Also called: Navy LS postal clerk, Marine 0161 Postal Clerk, Army 42A postal, Air Force 3F5 postal
Runs military post offices on bases, ships, and deployments, getting mail and care packages to troops.
Postal clerks sort mail for an aircraft carrier or a remote outpost, sell stamps, handle registered mail, and know how much a letter from home means.
Regular military compensation (RMC = base pay + housing and food allowances + their tax advantage) for typical E-1 to E-6 ranks, 2026 estimate. Cash in hand is lower early on because junior troops often live in free barracks and eat in dining halls. Enlistment bonuses can add thousands.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 0.5 years after high school. High school diploma and ASVAB, then basic training plus about 1 month of postal job training. Free-college benefits: Tuition Assistance (up to $4,500/yr) while serving, the Post-9/11 GI Bill (36 months of tuition + housing stipend) afterward, and SkillBridge internships before separating.
Ways in: Military, On-the-job training. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Growing about average. Military specialties are not in BLS projections. The services recruit for this job every year and openings track force size and retention rather than market growth.
Medium risk for 10 years. Sorting machines and parcel lockers handle more mail; remote outposts still need clerks.
Classes: Business math, Keyboarding.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.