Pros
Good pay (as a 19yr old in college...can't really beat $15.30/hr right now).
Cons
Supervision. Of course, from post office to post office, every postmaster and other supervisors will act and treat employees differently so I can only speak on behalf of my office and the few others I've been sent to. I was sent out to do a full route before I was even done with my OJT (On-The-Job training) where you're sent out with a regular carrier who shows you the tricks of the trade. Constantly set up to fail. You're given the longest routes and are expected to complete them in an unreasonably short amount of time. They'll tell you an 8 hour route is 6 hours long because the computer says it is so that they can yell at you upon your return when you come back in 8 hours, (if you're lucky, they'll drive up to you while you're on your route and yell at you and tell you you're going too slow even when its 100 degrees out and your body simply can't move any faster). This job will truly push you to your limit. Very stressful at times. Supervisors will threaten to fire you all the time in your first 90 days. As a CCA you're going to become a slave to the post office so keep that in mind before you decide to apply. If your office is on the smaller side, you can expect to be thrown around to different post offices with under an hours notice (supervisor will call you in the morning telling you to report to a certain town and you'll work there for the day). You're just a body to put to a route to the supervisors. They don't care if you're not feeling good or if you hurt yourself outside of working causing you to move slower for the next few days. If you complete a route in 5 or so hours (or do it quicker than normal), expect to be held to that expectation on a daily basis. They'll say something like "You finished that route by 4:30p.m. yesterday and now today you're done at 5:45p.m. and start yelling. You'll be the first to be blamed for things when they're not your fault. You'll realize a few weeks into doing the job 6 days a week that you're going to get yelled at (at least at my office) for doing your job which is without a doubt the most frustrating thing about the job and the regulars who've been there for 10-20 years will tell you the same thing. Although it may not seem possible, I may be forgetting some cons. If you're up for a tough job, I'd say go for it. You'll quickly learn why this job has such a high turnover rate. I heard around 70% of CCAs quit within the first week. I was hired with 3 other CCAs at my office and I'm the only one remaining. The other 3 quit within their first week. Oh, and if your office is 'big enough', you'll have sunday delivery where you'll be delivering 2 trucks full of parcels from about 8am - 6pm. Saturdays are like weekdays also which could be viewed as a con by some. If this job was a monday through friday, it wouldn't be too bad I don't think. The 6 days a week gets to you quick. Also, getting a day off is a hassle. They'll call you the day of or the night before (if you're lucky) to tell you that you have off the following/same day. Last week I didn't even get a call from anyone, I showed up to work ready to work and they sent me home because apparently it was my day off and they had already called and told me that (they did not). If you call in sick, be prepared to have a doctors note the following day. Can't imagine what it would be like if you called in sick and showed up the following day without a note. I called in sick one time, went to the doctors and brought in a note the following day and still got yelled at. Like I said, I'm speaking on my own experiences thus far at my office. Everyones experience will be unique to the office they work out of. Remember, they need you more than you need them.