MailmanDave
17 Years Experience
Long Island, NY
Male, 43
I am a City Letter Carrier for the US Postal Service in NY. I've been a city letter carrier for over 17 years and it is the best job I've ever had. I mostly work 5 days per week (sometimes includes a Saturday) and often have the opportunity for overtime, which is usually voluntary. The route I deliver has about 350 homes and I walk to each of their doors to deliver the mail. Please keep in mind that I don't have authority to speak for the USPS, so all opinions are solely mine, not my employer.
JD, good job for sticking with it for 7 years so far. There are many people who couldn't handle even one NE winter. I have trouble myself with the very cold weather, plus snow, and ice. The LLVs are horrible with snow in handling especially on any inclines. I have felt the way you have several times, and I have also felt the opposite as well (meaning I love the career). I admit it is difficult at times when you aren't feeling satisfied to stick with this career. Here is my advice, but keep in mind I don't know your personal living/financial situation. Being a city carrier and making apprx $50K+ a year seems to be a decent salary with benefits and union protections. I know it's a physically hard job, but you could apply to transfer to a less harsh area climate wise. My parents have been a big influence on me when I was on the verge of resigning on a few occasions. They said that it won't be easy to find a similar paying job without any special skills. I've also had to seek professional help in the past couple of years which has been worthwhile. This is probably more information then you want to know but as of now I am glad that I didn't go through with the rash decision of quitting the USPS. Have you thought about switching to the clerk craft? Would you rather maybe work inside as a Sales and Service Associate? There are pros and cons to that as well. I do feel bad for anybody who is unhappy with their position, but am hopeful they can stick with it and maybe their feelings will change for the better. I would have a very hard time working too long if I weren't satisfied at the position. Please try to keep your head up and dress appropriately for the weather. Thanks for writing.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%27m%2032%20and%20have%20been%20a%20city%20letter%20carrier%20for%20seven%20years%20now.%20I%27ve%20become%20very%20unsatisfied%20by%20the%20job.%20I%20just%20don%27t%20want%20to%20deal%20with%20the%20bad%20new%20england%20winters%20and%20the%20physical%20nature%20of%20the%20job%20anymore.%20Have%20you%20ever%20felt%20this%20way%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13014)
I'm sorry but it's unlikely that you would be able to get your paycheck before regular mail delivery on Monday. It is likely that your post office closed and may not have anybody there until early on Monday AM. Even on Monday AM, it's not likely that your mail will be available (or that you'd find anybody willing or allowed to help). I don't know where your post office is so I can't speak to the specifics of your situation. I am just speaking in generalities of what I think would be the situation at most post offices. My question to you is: How do you know your pay check is at the post office? Most post offices deliver whatever mail has arrived on the same day that it arrives. What I mean is that mail that is processed overnight at a regional sorting facility arrives at our local post office by apprx 730AM and then is all sent out for delivery the same day it arrives. Do you have a PO Box where the paycheck would be and your local post office has restricted hours for access (i.e. not a 24 hour lobby).
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20know%20my%20paycheck%20is%20at%20post%20office%2C%20I%20need%20for%20an%20emergency%2C%20%20it%27s%20Saturday%20night%20at%206%3A10%20pm.%20Is%20there%20any%20possible%20way%20to%20get%20it%20before%20monday%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/11830)
Albert, your message posted 2x so I will answer it once and then copy and paste it. I currently work 7 hours a day as I am on a limited schedule for personal reasons. A regular city letter carrier can expect to work 8 hours per day (plus 30 min. unpaid lunch), 5 days per week. The 5 days may not be consecutive since mail is delivered 6 days per week. As a new hire, you will likely be a CCA (city carrier assistant) who has a very varied schedule and I'm not sure they are guaranteed any hours. I believe starting pay is about $16/hour for a CCA, with very few benefits, if any. Once you are promoted to a regular city carrier, the salary increasea to about $23/hour and tops out at about $28.50/hr after a certain amt. of years. These salaries are set in accordance with a labor agreement between the USPS and the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), which is our union. You also get benefits once you become a regular city letter carrier as opposed to a CCA. If you visit the website www.nalc.org they have pay charts listed or you can probably just do a google search or look on www.glassdoor.com. Good luck in what is a pretty good career in my opinion.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20want%20to%20be%20a%20mail%20carrier%20%28am%2019%20yrs%29%20%0AHow%20many%20hours%20do%20you%20work%20a%20day.%20%0AHow%20much%20is%20starting%20pay%20for%20an%20hour%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12862)
I would guess about 2 weeks if you were to get it back at all. Theoretically if you sent it to the wrong address and it was delivered there, it is conceivable that the recipient may not return the letter to the mail carrier even though they should. If you sent the letter to an address that doesn't exist, the item should be returned with the endorsement "No Such Street" or "No Such Number". I am just not sure of the actual time frame it would take for it to get back to you. It may depend on the workload of the nixie (not deliverable mail) at the destination PO. Thanks for your inquiry.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=If%20I%20sent%20a%20letter%20to%20the%20wrong%20address%2C%20or%20address%20that%20doesn%27t%20exist%2C%20how%20long%20would%20it%20take%2C%20approximately%2C%20for%20me%20to%20receive%20it%20back%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12473)
Track and Field Coach
How often are your athletes tested for PEDs and is it easy to beat?
