing forms that notify publishers of address changes
The software now makes the first pass at forms, but the deciding part still needs a person. So the job becomes checking and deciding rather than producing.
importance 4 · SupplementalSource: “Complete forms that notify publishers of address changes.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 56 out of 100 (49–63 allowing for uncertainty): partial exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: reading one thing and writing another; the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.
The rating behind it: Filling in standard publisher notification forms from recorded address changes is routine paperwork software handles easily.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Staying human
20 tasksTasks that stay with a person, because they happen in the physical world, because the rules need someone accountable, or because the value is that a specific person does them.
Scanning labels on letters or parcels to confirm receipt
This work happens in the physical world: labels, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Scan labels on letters or parcels to confirm receipt.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Scanning each letter or parcel means physically picking it up and passing it under a scanner.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Returning to the post office with mail collected from homes
This work happens in the physical world: the post office, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Return to the post office with mail collected from homes, businesses, and public mailboxes.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Travelling back to the post office with collected mail is movement of a person and physical items.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Obtaining signed receipts
This work happens in the physical world: signed receipts, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Obtain signed receipts for registered, certified, and insured mail, collect associated charges, and complete any necessary paperwork.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 7 out of 100 (0–14 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Getting a signature and taking payment at the door needs someone standing there; only the paperwork afterwards is desk work.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 1/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Sorting mail for delivery, arranging it in delivery sequence
This work happens in the physical world: mail, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Sort mail for delivery, arranging it in delivery sequence.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Putting physical mail into delivery order means handling every item by hand.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Delivering mail to residences and business establishments along specified routes by walking or driving
This work happens in the physical world: mail, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Deliver mail to residences and business establishments along specified routes by walking or driving, using a combination of satchels, carts, cars, and small trucks.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Walking or driving a route and putting mail through doors is physical delivery work.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Signing for cash-on-delivery and registered mail before leaving the post office
This work happens in the physical world: cash-on-delivery, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Sign for cash-on-delivery and registered mail before leaving the post office.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Signing for and taking custody of registered mail happens in person with the items in hand.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Holding mail for customers who are away from delivery locations
This work happens in the physical world: mail, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Hold mail for customers who are away from delivery locations.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 14 out of 100 (7–21 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Recording a hold request is simple screen work, but setting aside someone's actual mail is done by hand.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Leaving notices telling patrons where to collect mail that could not
This work happens in the physical world: notices telling patrons, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Leave notices telling patrons where to collect mail that could not be delivered.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Leaving a card at the address means being at the door with a piece of paper.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Turning in money and receipts collected along mail routes
This work happens in the physical world: money, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Turn in money and receipts collected along mail routes.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Handing in the money and receipts collected on a route is physical delivery of items.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Show the other 11 tasks
Recording address changes and redirect mail for those addresses
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: address changes, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Record address changes and redirect mail for those addresses.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 38 out of 100 (31–45 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Recording an address change is simple data work, but actually pulling and redirecting that person's mail is done by hand.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 2/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Maintaining accurate records of deliveries
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: accurate records of deliveries, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Maintain accurate records of deliveries.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 38 out of 100 (31–45 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Delivery records are largely produced by handheld scanners, though the scanning itself happens out on the route.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 2/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Answering customers' questions about postal services and regulations
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: customers' questions, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Answer customers' questions about postal services and regulations.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 35 out of 100 (28–42 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Postal rules and prices are fully published, so answering these questions is well within what software already does.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 2/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 4/4.
