rural carrier associate

mail carrier

clerk

postal clerk

office worker

Post-Office-USPS

Let's go over the realities of working for the USPS as a CCA  (with the time I had wasted, I should be honest, and will. I'm not joking; everything here I had experienced!).

Pros; 
The pay 

Cons;
They treat you however they want.

You must train for 3 months in Academy, in-person, behind the wheel, online and in-office; yet, in hindsight, I don't believe it equips you for the job sufficiently at all besides the absolute bare-bones skills needed for it.

99.5% of the time (after training) they give you routes or swings you don't know at all or weren't trained on and the ones that you do learn they'll put you on 2 or 3 times maybe.

They expect you to arrive on-time, but will keep you all day (the latest I had stayed out was 8 pm; 10 pm during Christmas time!)

You ask for a day off by filling out the right paperwork and; A. They'll tell you the day before you requested off. B. They won't get back to you at all.

They will get angry at you if you don't get out of the office at time because THE OFFICE is missing your arrow keys, hasn't repaired the truck you'd use for the day or sorting goes over.

The set unrealistic time exceptions (for example, I got a route and half and they expect me to be back at the office, finished with everything by 7 pm. [sidenote; the general rule of thumb is that a route is around 7 hours of work]) no consideration of drive time, setting up for the route, swing, etc. is factored in at all!

By law, 30 minutes of pay is docked from your check for a lunch break. With a benefit of the doubt, 90-95% of my work shifts (over the 8 month period I worked at USPS) did not include any lunch break, whatsoever because of the workloads and expectations given. I had gotten questioned, and sometimes yelled at, for taking a break to go to a store for a drink or snack (even though my days usually consisted of sitting in a 90+ degree hot truck or constantly lifting and loading heavy parcels or having to do walking routes.); somehow they think people work like robots? You stuff your lunch in your mouth on the way to the route and that about does it.

In order to communicate in this job, you must, quite literally, sacrifice your phone. If you don't where the heck your route starts or your swing begins, you're GPSing it. If your supervisor needs you to go "look up" someone (a.k.a driving to a carrier and taking a part of their route), guess what? Phone time! You get absolutely no compensation, at all, for how heavily you use your device; my phone had and almost had completely died, on multiple occasions, by how much I had used it for the workday . The supervisors, etc. are very open to providing you other carrier's numbers, though!

They say to take care of yourself; but they'll call you up if they see you stopped at a store or gas station away from the route or for more than 10 minutes when you're using a restroom or rehydrating or eating. They'll call incessantly and if you don't pick up at all, they'll confront you at the office when you come back.

Every vehicle performs different; some drive slower, others faster; again, supervisors expect you to get from office to route, to swing, to wherever they want you to go Lambo fast... and you're driving mid 80's, late 90's Chevys...

I applied to work at the Mission Viejo location, but was sent to the Rancho Santa Margarita, Laguna Woods, Laguna Niguel (were I was kept for 3 months, out of the blue!) and Dana Point offices generally on less than a day's notice or after finishing up a route at a completely different office. They won't compensate you for gas!

I had worked a straight week (many times!) before receiving my day off (yes, you get one day per workweek off; which could be working 6-7+ days in a row.)

There is no scheduling system whatsoever. When in training, the supervisor will give you a random time to come in the next day. Once you learn how to case, it's 8 or 8:30 you report (6:00 during Christmas for extra parcel runs before your normal route, etc.). 

They don't care if you're Jewish, Catholic, attend any kind of church service or serve in any capacity or observe the Sabbath; you work Sundays, period. And they don't care. (they had me work Easter and Good Friday; which ultimately did it for me; they got my 2 weeks on Easter Day).

Communication doesn't happen between supervisors and they don't really care about big life events or emergencies unless it affects your work performance. For example, I had a friend who got in a car accident and I wanted to leave work after I complete a whole route and swing. I let a supervisor know, came back to the office where there was a different supervisor who proceeded to send me out again. THAT SUPERVISOR WAS DISAPPOINTED I HAD TO LEAVE TO SEE IF MY FRIEND, WHO GOT IN A CAR ACCIDENT, WAS OK!

