Correspondence clerks
Typically requires High school diploma or equivalent
What is this page & how do I use it?
This is a research report for one career — the kind an analyst would write for a stock. The rating at the top is the neutral baseline (same for everyone); below it come the cases for and against, how the last official forecast for this career actually aged, and what the education path costs and pays.
How to use it: read the bulls-vs-bears case, then hit Score this career to weigh it against your other options with your own interests factored in.
Analyst take: Softer prospects — -5.6% projected growth, high AI exposure (96/100).
Moat (borrowed from investing — the water that defends a castle): how shielded this career is from AI. None = broadly exposed — many of its tasks are automatable and its skills are widely shared. (Exposure ≠ job loss; see the bears below.)
The small grid is a style box (borrowed from Morningstar’s fund reports): the blue square places this career on reward (top row = high) versus risk (left column = low), against all 730 careers. High uncertainty means the score leans heavily on forward-looking bets (mostly AI exposure) that history can't confirm yet.
- +Its brightest spot: pay tops 27% of careers ($46,740).
- −High AI exposure — 96% of tasks are model-touchable (exposure ≠ job loss).
- −Projected to shrink (-5.6%).
- −Below-median pay ($46,740).
In 2014, the U.S. government projected -14.3% growth for this career by 2024. What actually happened: -17.9%. The forecast held up well — a reminder that every number on this page is an estimate, and this is how the last one aged. Full back-test →
Education & ROI — how to get here
Real outcomes for the college majors that feed this occupation, across 47 bachelor’s programs.
Earnings & debt from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard; majors mapped to this occupation via the NCES CIP→SOC crosswalk. A grounded ROI snapshot, not a guarantee — pay varies widely by school and specialty.