Skills it runs on
The capabilities O*NET rates most important for this occupation — the human ground the work is built on.
See all skills →Postmasters and Mail Superintendents
Occupation · SOC 11-9131.00
Plan, direct, or coordinate operational, administrative, management, and support services of a U.S. post office; or coordinate activities of workers engaged in postal and related work in assigned post office.
Also called: Distribution Operation Supervisor (SDO) · Distribution Operations Manager · Postmaster · Remote Encoding Center Manager · Delivery Supervisor · Distribution Operations Supervisor · Mail Delivery Supervisor · Postal Supervisor · Postmaster Relief (PMR) · Remote Encoding Operations Supervisor · Mail Superintendent · Order to Delivery Supervisor
Job family: Management Occupations
Take this to your AI
A source-stamped Markdown brief of this occupation — paste it into an agent, or fetch
/roles/role-11-9131-00/context.md directly.
AI work map
A fast read on where AI already shows up in this occupation, where it stays a copilot, where humans remain in the loop, and what the labor market is doing. Built from observed Claude.ai conversations mapped to O*NET tasks and from published research — measures of usage and exposure, not advice or predictions that the job is going away.
Market signal
Independent published positions, read together — not a forecast.
- Declining employment outlook (-3.5% by 2034)
- 900 openings/yr
- Low AI exposure
- Median pay $92,730/yr
- Can largely be done remotely (teleworkable)
- Both the 2013 computerization estimate and today's AI exposure rank this high
59th-percentile task overlap — yet about 900 openings a year (-3.5% projected, BLS) . What exposure means →
AI & job outlook
What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.
Exposure to current AI
Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.
| Measure | Rank vs all occupations | Percentile | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.) High | 68th | 0.8 | |
| LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) High | 79th | 0.9 | |
| AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) Low | 33rd | 0.1 |
OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.1), with simple added tooling (β 0.5), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.9). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.
Most of this job's tasks can be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman), which tends to track with higher digital and AI exposure.
Historical automation estimate (2013)
A pre-LLM (2013) estimate of how automatable this job is by computerization and robotics. Shown for historical context only — it is not part of any current AI ranking.
Frey–Osborne probability 0.8 · 61st percentile among occupations · Moderate
How AI is actually used in this job
Among measured AI assistant conversations mapped to this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15), these task types came up most. These are shares of observed AI conversations — not shares of the job, of worker time, or of what could be automated.
| Resolve customer complaints. | 1.6% |
Job outlook
Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.
| Outlook | Declining · -3.5% by 2034 |
| Projected annual openings | 900 |
| Employment 2024 → 2034 | 13,100 → 12,700 |
“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.
Where this work sits on the global GenAI gradient
The ILO's 2025 global study scores generative-AI exposure on the international ISCO-08 occupation system, not US SOC. Bridged through the published (and approximate, many-to-many) IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 crosswalk, this US occupation corresponds to the international occupation below. Exposure here means how much of the work's tasks today's AI can attempt — task overlap, not automation, adoption, or jobs lost.
Postmasters and Mail Superintendents sits at the 79th percentile of 427
occupations on the global GenAI task-exposure gradient
— exposure rose from 2023 to 2025. Each dot is one occupation; the
ringed one is this work. Exposure is task overlap, not automation or jobs lost.
42% mean task exposure (2025)
79th percentile of 427 placed occupations
+9 pts shift 2023 → 2025
| International occupation (ISCO-08) | Task exposure (2025) | Most tasks fall in |
|---|---|---|
| Business Services and Administration Managers Not Elsewhere Classified · 1219 | 42% | Gradient 2 |
Read the whole six-band gradient on the GenAI exposure gradient page. The crosswalk is approximate: a US occupation can map to several international ones, and the ILO scores describe the international occupation, not this exact US role.
Tasks
All 13 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.
- Monitor employees' work schedules and attendance for payroll purposes. Core · importance 4.7
- Organize and supervise activities, such as the processing of incoming and outgoing mail. Core · importance 4.7
- Resolve customer complaints. Core · importance 4.5
- Prepare employee work schedules. Core · importance 4.5
- Direct and coordinate operational, management, and supportive services of one or a number of postal facilities. Core · importance 4.5
- Hire and train employees, and evaluate their performance. Core · importance 4.4
- Prepare and submit detailed and summary reports of post office activities to designated supervisors. Core · importance 4.3
- Select and train postmasters and managers of associate postal units. Supplemental · importance 4.1
- Inform the public of available services, and of postal laws and regulations. Supplemental · importance 4.0
- Negotiate labor disputes. Core · importance 3.8
- Issue and cash money orders. Supplemental · importance 3.4
- Collect rents for post office boxes. Supplemental · importance 3.4
- Confer with suppliers to obtain bids for proposed purchases and to requisition supplies, disbursing funds according to federal regulations. Supplemental · importance 3.4
Work activities
- Prepare staff schedules or work assignments.
- Direct organizational operations, projects, or services.
- Direct administrative or support services.
- Resolve customer complaints or problems.
- Evaluate employee performance.
- Conduct employee training programs.
- Hire personnel.
- Prepare operational progress or status reports.
- Negotiate labor disputes.
- Collect payments for goods or services.
- Provide basic information to guests, visitors, or clients.
- Coordinate with external parties to exchange information.
Knowledge, skills & abilities
O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).