You have no life, in short. Your schedule is made on the fly; you find out if you are working the next day by asking the supervisor THE DAY BEFORE, if you're working tomorrow and they may reply. Many times I got texts at 6-7 in the morning that I was working that day; not knowing the day prior if I was even working! You can't schedule doctor's/dentist appointments and my day off was usually getting food, doing errands, etc. for the work week!

 I always (against better judgement) would ask the supervisor if there was anything else I could do and they still treated me like crud; no one gets better treatment (expect maybe the regulars who have their route, finish it and go home.)

In short, if any of these things don't put you off or you ABSOLUTELY know that you can deal with them for your career, this might be a great job for you! If you recoil back at any of these things I've mentioned, I'd respectfully recommend you look elsewhere, for your own good. I truly feel bad for USPS, but there's a reason why they a 50%+ turnover rate from new employees!


I moved here from another state (and  another federal job) and decided to give this a try. Got hired as a CCA and did the initial training, filled with all sorts of safety reminders. They talked about how the post office is like family and safety A LOT. Seems there are lots of accidents, especially vehicular ones. Also, all isn’t well within the family. Lots of union complaints and grievances. Both of these I would later find out about.
   An initial red flag for me is the fact that you are actually are a temporary employee, and don’t get afforded all the benefits until (maybe) AFTER your first year. This MAY ONLY be possible if someone else retires or leaves and a regular position opens. Some get hired on as a regular after one to three years (lots of old and broken people work at the post office). If a regular position isn’t open, you are let go, given about a ten day respite and rehired after your first 365 day ‘tour’ (if they ask you back).
    A second red flag is that I previously worked as a federal employee, with a significant amount of time in service. None of this counted at all towards this new job. As a CCA, you are at the bottom rung. I understood that I was starting over, but until you get hired on as a regular, you don’t even get any consideration towards time off or leave, and certainly not pay IF you become a regular. A person hired before you by even a week can get offered a regular position, and then you are back to waiting for an open regular spot.
   I did the drivers course. It snowed which made it interesting and difficult for some. I was introduced to my third red flag: the vehicles in weather and their maintenance. One of the trucks had its front wheels lock up while driving and had to get towed away. The vehicles slid around easily in the snow, slush and ice that formed, which would be a big concern when I finally hit the road on my own. 
   I was then scheduled for an initial ride along with a person from my own post office. This person did everything we were told NOT to do, from driving unsafe to include stopping at their own house TWICE. This person also didn’t teach me anything, and instead gossiped the entire time.
   I eventually made it to my first day at work and was paired with a nice enough young fellow who tried to teach me as best as he could. Of course he made everything look easy, and for the most part it is, but he was always in a hurry, which made trying to fully understand and ask questions on subjects you only had a cursory introduction to difficult. Once everybody clocked out, they seemed to leave the area at breakneck speed.  
None of the other carriers were friendly at this post office. They all seemed semi miserable, and resigned to be working there to pay their bills. Nothing more. In conversations I initiated with a few, they didn’t seem to particularly love their job at all. Lots of union grievances. 
   The biggest issue I had, being in this state for the first time ever, was not knowing my way around. Management would expect you to complete pieces of a route in a certain amount of time, which is easy if you live there, are familiar with the area, or were raised here. I was none of the above. This made driving safely difficult to say the least. The emphasis from management shifted more on speed rather than safety. This is serious when it’s snowing hard, it’s dark, the wipers and defrosters for your windshield don’t work all that well, your vehicle is sliding around, and you don’t really know where you are going. On these pieces of a route that are given to you by regulars, you have to learn fast where some of these locations are. The large amount of mail I was given by one of these regulars was sorted like garbage, so it necessitated going back to the same area a couple of times, as I would find addresses mixed within the route I previously came from. I kind of felt I was set up by this fellow. So much for ‘family’ who I was told was willing to help. Speaking to some of the people on this guy’s route, they seemed not to really like him either. 
You are tracked by GPS via the scanners, so management can see where you are going. 
   The last straw for me was slipping on some ice and falling trying to quickly deliver a package. I got a gash on my hand and was bleeding pretty good. I’d reported what happened via phone to the assistant postmaster back at the office, and slapped some toilet paper I had in my personal bag on the wound. 
   I made it back and saw the postmaster and the assistant. Both saw the cut on my hand and the blood. My hand was also swollen. I was half-heartedly asked if I wanted to use a first aid kit they had ‘somewhere’. No mention of even making an accident or mishap report, or if I was okay. I decided to resign then and there.  Im a bit older, and my tolerance level had been reached. I’d had enough. It wasn’t all that was told to me at orientation or training. The money wasn’t good. The people treated you like you weren’t even there, and speed was WAY more important than safety in vehicles that should’ve been replaced at least 2 decades ago.  The assistant said ‘Well, it’s not for everyone.’ He was right. I’ve been lucky enough to like every job I ever worked at, even with its own set of difficulties. Though not hard, I never liked this job, or the people and the culture that were present. 
   I quit a month to the day, and was actually glad I resigned. I left about as quickly from the place as the older employees do. Unlike them, though, I was glad I wasn’t returning. The people at that post office, as miserable as they all seemed, aren’t so lucky.

