A letter carrier is a person whose job is to deliver mail to homes and businesses. You probably know them better as mail carriers or postal workers: the people you see walking through your neighborhood or driving those distinctive white trucks with blue and red stripes, dropping off letters, packages, and magazines at each mailbox.

Letter carriers work for the postal service and follow the same route every day, getting to know the neighborhoods they serve. They walk miles in all kinds of weather: blazing summer heat, winter snowstorms, spring rain. They memorize which houses get lots of packages, which dogs are friendly, and which steps need extra care.

The job requires more skill than you might think. Letter carriers must sort hundreds of pieces of mail in the correct order before they even start their route. They need to read addresses quickly and accurately, handle fragile packages carefully, and keep track of items that need signatures.

Before cars and trucks, letter carriers walked their entire routes or rode bicycles. Some still do in crowded cities where vehicles can't easily navigate. In rural areas, letter carriers might drive long distances between mailboxes. The phrase “neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night” isn't actually the postal service's official motto, but it does capture how letter carriers keep working no matter what the weather brings.