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Postmaster

Academic programs / Undergraduate degrees / Career opportunities / Postmaster

Postmaster

Explore employment trends, required job duties and skills for this career. ASU offers a variety of degrees that can help you prepare for and meet your career goals. Visit ASU's Career and Professional Development Services to learn how to develop your career plan.

Potential job titles in this career
Delivery Supervisor, Distribution Operation Supervisor (SDO), Distribution Operations Manager, Distribution Operations Supervisor, Mail Delivery Supervisor, Postal Supervisor, Postmaster, Postmaster Relief (PMR), Remote Encoding Center Manager, Remote Encoding Operations Supervisor

* Additional schooling, certification, or degrees maybe be required for some of the potential careers that are listed.
What will I do?
  • Monitor employees' work schedules and attendance for payroll purposes.
  • Organize and supervise activities, such as the processing of incoming and outgoing mail.
  • Resolve customer complaints.
  • Prepare employee work schedules.
  • Direct and coordinate operational, management, and supportive services of one or a number of postal facilities.
  • Hire and train employees, and evaluate their performance.
  • Prepare and submit detailed and summary reports of post office activities to designated supervisors.
  • Negotiate labor disputes.
  • Select and train postmasters and managers of associate postal units.
  • Inform the public of available services, and of postal laws and regulations.
  • In this career, it is important to know
    Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    It's useful to be good at
    Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

    Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

    Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

    Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

    Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

    Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

    Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

    Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

    Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

    Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
    Employment trends
    Location Pay period 2022
    10% 25% Median% 75% 90%
    United States Hourly $36.01 $36.74 $39.79 $43.87 $48.24
    Yearly $74,900 $76,420 $82,760 $91,250 $100,340
    Arizona Hourly $32.56 $36.30 $40.81 $45.66 $50.43
    Yearly $67,720 $75,490 $84,870 $94,970 $104,890
    2022 Median%
    United States $39.79 Hourly $82,760 Yearly
    Arizona $40.81 Hourly $84,870 Yearly

    Employment (2022)
    13,000 employees
    Projected growth (2022 - 2032)
    Decline (-2% or lower)
    Projected job openings (2022 - 2032)
    800
    * Data obtained from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) under sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA).
    What are accelerated programs?
    Accelerated programs allow students the opportunity to expedite the completion of their degree.

    3 year programs

    These programs allow students to fast-track their studies after admission and earn a bachelor's degree in three years or fewer while participating in the same high-quality educational experience of a 4-year option. Students should talk to their academic advisor to get started.

    Accelerated master's

    These programs allow students to accelerate their studies to earn a bachelor's plus a master's degree in as few as five years (for some programs).

    Each program has requirements students must meet to be eligible for consideration. Acceptance to the graduate program requires a separate application. Students typically receive approval to pursue the accelerated master’s during the junior year of their bachelor's degree program. Interested students can learn about eligibility requirements and how to apply.
    What are concurrent programs?
    Concurrent degrees allow students to pursue their own personal or professional interests, earn two distinct degrees and receive two diplomas. To add a concurrent degree to your existing degree, work with your academic advisor.
    What are joint programs?
    Joint programs, or jointly conferred degrees, are offered by more than one college and provide opportunities for students to take advantage of the academic strengths of two academic units. Upon graduation, students are awarded one degree and one diploma conferred by two colleges.

    What constitutes a new program?
    ASU adds new programs to Degree Search frequently. Come back often and look for the “New Programs” option.
    What are online programs?
    ASU Online offers programs in an entirely online format with multiple enrollment sessions throughout the year. See https://asuonline.asu.edu/ for more information.
    What is the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE)?
    The Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) is a program in which residents of western states (other than Arizona) may be eligible for reduced nonresident tuition. See more information and eligibility requirements on the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) program.

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