This position paints the grass to be much greener than it is. When I was going through the interview process I was told that the job of the RCA was to provide days off for the full time employees so I would only be working 2 or 3 days a week and pay was about $20 an hour. After being hired it took nearly 2 months I was finally sent to have orientation and training and come to find out nothing this position said it offers is true. The post office has two career paths “Regular” and “non-regular”. Regulars are the ones who earn pension, retirement, health benefits, and all the good stuff. What they don’t tell you is that the RCA position is a non regular career path meaning no benefits at all other than earning sick days. The pay rate stated was also inaccurate… they claim to pay $20 an hour which they do but the problem is you don’t get paid for hours worked… each route has a set valuation for example our routes are worth 9 hours each and if you finish within that time frame or less you still get paid for the 9 hours. The problem is routes are valued at 9 hours and they take around 12-15 hours to actually complete and this isn’t a lack of skill issue either the regulars that have been doing the route for over 20 years also take about the same amount of time daily. Overtime is also nearly impossible to earn because they pay bi weekly you could be schedule to work 5 days one week at base pay 9 hours a day so a 45 hour pay week which is 5 hours of overtime but the following week they might only give you 2 days or 18 hours and even though you worked overtime that week the second week negates it because it’s under 80 hours and you’ll be paid straight time for all those hours. It’s now nearing Xmas time, Parcel volume is insane, and I’m working between 18-20 hours a day and only getting paid for 9 hours. This $20 an hour job ends up being closer to $12-15 an hour when you consider all the hours you have to work without getting paid. To top it off RCAs must remain on call 24/7, requesting time off is nearly impossible because regulars are prioritized first, and the only way you can make regular is if one of the current regulars quits or retires then it defaults to a seniority system whoever has been at the station the longest gets to bid for regular first but people from other stations can also bid on that position and if they have seniority over you they get the position basically making it impossible to make regular as an RCA unless you’ve put in 10+ years before you have a chance of making regular. Then once you make regular your pay and seniority rests. Oh I also didn’t mention that regardless how many hours you’ve worked you only get 30 mins unpaid off. The vehicles are all broken and fixed just enough to keep them going. My first week the truck lost its belt I lost power steering and drove into oncoming traffic because I couldn’t turn the wheel a few months in the other truck stalled in the middle of crossing a major highway, seat belts don’t work In half the trucks, trucks are so old they don’t have AC just fans to vent the heat out and those don’t work in any of the trucks. This job is literally the worse job on the planner and if I had known it was like this from the beginning I would have never wasted my time at this place. I completely don’t recommend this job to anyone unless you want a job where you have no work life balance ever in hopes to ultimately one day maybe make regular and then start your 20-30 year career path to earn a pension if the post office is still in business cause they’ve been netting negative profits since 1999. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
The money is phenomenal.  As a carrier you spend the majority of the day on your own. Also, people see you in your uniform and instantly treat you with respect. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Most stressful is that they want you to be fast immediately. Safety and accuracy are important.  It's not hard work but repetition builds speed and since you are on a different route every day, you don't get the chance to have repetition. There is a 90-day probationary period where they can fire you for ANY reason with no recourse. Hundreds of candidates start and only a handful are retained. Your chances of keeping the job are slim to none even if you do reasonably well and keep your nose clean. If you think they are going to fire you and you want to try to reapply, resign instead. Once you are fired, they won't rehire you.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Factory environment. Supervisors are stern but the fellow carriers are very supportive.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
For a new guy be prepared for anything.  Get your assignment from your supervisor which may be in another facility.  Get your scanner and vehicle keys. Inspect your vehicle to make sure it runs, the horn works, the tires are inflated, it has enough gas, the lights and signals work, the parking brake engages, etc. Check the "hot case" for priority items. Get the non-machinable mail and sort everything in the case in order of the delivery route. Get your hamper full of packages and your machinable mail which is allegedly already in the order of the route. Scan all the packages as you load your truck and divide into 6 sections. Use the package look ahead for exact order.  Most routs are a mix of park and loop, cluster boxes, mounted delivery and dismounts.  Be prepared for tons of walking in all sorts of weather. You have 1 hour to complete the office work and 6 hours to complete the route. After completion you check in and take another 2 hours for a route that wasn't covered.
Find your first parking point. Gather everything to walk with. Check list includes hat/sun visor, sunscreen, scanner, pens, pink slips for signature required items, pepper spray for vicious dogs and satchel full or empty (also for vicious dogs.) You will walk with machined letters clutched in your left hand, non-machinable mail which you cased balanced on your left arm, a satchel full of packages and circulars (which are not addressed because everybody gets one). All 4 things will be zippered together as you walk the route. Packages are scanned at the door, signatures are collected for certified mail and pick-ups are made of outgoing mail and prepaid packages all while holding the weight of deliverable items. (Uphill, both ways, in the snow,)