Track and Field Coach
Do you let your athletes play another sport in the off-season?
Former IRS Revenue Officer
Did you ever deal with people who tried the 'Wesley Snipes' defense?
It probably depends on where you live and if there is package delivery on Sunday. I think you are asking me what time the package deliveries start and finish on a Sunday. It has been many years since I've done any type of delivery on Sunday, but in the office where I work on Long Island (NY), 2-3 City Carrier Assistants (CCAs) work from apprx 9AM-3PM delivering packages that arrive from Amazon.com. Again, these are just estimates since I don't have experience with this. Thank you for writing.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Around%20what%20time%20does%20the%20shipping%20start%20and%20when%20does%20the%20routing%20end%20in%20Sundays%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12542)
Regarding your question Joseph, I don't known what the official rule is on this. If I were the letter carrier who was collecting the mail from the blue collection box and you approached me with appropriate ID and the letter was easy to find, I'd return it to you. I can imagine some other carriers not being as accommodating to your request either because they don't want to help you or because we may not technically be allowed to. It's also not always so easy to find the person collecting the mail unless you are watching the mailbox for awhile because letter carrier doesn't always come at the time printed on the collection box schedule label. The time printed on the label is the earliest time of the collection but it could be hours before the mail is actually collected.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=If%20i%20was%20to%20put%20my%20mail%20in%20the%20collectors%20box%20and%20lets%20just%20say%20i%20needed%20it%20back%20cause%20whatever%20reason.%20And%20the%20envolope%20has%20my%20name%20on%20it%2C%20could%20i%20have%20it%20returned%20if%20i%20go%20to%20the%20mailmen%20when%20he%20is%20collecting%20the%20mail%20and%20show%20valid%20U.S.%20form%20of%20i.d&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/14409)
You bad bad person Aila! Seeing that you were just 6 years old and you returned it all, there are worse crimes you could have committed. I am glad you know by now not to touch any mail or mailboxes that aren't yours. It is horrible to think of mail being taken out of mailboxes illegally. I consider it sacred, even if, in all honesty, it's not so important to a lot of people today and has been replaced a lot by technology. With regard to how it works for mailmen, I'm not sure what you mean. I have never been involved with a mail theft incident during my career. If I did I would likely tell my supervisor about it and follow their directives. Thanks for writing And stay away from those mailboxes ;-)
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20recall%20going%20around%20my%20neighborhood%20when%20I%20was%206%20with%20some%20friends%20pilfering%20Mailboxes%20with%20really%20no%20idea%20of%20what%20we%20were%20doing.%20How%20does%20it%20work%20for%20the%20mailman%20afterward%3F%20%28We%20ended%20up%20returning%20it%20all%20but%20I%27m%20curious%29&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12807)
-OR-
Login with Facebook (max 20 characters - letters, numbers, and underscores only. Note that your username is private, and you have the option to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
(A valid e-mail address is required. Your e-mail will not be shared with anyone.)
(min 5 characters)
By checking this box, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to Jobstr.com’s Terms and Privacy Policy.
-OR-
Register with Facebook(Don't worry: you'll be able to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
Browse Jobs
Host a Q&A
Search
Submit Your Question
Host a Q&A
Last 7
