Career profile for Postmaster

What does a Postmaster do?

Postmasters plan, direct, or coordinate operational, administrative, management, and support services of a U.

In addition, Postmasters

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post office; or coordinate activities of workers engaged in postal and related work in assigned post office.

What kind of tasks does a Postmaster perform regularly?

Postmasters are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

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.

The above responsibilities are specific to Postmasters. More generally, Postmasters are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Getting Information		Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates		Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems		Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others		Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
Working with Computers		Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.

Getting Information

Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates

Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

Making Decisions and Solving Problems

Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others

Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.

Working with Computers

Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.

What is a Postmaster salary?

The median salary for a Postmaster is $78,060, and the average salary is $79,660. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Postmaster salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Postmasters earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Postmasters earn less than $66,360 per year, 25% earn less than $71,690, 75% earn less than $88,040, and 90% earn less than $96,350.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Postmasters is expected to change by -7.6%, and there should be roughly 800 open positions for Postmasters every year.

Median annual salary: $78,060
Typical salary range: $66,360 - $96,350
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): -7.6%

What personality traits are common among Postmasters?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Postmaster are usually higher in their Enterprising, Conventional, and Social interests.

Postmasters typically have very strong Enterprising interests. Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Also, Postmasters typically have strong Conventional interests. Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Lastly, Postmasters typically have moderate Social interests. Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Postmaster tend to value Independence, Support, and Working Conditions.

Most importantly, Postmasters strongly value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Second, Postmasters strongly value Support. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

Lastly, Postmasters strongly value Working Conditions. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Postmasters must consistently demonstrate qualities such as dependability, adaptability/flexibility, and leadership.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Postmasters, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Adaptability/Flexibility		Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Leadership		Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
Integrity		Job requires being honest and ethical.
Self-Control		Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Adaptability/Flexibility

Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.

Leadership

Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.

Integrity

Job requires being honest and ethical.

Self-Control

Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

What education and training do Postmasters need?

Working as a Postmaster usually requires a high school diploma.

Postmasters need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with this occupation.

Educational degrees among Postmasters

3.3% did not complete high school or secondary school
15.3% completed high school or secondary school
18.2% completed some college coursework
7.7% earned a Associate's degree
34.5% earned a Bachelor's degree
17.3% earned a Master's degree
3.7% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Postmasters

Postmasters may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as administration and management, public safety and security, or production and processing knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Postmasters might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
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.
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.

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.

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.

Important Abilities needed by Postmasters

Postmasters must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Postmasters need abilities such as oral comprehension, written comprehension, and oral expression in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Postmasters, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Oral Comprehension		The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Written Comprehension		The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Oral Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Deductive Reasoning		The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Speech Recognition		The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Written Comprehension

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

Oral Expression

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

Deductive Reasoning

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

Speech Recognition

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

Critical Skills needed by Postmasters

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Postmasters frequently use skills like reading comprehension, active listening, and speaking to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Postmasters, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Reading Comprehension		Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Active Listening		Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking		Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Social Perceptiveness		Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Coordination		Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Social Perceptiveness

Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Coordination

Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

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