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Boston Career Explorer

Office and Administrative Support

Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service

Prepare incoming and outgoing mail for distribution. Time-stamp, open, read, sort, and route incoming mail; and address, seal, stamp, fold, stuff, and affix postage to outgoing mail or packages. Duties may also include keeping necessary records and completed forms.

Also called: Insert Operator, Inserter Operator, Mail Clerk, Mail Handler, Mail Machine Operator, Mail Processor

Median pay in Greater Boston
$47,500
$22.84/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
820
Massachusetts 2024–2034
−5.2%
140 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
High school diploma or equivalent
plus Short-term on-the-job training

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$36,600$41,570$47,500$56,660$68,500

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Lift and unload containers of mail or parcels onto equipment for transportation to sortation stations.
  • Verify that items are addressed correctly, marked with the proper postage, and in suitable condition for processing.
  • Clear jams in sortation equipment.
  • Place incoming or outgoing letters or packages into sacks or bins based on destination or type, and place identifying tags on sacks or bins.
  • Release packages or letters to customers upon presentation of written notices or other identification.
  • Remove containers of sorted mail or parcels and transfer them to designated areas according to established procedures.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Lower exposure25 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 23
  • Language-model AIOE 27
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 26

Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)

AI exposure for this job is lower, and observed AI use is little or none. Much of the work is physical: lifting parcels, sorting items into bins, clearing equipment jams, and handing packages to people. Software and machines that handle office mailing tasks, along with more online communication, are expected to reduce the number of these jobs in Massachusetts.

Likely to change

  • Checking postage and addresses with software
  • Sorting mail by machine

Still relies on people

  • Lifting and moving parcels and containers
  • Clearing jams and handing items to customers

What federal projections say

“Capital/labor substitution - share decreases as companies use machines with programmable software that continues to supplant some office mailing tasks. Correspondence and communication will increasingly be done online and organizations will utilize less administrative staff to handle incoming and outgoing mail.”
BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, factors affecting this job (U.S.)

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

Next steps from here

Related jobs that build on what you already do.

  • Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators

    Your experience loading and unloading mail containers carries over to moving materials with forklifts. This job has no formal credential requirement and faster projected growth.

    Pay difference
    +$300 median
    AI exposure
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    MA growth
    +21.7%
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    No formal educational credential

  • Maintenance and Repair Workers, General

    Clearing equipment jams builds a base for diagnosing machine problems. This job offers higher pay and moderate-term on-the-job training.

    Pay difference
    +$12,170 median
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    To get started
    High school diploma or equivalent

  • Light Truck Drivers

    Handling packages and knowing where items need to go carries over to driving light trucks. This move offers strong projected growth and short-term training.

    Pay difference
    +$2,130 median
    AI exposure
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    MA growth
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    To get started
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Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

No college programs near Boston map to this job. Many people enter through on-the-job training or apprenticeship.

Talk to a career coach at the Office of Workforce Development about apprenticeships and City partner programs.

Related occupations

Talk to a career coach

A coach at the Office of Workforce Development can help you plan your next step, and connect you with training, apprenticeships and City partner programs that are not listed here.

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