Couriers and Messengers
Business, Management and AdministrationO*NET 43-5021.00United States
Pick up and deliver 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.
- Median annual earnings
- $32,935
- Projected change
- +20.1%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 184.28K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
77.6% of the workforce
Growing to 221.33K by 2035
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The work
What couriers and messengers do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Deliver and pick up medical records, lab specimens, and medications to and from hospitals and other medical facilities.
- Obtain signatures and payments, or arrange for recipients to make payments.
- Record information, such as items received and delivered and recipients' responses to messages.
- Load vehicles with listed goods, ensuring goods are loaded correctly and taking precautions with hazardous goods.
- Receive 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.
- Walk, ride bicycles, drive vehicles, or use public conveyances to reach destinations to deliver messages or materials.
- Deliver messages and items, such as newspapers, documents, and packages, between establishment departments and to other establishments and private homes.
- Sort items to be delivered according to the delivery route.
- Unload and sort items collected along delivery routes.
- Plan and follow the most efficient routes for delivering goods.
- Check with home offices after completed deliveries to confirm deliveries and collections and to receive instructions for other deliveries.
- Perform routine maintenance on delivery vehicles, such as monitoring fluid levels and replenishing fuel.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $16,451
- 25th percentile
- $23,906
- 50th percentile
- $32,935
- 75th percentile
- $47,676
- 90th percentile
- $73,712
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $32,935 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+20.1%much faster than average
2025184,283 jobs
2035 projected221,332 jobs
37,049 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 77.6%
- Associate degree
- 13.1%
- Certificate
- 9.3%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- 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.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Couriers3,332 postings
- 02Medical Couriers1,873 postings
- 03Couriers/DOT Drivers1,239 postings
- 04Couriers - Swing Driver897 postings
- 05Independent Operators600 postings
- 06Transfer Specialists402 postings
- 07Messengers389 postings
- 08Newspaper Delivery People349 postings
- 09Independent Medical Sales Representatives306 postings
- 10Specimen Collectors286 postings
- 11DOT Couriers246 postings
- 12Plasma Center Technicians184 postings
- 13Delivery Couriers168 postings
- 14Mailroom Clerks164 postings
- 15Service Providers151 postings
- 16Transporters145 postings
- 17Mail Couriers140 postings
- 18Laboratory Couriers135 postings
- 19Service Center Clerks131 postings
- 20Pharmacy Cashiers109 postings
Top employers
- 01FedEx2,463 postings
- 02Quest Diagnostics471 postings
- 03Medzoomer461 postings
- 04Labcorp415 postings
- 05BioLife Plasma Services202 postings
- 06Sonic Healthcare USA192 postings
- 07Estes Express Lines159 postings
- 08Rapid Medical152 postings
- 09Tforce Logistics137 postings
- 10Millennium Health110 postings
- 11UPS98 postings
- 12US Foods95 postings
- 13Jubilant Radiopharma79 postings
- 14Eurofins71 postings
- 15Fastenal68 postings
- 16American Red Cross65 postings
- 17Lab Logistics63 postings
- 18Associated Couriers61 postings
- 19Averhealth58 postings
- 20Pace Analytical Services56 postings
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