USPS Postal Service Rural Carrier Associate
Pros
Fast paced, never a dull moment, satisfaction comes from knowing you are serving your community by delivering their mail in a timely and efficient manner.
Cons
I was set up for failure by a postmaster who started me, part time, on the biggest rural route in the office, over 260 mail boxes per day (at 2 minutes per box, that is over 8 hours just to deliver, not to mention the time it took to sort, case and prepare for delivery). i was only Paid for 8 hours, but had to work 12 hour days without the opportunity to stop for lunch or even a break. They Let me work until my one year "probation" period was almost up, then the postmaster foolishly let it slip that I probably wouldn't be hired because I wasn't quick enough. I decided then and there to quit, since I have never been terminated from a job in my life, and the USPS wasn't going to be the first! I was REALLY disappointed, because I loved the job in every way, accept the amount of mail boxes I was forced to deliver to each day was inhumane and unreasonable. My route should have been half of what it was, and even then, it would have been difficult to complete within an 8 hour work day. I had heard from several co-workers that this Postmaster had hired several other new part-time carriers before me for the same route, and terminated every one before they completed their one year probation period. This would eliminate the need to actually hire us and give us access to Union protection and to employee benefits. This postmaster had a history of letting new hires work for almost a year, and then hire someone new to replace them. I love the USPS, loved my job there, but think there is lots of room for improvement in the upper management. I really wanted to have a career with the USPS, and was sorry I was left with no choice but to quit.
