About This Career

Picks up and delivers messages, documents, packages, and other items between offices or departments within an establishment or directly to other business concerns, traveling by foot, bicycle, motorcycle, automobile, or public conveyance.

This career is part of the Transportation, Distribution and Logistics cluster Transportation Operations pathway.

A person in this career:

• Delivers and picks up medical records, lab specimens, and medications to and from hospitals and other medical facilities.
• Obtains signatures and payments, or arranges for recipients to make payments.
• Records information, such as items received and delivered and recipients' responses to messages.
• Receives messages or materials to be delivered, and information on recipients, such as names, addresses, telephone numbers, and delivery instructions, communicated via telephone, two-way radio, or in person.
• Loads vehicles with listed goods, ensuring goods are loaded correctly and taking precautions with hazardous goods.
• Walks, rides bicycles, drives vehicles, or uses public conveyances to reach destinations to deliver messages or materials.
• Sorts items to be delivered according to the delivery route.
• Delivers messages and items, such as newspapers, documents, and packages, between establishment departments and to other establishments and private homes.
• Unloads and sorts items collected along delivery routes.
• Plans and follows the most efficient routes for delivering goods.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

People who do this job report that:

• You would often handle loads up to 10 lbs., sometimes up to 20 lbs. You might do a lot of walking or standing, or you might sit but use your arms and legs to control machines, equipment or tools.
• Exposure to pollutants, gases, dust, fumes, odors, poor ventilation, etc.
• Exposed to disease and infections more than once a month through work such as patient care, laboratory work, and sanitation control
• Work in this occupation involves using your hands to hold, control, and feel objects more than one-third of the time
• Work in this occupation requires being inside most of the time
• Work in this occupation requires being outside most of the time
• Work in this occupation involves making repetitive motions more than one-third of the time
• Work in this occupation involves sitting more than one-third of the time

Working in this career involves (physical activities):

• Judging how far away an object is, or which of several objects is closer or farther away
• Seeing clearly at a distance
• Seeing clearly up close
• Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
• Identifying and understanding the speech of another person

Work Hours and Travel

• Regular working hours and limited travel