Knowledge
Essential skills
| Reading Comprehension | 4.0 | |
| Active Listening | 4.0 | |
| Speaking | 4.0 | |
| Critical Thinking | 3.8 | |
| Monitoring | 3.8 | |
| Learning Strategies | 3.4 | |
| Writing | 3.3 | |
| Active Learning | 3.3 |
Transferable skills
| Social Perceptiveness | 4.0 | |
| Coordination | 4.0 | |
| Time Management | 4.0 | |
| Management of Personnel Resources | 3.9 | |
| Negotiation | 3.6 | |
| Service Orientation | 3.4 | |
| Persuasion | 3.3 | |
| Instructing | 3.3 | |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.3 |
Abilities
| Oral Comprehension | 4.0 | |
| Written Comprehension | 4.0 | |
| Oral Expression | 4.0 | |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.9 | |
| Speech Recognition | 3.9 | |
| Speech Clarity | 3.9 | |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.8 | |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.8 | |
| Information Ordering | 3.6 | |
| Near Vision | 3.6 | |
| Written Expression | 3.5 | |
| Category Flexibility | 3.5 |
Skills in demand
Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.
Tools & technology
Work context
How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.
How to get in
- Job zone
- Zone 2 — Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Education
- Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
- Typical entry-level education
- High school diploma or equivalent · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement
- Related experience
- Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
- Preparation level
- SVP (Below 6.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.
What to study: Public Administration and Social Service Professions . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.
Education of current workers
Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.
| High School Diploma | 62.1% | |
| Bachelor's Degree | 13.4% | |
| Some College Courses | 11.1% | |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 6.7% | |
| Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 6.7% |
Interests & work styles
The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.
Interest areas
| Management/Administration | 6.3 | |
| Office Work | 4.7 | |
| Human Resources | 4.4 | |
| Accounting | 3.0 | |
| Business Initiatives | 2.4 | |
| Public Speaking | 2.2 | |
| Personal Service | 2.1 | |
| Finance | 2.0 |
Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)
| Enterprising | 6.0 | |
| Conventional | 5.7 | |
| Social | 3.4 | |
| Realistic | 2.1 |
Work styles
| Dependability | 4.0 | |
| Attention to Detail | 3.0 | |
| Leadership Orientation | 2.9 | |
| Integrity | 2.3 |
Wages & employment
U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)
| 10th percentile | $81,430 |
| 25th percentile | $87,150 |
| Median (50th) | $92,730 |
| 75th percentile | $99,590 |
| 90th percentile | $109,140 |
| People employed | 13,810 |
Industries that employ this occupation
Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.
| Industry | Workers | National median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation and Warehousing · Sector | 13,810 | $92,730 |
Where this work is most concentrated
Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).
| Industry | Concentration | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation and Warehousing · Sector | 20.86× | 13,810 |
Related occupations
Part of the Public Service & Safety career cluster.
- Postal Service Clerks · 43-5051.00 Compare →
- Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers · 11-3071.00 Compare →
- First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers · 43-1011.00 Compare →
- Administrative Services Managers · 11-3012.00 Compare →
- General and Operations Managers · 11-1021.00 Compare →
- Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators · 43-5053.00 Compare →
- First-Line Supervisors of Helpers, Laborers, and Material Movers, Hand · 53-1042.00 Compare →
- First-Line Supervisors of Material-Moving Machine and Vehicle Operators · 53-1043.00 Compare →
- First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers · 41-1012.00 Compare →
- First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers · 51-1011.00 Compare →
- Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance · 43-5032.00 Compare →
- Shipping, Receiving, and Inventory Clerks · 43-5071.00 Compare →
Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.
What you can do with this
Options the data surfaces for Postmasters and Mail Superintendents — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.
Skills that travel
Capabilities this work builds that are used across many other occupations.
Adjacent roles
Occupations O*NET rates as related — the nearby moves on the map.
Paths in
How people typically prepare for this work.
- High school diploma or equivalent · typical entry level
- Job zone 2 — Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed · preparation tier
- Public Administration and Social Service Professions · field of study
Zoom out
On the global GenAI exposure gradient this work sits around the 79th percentile of 427 international occupations.
Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation
Postmasters and Mail Superintendents show 59th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 900 annual U.S. openings
- Postmasters and Mail Superintendents rank in the 59th percentile (Moderate band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated.Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE
- The occupation is projected to see about 900 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- BLS projects employment to be declining (-3.5%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- Median annual pay is $92,730, across about 13,810 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
Copy the whole kit
Postmasters and Mail Superintendents show 59th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 900 annual U.S. openings • Postmasters and Mail Superintendents rank in the 59th percentile (Moderate band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated. (Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE) • The occupation is projected to see about 900 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • BLS projects employment to be declining (-3.5%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • Median annual pay is $92,730, across about 13,810 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024)) Source: Singulariki — "Postmasters and Mail Superintendents". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-11-9131-00 Note: AI task overlap measures what today's AI can attempt, not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
AssetsShare imageMethodology & sourcesPress & newsroomThe newsroom
Every line is built only from figures this page already shows and cites. AI task overlap means what today's AI can attempt — not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
Sources for this page
Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
- Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
- ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
- IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
- Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
- Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Plain
Singulariki. "Postmasters and Mail Superintendents." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-11-9131-00
APA
Singulariki. (2026). Postmasters and Mail Superintendents. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-11-9131-00
BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-11-9131-00,
title = {Postmasters and Mail Superintendents},
author = {{Singulariki}},
year = {2026},
note = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
url = {https://singulariki.com/roles/role-11-9131-00}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.