Balance: None. Good supervisors: Raaaaare. Common sense in every day matters of the workplace: Void. Cleanliness in the plant: Laughable (and custodians are hired as regulars). 

I left a terrible job for a horrible job it seems. The only thing that makes this joint tolerable are some of my fellow coworkers. It is a very labor intensive job, and you will have sore days. Whether it be your back or your feet. 

The pay is decent but the hours are never set in stone. One day six hours, the next day 7 and 6 days a week with a week day as the day off. "Come in at 8 Tuesday, Wednesday at 6, and we're gonna need you to come in at 4 on Thursday and 8 on Friday." Saturday is a super rare day off and Sunday, don't even try it. You WILL work every holiday, I said WILL! And hopefully not for a supervisor who thinks that they own any part of the POST OFFICE... and some do... We do get our breaks, but even those change like the wind sometimes. Our supervisor is a real numbers chaser, so we get to wait 2 1/2 hours before our breaks. 

Good teaching is rare and information is just sprinkled about. It also seems that if you are a regular (permanent employee) that you can just talk for a half an hour with another while all the non-permanent slaves do the work. I'm not joking. 

Growing up, I had this idea about the post office. Thinking it was a cool gig to have. You know, you see the mailman and the uniform and the opposite steering wheeled vehicle. I have come to find out that it is a terrible place to work, and a horrible one if your supervisor is bipolar and has control issues. Like I said, the people make the place. 

It could be run better by people with common sense, not people who have been voted out of other departments. See, as you can't be fired if you are Union. So they just move the horrible and lazy employees to other departments and give them promotions because they know they have what it takes to be a slave driver. Some workers have been here 30, 40 years, and they all look defeated for the most part. You might get one of two that took office jobs 20 years in and still have their heads above ground. 

