Couriers and Messengers: Salary, Job Description, How To Become One, and Quiz

Job description

Couriers and Messengers 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.

• 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.
• 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.

Salary

Couriers and Messengers with little to no experience tend to make between $20390 and $23700 while the more experienced ones can earn over $35780 per year.

One of the easiest ways to increase your salary as a Courier and Messenger is to move to a higher paying state like DC. Right now, the highest paying states for Couriers and Messengers are DC, WA, RI, CA and CT.

However, a higher pay at DC doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the living expenses at DC might be twice as high than where you are currently at now.

Three other factors that can increase your salary as a Courier and Messenger is the degree you hold, the industry you work in, and lastly the company you work for.

Requirements

We asked other Couriers and Messengers what degree they had when they got the job and most of them said they had a High School Diploma followed by an Associate’s Degree.

Other than that, we also asked them what did they major in and here are the most popular majors that came up.

Pros and Cons

Here are some of the pros and cons of being a Courier and Messenger.

What is the job like

65% of Couriers and Messengers said they were satisfied with their job and 56% said they feel like their job is making other people’s lives better.

Is this right for me

You can read more about these career personality types here.

People who are suitable for this job tends to like work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They like working with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery..

They also like following set procedures and routines. They like working with data and details more than with ideas.

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