Registering certify and insure parcels and letters
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: certify, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · SupplementalSource: “Register, certify, and insure parcels and letters.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 32 out of 100 (25–39 allowing for uncertainty): low exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Registering and insuring an item is a counter transaction: the system entry is routine, the handling of the item is not.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 3/4 · needs a body in a room 2/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Returning incorrectly addressed mail to senders
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: addressed mail, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Return incorrectly addressed mail to senders.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 14 out of 100 (7–21 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Deciding an address is wrong is easy to automate, but physically pulling and returning the item is hands-on.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Providing customers with change of address cards and other forms
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: customers, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 3 · CoreSource: “Provide customers with change of address cards and other forms.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 14 out of 100 (2–26 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, low confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Choosing the right form is easy to automate, but handing a customer a paper card happens face to face.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Reporting any unusual circumstances concerning mail delivery
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: any unusual circumstances concerning mail delivery, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 3 · CoreSource: “Report any unusual circumstances concerning mail delivery, including the condition of street letter boxes.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 14 out of 100 (7–21 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Noticing a damaged letter box or an unusual delivery problem needs someone physically on the route to see it.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Selling stamps and money orders
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: stamps, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · SupplementalSource: “Sell stamps and money orders.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 12 out of 100 (5–19 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Selling stamps and money orders means handing over physical items and taking payment in person.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Bundling mail in preparation for delivery or transportation to relay boxes
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: mail, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · CoreSource: “Bundle mail in preparation for delivery or transportation to relay boxes.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Bundling mail is hands-on work with the items themselves.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Meeting schedules for the collection and return of mail
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: schedules, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 5 · CoreSource: “Meet schedules for the collection and return of mail.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Meeting collection and return times means physically being in the right place at the right time.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Travelling to post offices to pick up the mail for routes or pick up mail from postal relay boxes
staying humanThis work happens in the physical world: post offices, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 4 · SupplementalSource: “Travel to post offices to pick up the mail for routes or pick up mail from postal relay boxes.” (O*NET task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Travelling to collect mail from post offices and relay boxes is movement of a person and physical items.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
What this job pays, and how many people do it
- Median pay
- $60,550a year, the middle of the range, so half earn more and half earn less.bls-oews, 2025 · May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
How we know this
Source: bls-oews
Reference period: May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
Rounding: Shown as published.
- People doing this job
- 328,820in the US, 2025.bls-oews · May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx)
What is deliberately not here: a forecast of how many of these jobs exist in ten years. Where an official projection exists for a market we publish it with its vintage; where it does not, we leave the space empty rather than borrow the other country’s number.
Why this is shifting
The reason is boringly specific. Most of what is shifting here is reading one thing and writing another: forms in, a record out. The rows above are exactly that shape: completing forms that notify publishers of address changes. What it cannot do is be there in the room, and that is still where labels get done. Which is why this page talks about your tasks changing, not your job ending.
Your move
Over a pint: what I’d tell you if you were my friend
Start with what does not change: scanning labels on letters or parcels to confirm receipt is the middle of this job, and the evidence on this page says it stays with a person.
So, given all that: 0% of this job's task weight sits in rows the software is already learning, 2% in rows that change shape rather than disappear, and 98% in rows it is nowhere near. That is the position, measured across 21 scored tasks. It is not a forecast about you.
So the thing worth your attention is not the job going away. It is the layer around it. Completing forms that notify publishers of address changes is the part turning into software, and being the person who understands that layer is worth money.
This week: one thing
Ask the one question. Find whoever is bringing new software into your workplace (the manager, the office, whoever runs the system) and ask them what it is meant to do to forms, and what it is not meant to touch. Ten minutes, this week, before anyone decides it for you.
- What you end up holding
- a straight answer about what is actually being rolled out, and when
- How long it takes
- ten minutes
If there’s nobody obvious to ask, or you’d rather not ask your manager: Put the same question to your union rep, your shift lead or the person who has been there longest, in person, over a break. Same ten minutes, same answer, and you will usually get a straighter one. Write down what they say. The note is the artifact, and it tells you whether the post office is in scope or not. Nothing to log into, no license needed.
Over the next 90 days
Get inside the tool rollout rather than waiting for it. Over the next ninety days, ask to be in the group that tests, checks or signs off whatever new system arrives near completing forms that notify publishers of address changes. It is usually an unglamorous seat that nobody fights for, and it is the one that decides how the software is used on your job rather than to it.
Over the next 12 months
On this evidence I would not retrain out of this job, and I will say that plainly rather than hedge it. The task list here is dominated by work that stays with a person. What I would do with a year is get formally recognised for the layer around it (the systems, the compliance, the planning), so you are the one who understands the software instead of the one it is done to. Before you pay for anything, use CareerOneStop - Find local training. It is free, it is the Labor Department's own service, and it is listed below with the rest of the free routes.
The roads out of here, and why I am not sending you down them
I looked at the obvious moves out of this job, and here is what I found.
I checked the 12 nearest US occupations to postal service mail carriers (nearest by the work that AI is not taking, not by job title), and none of them survived. The closest was postal service clerks: only about 13% of its durable work is work you already do and there are far fewer of those jobs than of yours. And on the numbers you do not need one. This job scores 11/100 here, with only 0% of the task list in the top band, and “scan labels on letters or parcels to confirm receipt” is not work that hands over cleanly. None of them beats deepening what you already have.
