So what's it like to be a mailman?

[oddjob]

a buddy of mine got a hernia when one of the harry potter books came out. he said some households ordered 3-4 books, because no one could wait to read it.

if you do become one, be thankful that the harry potter books are over.

[Blarg]

Our mail carrier is on disability from hauling so much crap. Now all the other guys have to pitch in to cover his route. Bet they're not too thrilled with it. Went into our mail room yesterday and it completely reeked of sweat after his visit.

[ThePlan]

I worked as a casual carrier a couple years ago, just for a summer between freshman and sophomore year of school. I got paid $14/hr and worked between 60-70 hours every week, so I made a ton of money, at least for someone my age. I was the bitch of the post office, I did a route and a half everyday, sometimes more. I also worked in the ghetto of the neighboring town, where I got harassed by dealers and junkies, saw car chases and [censored].

I'll give you some tidbits from what I know about the post office ...

1) In the summer, the job SUCKS. If you're walking, the heat sucks. You have to carry a heavy bag on your back, while balancing magazines and [censored] on your left arm, and hold the actual mail in your left hand. It can get really annoying, especially when the magazines stain [censored] to your arm due to all the sweat. If you're driving a truck, it doesn't matter because its still hot as hell in there. We had a bunch of minivans that were used for some routes, they had AC and stuff, but we still had to get out and walk around once we drove to our points.

2) You're superiors are guaranteed to be [censored]. They pretty much have to be, there is always too much mail to go out.

3) A lot of customers will treat you like [censored], and get pissed at you for stuff you have no control over. You just gotta deal with it.

4) A lot of the people you work with are not going to put the effort in, and if you are a hard-worker, you will get stuck with their load.

5) There are actually some perks to working as a mailman. Like I said above, a lot of people don't work efficiently. If you want to be lazy, you can, nobody can really do anything about it. My one manager told me that unless you hit a car or sell drugs on the job or something completely retarded, its actually really hard to get fired from the post office. I remember this one lady was starting out with me, and while I was doing a route and a half everyday after like 2 weeks, she couldn't finish a route in a day at the end of the summer. Unfortunately, they couldn't fire her because of this. At least thats what they told me.

Also from what I've heard, you can make pretty good money if you don't have a college education, and the benefits are pretty good. Plus, if you get a route in a good residential area, the job is actually really easy and relaxing.

All in all, I came out of the summer with an extreme hatred for the post office and all the people that work there, but I could see how it would be an ok job. You just have to be fine with working outside in the summer and doing the same [censored] over and over and over again your entire life.

[Matt Williams]

[ QUOTE ]
I worked as a casual carrier a couple years ago, just for a summer between freshman and sophomore year of school. I got paid $14/hr and worked between 60-70 hours every week, so I made a ton of money, at least for someone my age. I was the bitch of the post office, I did a route and a half everyday, sometimes more. I also worked in the ghetto of the neighboring town, where I got harassed by dealers and junkies, saw car chases and [censored].

I'll give you some tidbits from what I know about the post office ...

1) In the summer, the job SUCKS. If you're walking, the heat sucks. You have to carry a heavy bag on your back, while balancing magazines and [censored] on your left arm, and hold the actual mail in your left hand. It can get really annoying, especially when the magazines stain [censored] to your arm due to all the sweat. If you're driving a truck, it doesn't matter because its still hot as hell in there. We had a bunch of minivans that were used for some routes, they had AC and stuff, but we still had to get out and walk around once we drove to our points.

2) You're superiors are guaranteed to be [censored]. They pretty much have to be, there is always too much mail to go out.

3) A lot of customers will treat you like [censored], and get pissed at you for stuff you have no control over. You just gotta deal with it.

4) A lot of the people you work with are not going to put the effort in, and if you are a hard-worker, you will get stuck with their load.

5) There are actually some perks to working as a mailman. Like I said above, a lot of people don't work efficiently. If you want to be lazy, you can, nobody can really do anything about it. My one manager told me that unless you hit a car or sell drugs on the job or something completely retarded, its actually really hard to get fired from the post office. I remember this one lady was starting out with me, and while I was doing a route and a half everyday after like 2 weeks, she couldn't finish a route in a day at the end of the summer. Unfortunately, they couldn't fire her because of this. At least thats what they told me.

Also from what I've heard, you can make pretty good money if you don't have a college education, and the benefits are pretty good. Plus, if you get a route in a good residential area, the job is actually really easy and relaxing.

All in all, I came out of the summer with an extreme hatred for the post office and all the people that work there, but I could see how it would be an ok job. You just have to be fine with working outside in the summer and doing the same [censored] over and over and over again your entire life.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is the key. Remember, if you do this for 5 or 6 years, there is no way you will find another job that pays just as well. So if you don't have a degree, you are screwed if you ever want to leave but still make money.

[Professionalpoker]

[ QUOTE ]
My brother works for Canada Post.

He started seasonally as a sorter. However, in order to get on permanently he had to work as a carrier for a few months.

That is a brutal, brutal job. And according to him, the vast majority of carriers have massive substance abuse problems to cope with it (working drunk and/or stoned is common for carriers). Mail carrier is one of the most physically demanding jobs there is. If you are not prepared for this both mentally and physically, you will be crushed.


[/ QUOTE ]
Ask you bro if this explains why Canada post is the slowest postal service in the free world. My shipments to Hong Kong, Korea and Australia get delivered faster than Canadian.