I hate so bad to bash on such a place but heck if I let someone come into this establishment thinking everything will be puppies and rainbows. I've been a blue collar worker for 20 years of my life and am cool with hard labor, but I'm just not cool with employee badgering and wannabe intimidation of them. It's just adult bullying in a work environment. If I had a chance to leave, I would but as a single parent, times are tough. 

Have a great day, and I wish that an opportunity that is worth your value comes about.

I was a RCA (rural carrier associate) in a small town so it was kind of easy. After learning my route I got off early most of the time which was good but the amount of work that you have to put in isn't always worth it. You are required to work one day a week which is Saturday. If something happens and you have to miss a Saturday, hopefully you have an understanding full time carrier who will let you make up that day during the week or if not then you will just miss out on getting paid for the week. You have to deliver the mail regardless of the weather conditions so be aware of that! When they say they deliver in rain, sleet, and snow... THEY MEAN IT!!! As a RCA you're also expected to have your own car to deliver mail so that's additional money out of your pocket for gas and maintenance. Yes they pay you for the gas mileage when you work but that money won't cover $3,000-$5000 for a new car or a new transmission (brakes, transmission, and tires are what your car will be in the shop for the most). When I had to quit because I couldn't find a new car for mail delivery I couldn't get unemployment  because transportations issues aren't an eligible reason for unemployment benefits, so I had to live off of my savings for a while. So if you are PT keep that in mind. Also if you are looking to move up quickly apply for a city carrier (CCA) because part time rural carriers don't move up quickly. I knew two part time carriers who were in the same position for years! One stayed PT for 10 years and the other for 14 years and he became full time just as he was eligible to receive a social security check. Finally, as a part time RCA you don't get ANY benefits! No 401k, PTO, sick days, etc. So if you plan on being there for the long hall like my old co-workers then keep that in mind as well.

I can only speak from the PSE mail handler (Postal Support Employee) point of view on this.  

I was a PSE for 2+ years in 28540 zip code.  I did enjoy the work however you MUST .....key word MUST mind your own business and never tell anyone anything about yourself and I mean NOTHING.  This place was the king of gossip and backstabbing.  After I left and moved on I looked back and asked myself " why did I do this for 2+ years and what have i gained" The one guy that worked at our Post Office had been there for 25 years, called out 3 days per week and was dumber than a rock.  I think he was missing a chromosome somewhere.  

As a PSE you will more or less do 50% of the work while most career employees stand around and do nothing or disappear.  One employee at the office I worked at would go outside and sit on the phone in her car for at least 25% of the workday while the manager or Post Master knew or at times joined her.   You find yourself getting angrier over time and at about the 6 month mark that is when you have fully figured out that you are being 100% taken advantage of.  At that point you have a decision to make.  You either let it roll off your back and be a walking zombie or you quit.  I chose to be a walking zombie for 18 months.  After I left my personality and attitude completely changed.  I became friendly again and very personable. You will have  the opportunity to have benefits and you will make a lot of money depending on your facility and pressure the managers are under but this I will tell you all the money in the world was not worth having 0 life, being miserable, and having 0 free time to do anything.  You will have no set schedule and you will work Saturday and Sunday guaranteed.  Sunday is Amazon Sunday and I wont even get into that.  That is a whole new nutroll that the Post Office took on and is failing at. 

I can sum it up like this.  If you work in a level 18 office or higher you will make good money but at a personal price.  Tell no one ANYTHING about yourself.  This job isn't for anybody and you will not make career employee until the Post Office purges out all these old timers that come in to hide and draw a paycheck.  Other than that good luck.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The customers

The work environment was very uncomfortable.  Besides being overwhelmed with too many packages, flats, mailers etc the people could be incredibly hostile and mean.  The amount of mail, flats, packages given to some routs were a ridiculously high volume.  Not to say everyone had that, but some routs worse than others.  “Drive safe!”  Yes, however, you are looking in 6 directions, left, right, straight, mail, parcels, flats all whilst driving as fast as humanly possible in order to Try.  Also the random hours.  Either  role or 7 days a week for 149 days and still behind.  Super sorry I worked in an apparently big office for a first experience.  Perhaps smaller would be better.  A lot of not cool things goes on between co workers and your superiors.  A job shouldn’t be that way.  Some people just Want to work.  Wish it had been a better 14 months!   Haven’t been to a post office since!