How that was checked: this job was compared against all 830 US occupations in this release on their official task statements, and the 12 nearest were examined one by one. A move that turns on an industry, an employer or a qualification rather than on the work itself will not show up in a check like that. And this release carries no licence register, so anything you are weighing needs that looked up separately.
3 moves I checked and rejected
These are the obvious-looking jumps. They are here with their reasons rather than quietly dropped, because the ones that fail are worth knowing about. It is one less thing to turn over at night.
Postal Service Clerks
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already register, certify, and insure parcels and letters, and their equivalent is to register, certify, and insure letters and parcels. Across both published task lists that is about 13% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: You would be starting most of it from nothing: about 13% of the durable work in that job is work you do today, and the rest you would be learning while the bills carried on. And it is a narrow door: about 73,720 of those jobs against 328,820 of yours (OEWS May 2025), 22% as many seats.
Couriers and Messengers
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already sort mail for delivery, arranging it in delivery sequence, and their equivalent is to sort items to be delivered according to the delivery route. Across both published task lists that is about 6% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: Almost none of it is work you already do: about 6% of the durable side of that job. That is a different job, not a next step. It is a pay cut, in those words: $39,200 against your $60,550, 35.3% less (OEWS May 2025 (both)). Retraining to earn less is a decision, not advice. And it is a narrow door: about 68,640 of those jobs against 328,820 of yours (OEWS May 2025), 21% as many seats.
Receptionists and Information Clerks
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already sort mail for delivery, arranging it in delivery sequence, and their equivalent is to collect, sort, distribute, or prepare mail, messages, or courier deliveries. Across both published task lists that is about 5% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: Almost none of it is work you already do: about 5% of the durable side of that job. That is a different job, not a next step. It is a pay cut, in those words: $38,010 against your $60,550, 37.2% less (OEWS May 2025 (both)). Retraining to earn less is a decision, not advice.
What I’d stop worrying about
A friend tells you what not to spend fear on. This is that list.
The headline number you read somewhere
The big “X% of jobs” figures are about the whole economy, not about you. The number that describes your job is on this page: 0% of its task weight, across 21 scored tasks. Every row behind it is printed above with the source. Check ours; ignore theirs.
The headlines about your trade disappearing
They are usually about the technology, not the timetable. Changes to work like scanning labels on letters or parcels to confirm receipt arrive through rules, insurance and money, slowly and visibly. This page tracks the task evidence and will move when it moves.
Retraining out of a job that is holding up
On this evidence I would not spend money leaving. Spend it on the layer around the job instead: the tools, the paperwork, the planning. That is where the change actually is.
The “obvious” next job everyone suggests
I checked the obvious moves and most of them did not survive. The reasons are printed with the routes above, including the pay and the gate. A move that fails on the numbers is worth knowing about so you can stop turning it over at night.
You are reading the United States figures
The nearest United Kingdom equivalent is Postal workers, mail sorters and messengers. It is a close match rather than an identical one: the two countries draw the boundary of the job in slightly different places.
Switch to the United Kingdom page →close match
Your route through this
Where to go next, and what it costs
Free, and complete
The moves above cost nothing. These are the real services that go with them: public, government-funded, and free at the point of use. Nothing on this page is behind an email address or a payment.
Anywhere in the US:
CareerOneStop - Find local training
Search what's running near you, from the Labor Department's own database, before anyone sells you a course.
Free to search; individual programs vary, and some are funded
Anywhere in the US:
An American Job Center will sit down with you for free. Find yours by ZIP code.
Free
Anywhere in the US:
CareerOneStop - Licensed occupations finder
Check what your state actually requires before you pay for anything.
Free
Anywhere in the US:
Free
Why there is no community here
Collab365, who build this site, run paid Spaces for a small number of subjects, and none of them is built for this job. We are not going to point you at the nearest one and call it a fit.
So the free services listed on this page are the whole answer, and it is the same answer we would give a friend.
Noted, and thank you. We’ll email you if a Space for postal service mail carriers launches. Nothing else.
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No deadline on any of this. The page will still be here, and the data is refreshed on a published schedule rather than when someone wants a headline.
Questions people ask about this job
- Will AI replace Postal Service Mail Carriers?
