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Postal Service Mail Carriers vs Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks: what changes?

Consider Postal Service Mail Carriers if you want to sort and deliver mail for the United States Postal Service (USPS). Consider Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks if you would rather make and confirm reservations for transportation or lodging, or sell transportation tickets. Entry credentials differ: Postal Service Mail Carriers, no formal educational credential; Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks, high school diploma or equivalent.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Postal Service Mail Carriers and Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences
What this means in practice

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Start with earnings, the route into the job, training, available openings, and a day-to-day reality.

Postal Service Mail Carriers

National median pay (2025)
$60,550
Route into the job
No formal educational credential; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience
No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing
One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate
Scan labels on letters or parcels to confirm receipt.
Annual openings (2025–2035)
19,600
Know before you choose

BLS projects employment to shrink 0.3% from 2025 to 2035. Openings can still occur when existing workers leave.

See the full Postal Service Mail Carriers brief

Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks

National median pay (2025)
$44,390
Route into the job
High school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience
No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing
One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate
Examine passenger documentation to determine destinations and to assign boarding passes.
Annual openings (2025–2035)
11,800
Know before you choose

Review the full career brief for day-to-day working conditions.

See the full Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks brief
See scores, detailed data, and how the comparison works

How the national numbers differ

1

Postal Service Mail Carriers has the edge on median pay

Postal Service Mail Carriers is at $60,550, compared with $44,390 for Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks.

2

Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks has the edge on projected growth

Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks is at 2.5% projected growth, compared with -0.3% projected growth for Postal Service Mail Carriers.

3

Postal Service Mail Carriers has the edge on annual openings

Postal Service Mail Carriers is at 19,600 annual openings, compared with 11,800 annual openings for Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks.

56.5/ 100

Postal Service Mail Carriers

vs
48.8/ 100

Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Postal Service Mail Carriers vs Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks

DimensionPostal Service Mail CarriersReservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks
Median pay (2025)$60,550$44,390
Pay percentile48.8 percentile16.9 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)-0.3%2.5%
Annual openings (2025–2035)19,60011,800
2025 employment316,400120,100
How you qualifyNo formal educational credential; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensingHigh school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
O*NET preparation groupJob Zone 2Job Zone 2
Related work experienceNo prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job trainingOne month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Postal Service Mail Carriers briefRead Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks brief

Try another comparison

Postal Service Mail Carriers vs Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators

Compare pay, growth, education, and the tradeoffs that affect the decision.

Postal Service Mail Carriers
$60,550 · -0.3% growth
Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators
$58,470 · -5.3% growth
Compare careers →

Postal Service Mail Carriers vs Postal Service Clerks

Compare pay, growth, education, and the tradeoffs that affect the decision.

Postal Service Mail Carriers
$60,550 · -0.3% growth
Postal Service Clerks
$62,130 · -0.3% growth
Compare careers →

Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks vs Couriers and Messengers

Compare pay, growth, education, and the tradeoffs that affect the decision.

Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks
$44,390 · 2.5% growth
Couriers and Messengers
$39,200 · 8% growth
Compare careers →

Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks vs Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks

Compare pay, growth, education, and the tradeoffs that affect the decision.

Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks
$44,390 · 2.5% growth
Hotel, Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks
$35,070 · 1.8% growth
Compare careers →
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