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Too many packages and flats and not enough time


What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Watch your back.  Superiors will make a plan, then use their own plan against you when it suits them.  Leaving you dumbfounded because you did what they asked and now it, “ remember when you did this?” Your coworkers will be cool with you when they feel like it.  There were a cpl of people who were not like this.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Get there early 30-60 min to try and start.  Sort mail and arrange 10 bins of flats.  Then 2-3 carts of packages with the rest on the ground bc of size.  Sort that too. Then pull it all down, pack, go outside and unpack- hopefully it all fits.  No gas, get gas.  Praying it’s not past 11 but it probably is.  To start delivering.  Get going oh yeah pull over for a package.  Practically every stop.  Then the driveways.  Some 1/2 mile or more long.  But hurry up, Drive safe, hurry. 
Worst time of my life at a job

If you want great pay and benefits this is the place be weary you have no life other then the post office and you don’t get full benefits till you make regular. In other words this has to be a career choice to get the full benefits of a federal employee you start off as a CCA city carrier assistant you are pretty much a part time employee which does not affect your hours as usually you are getting a minimum of 40+ hours a week depending on the office. The first 90 days your a slave to the post office once out the 90 days it is minimally better for you but you do not get the FERS retirement or benefits till you become regular or full time but it can take years before that happens and all the time you put in as a CCA does not count for your years of service or goes to your retirement only when you become regular or full time do you get all the benefits so say you work 20 years you can retire from the post office after 20 years but again that’s only when you are regular if you work 5 years then convert and still retire in 20 years only 15 of those years count towards your retirement. Now they have one for CCA that can transfer over but you do not get a lot of the benefits until your regular and they do have a lot of good benefits. Also again until you are converted you cannot expect to really have a life outside the post office plus they will work you 10 days or more before you get a day off even though the union states you can’t work past a certain number of days and even when your off you can expect a phone call wanting you to come in. My recommendations if you are ok with a lot of hours and overtime and if you have a family and they are ok with not seeing you to much specially during the first 90 days go for it but understand it is very extensive work and it’s expected that you complete it the maim doesn’t wait and doesn’t stop and they expect the same out of you.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The best part of working at a company can vamy best part I. Working at this. Company are as fillow

1. Collaborative and supportive team environment
2. Opportunities for growth and professional development
3. Meaningful work that makes a positive impact
4. Flexible work arrangements and work-life balance
5. Competitive compensation and benefits package
6. Recognition and appreciation for contributions
7. Autonomy and independence in work
8. Access to cutting-edge technology and resources
9. Diverse and inclusive workplace culture
10. Opportunities for innovation and creativity
11. Sense of community and camaraderie
12. Leadership that values employee feedback and input
13. Clear communication and transparency
14. Opportunities for mentorship and coaching
15. A sense of purpose and alignment with company values

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?


1. High workload and tight deadlines
2. Lack of clear communication or unclear expectations
3. Conflicting priorities or competing demands
4. Limited resources or support
5. Office politics or gossip
6. Unclear or changing goals and objectives
7. Difficult or unsupportive colleagues or managers
8. Limited opportunities for growth or advancement
9. Work-life balance challenges
10. Uncertainty or change (e.g., restructuring, layoffs)
11. Performance pressure or constant evaluation
12. Lack of autonomy or micromanaging
13. Unclear or unfair compensation and benefits
14. Discrimination or bias
15. Technological or system issues


What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Unclear or changing goals and objectives

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Arrival at the office around 8-9 am
- Checking emails and notifications
- Attending leadership meetings or conference calls

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Rural carrier associate 21 salaries reported	$21.51 per hour
Mail carrier 6 salaries reported	$21.32 per hour
Clerk 3 salaries reported	$25.26 per hour
Postal clerk 2 salaries reported	$26.54 per hour
Office worker 2 salaries reported	$20.25 per hour

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