- Not as a job, but it is already doing parts of the work. Across the 21 official task statements scored for Postal Service Mail Carriers (United States, SOC 43-5052), 0% of the importance-weighted core work is made of tasks today's AI could already do most of. The overall exposure score is 11 out of 100 (range 7–17, band: minimal). That is a statement about tasks, not about headcount: this measures what AI could do, not whether any employer adopts it, whether the law allows it, or whether doing the routine parts faster creates more demand for the human parts. Figures are from release 2026-q4.1.
- Which tasks in “Postal Service Mail Carriers” can AI already do?
- The highest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Complete forms that notify publishers of address changes” (56/100, partial); “Record address changes and redirect mail for those addresses” (38/100, low); “Maintain accurate records of deliveries” (38/100, low). Each score comes from five published 0–4 ratings turned into a number by a published formula, and each carries the model's one-sentence reason on the page.
- Which tasks in “Postal Service Mail Carriers” stay human?
- About 98% of this job's task weight sits in work that scores low for AI exposure. The lowest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Scan labels on letters or parcels to confirm receipt” (0/100, minimal); “Travel to post offices to pick up the mail for routes or pick up mail from postal relay boxes” (0/100, minimal); “Meet schedules for the collection and return of mail” (0/100, minimal). Low scores usually mean the task needs a body in a room, a legally accountable human, or trust built in real time. Those are the three things the scoring rubric treats as gates rather than obstacles.
- What should someone working in “Postal Service Mail Carriers” do about AI?
- Start from the ledger rather than the headline: 0% of this job's weighted core work is exposed, and roughly 98% is not. The practical move is to spend more of your week on the tasks that score low, the ones above, and to get fluent at directing AI through the tasks that score high, because those are the parts that change whether or not you are ready for them. This page does not predict your job, and nothing here is career advice tailored to you: the score describes the occupation, not the person.
- How is the AI exposure score for Postal Service Mail Carriers calculated?
- Each official task statement for the occupation is rated on five published 0–4 dimensions (output replicability, physical embodiment, licensed accountability, real-time human trust, and data availability) by claude-opus-5 using scoring prompt task_scoring_v1.0. The model never writes the score; a published formula turns the five ratings into a 0–100 number, so every score can be recomputed by hand. The occupation figure is the importance-weighted mean across 21 scored tasks. The prompt, the rubric, the formula and the full dataset are published at https://futureproof.collab365.com/method and https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1 under CC BY 4.0.
Where these numbers come from
Worth knowing about these figures
- One row is marked low confidence, so treat it as a ballpark rather than a fine measurement.
- 4 of this occupation's scored task statements carry a score that was measured under a different occupation's context, because the statement is shared between jobs and has only been scored once so far. Each one names the occupation it was measured under in the free routes below; none is presented as a measurement for this job.
- Task clusters are not derived in this release, so the task-cluster field is empty and no Collab365 Space routing is attached to this occupation yet.
- Task statements
- onet-dbProcessing: catalogue-bridge → onet-im-rt-weighting → task-scoring → score-aggregation
- Task weights
- onet-db (im-rt)
- Scores
- Rubric task_scoring_v1.0, model claude-opus-5, computed 2026-08-04.
- Pay and employment
- bls-oews (May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx))bls-oews (May 2025 estimates (national_M2025_dl.xlsx))
Figures on this page come from release 2026-q4.1, published 2026-08-05. Every release keeps its own permanent address, so a figure you cite in March is still there, unchanged, in November.
The plain-English wording on this page is assembled directly from the task statements and the published ratings, not written by hand for this occupation. That is why it is specific, and it is also why we say so.
The routes and free resources further up are today’s, not the release’s (last reviewed 2026-08-05). A route is an offer, not a historical fact, so it moves on its own clock.
Using these figures?
Cite this
Everything on this site is published under CC BY 4.0. Quote it, chart it, sell something built on it. Just say where it came from, and cite the dated release rather than the site, so the figure you quote stays checkable.
Plain text
Collab365 (2026). Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1 (methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0). https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Built with O*NET data (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); ONS data (Open Government Licence v3.0); GAISI task framework (arXiv:2507.22748, MIT); BLS data (public domain).
BibTeX
@misc{collab365futureproof2026q41,
title = {Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1},
author = {{Collab365}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1},
note = {Release 2026-q4.1, methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0, CC BY 4.0}
}Data as of release 2026-q4.1, published . Releases never change after publication; when the figures move, a new dated release is published beside this one and this one stays exactly where it is.