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.
I don't think the average carrier makes 72K, but I am glad to discuss what I make and put it in perspective. I haven't worked most of 2013 due to being out with an illness. Much of this illness is covered by paid sick leave so my salary for 2013 isn't too far out of line what most carriers probably make who weren't ill. My pay stub through pay period 26 of 2013 (which should be the last pp of the year) says $65200. To be quite honest that is a good salary for not having worked for more than 1/2 of the year. The highest salary I've ever made was probably in the $70-75K Range and that would include working overtime. Raises are passed out based on a contract which is agreed upon between the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) and the US Postal Service. They are often passed out 1X per year if you are at top pay. If you are working your way up to the top salary then you would get raises a bit more frequently. In conclusion, there is potentital to make superb salaries if you are willing to work all of the overtime that is asked of you which may mean coming in to work on a day you are usually off or maybe even working on a Sunday. I can't guarantee this, but if you did a little research under "NALC National Agreement 2014" there may be a published pay chart as to what carriers get paid. Thank you for your question.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%27ve%20read%20that%20the%20avg%20carrier%20makes%2072k.%20%20Is%20that%20true%3F%20%20And%20if%20so%2C%20how%20often%20due%20raises%20get%20passed%20out%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/10201)
Hand Warmers are a great gift. I just bought my girlfriend an entire box from BJs Wholesale Club in NY. They are single use handwarmers which last maybe 8 hours. Lotions are also good to keep hands moisturized. If at all in doubt about the pending weather I try to bring along as many layers as possible just in case I need extra protection. One of the least comfortable situations to be caught outside in is very cold or very wet weather.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20have%20a%20friend%20who%20carries%20mail%20in%20snowy%20Colorado%20and%20wanted%20to%20give%20a%20gift%20of%20things%20to%20make%20the%20job%20easier%3A%20hand%20warmers%3F%20special%20lotion%3F%20dog%20biscuits%3F%20snack%20storage%3F%20clothing%3F%20What%20do%20you%20have%20before%20during%20after%20to%20help%20your%20day%20go%20well%3F%20Ideas%3F%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/9954)
I am not sure about this. If I had to guess, I'd hope that the collection box is still in use if it would allow you to deposit mail into it. I would suggest contacting the local post office nearest that collection box and see if they could provide you any further information.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20dropped%20a%20letter%20in%20a%20blue%20USPS%20collection%20box%20before%20noticing%20the%20box%20was%20no%20longer%20labeled%20to%20display%20pick%20up%20times%20or%20other%20information.%20%20This%20box%20location%20is%20not%20showing%20up%20on%20the%20USPS%20locator%20either.%20%20Does%20this%20mean%20my%20letter%20won%27t%20get%20mailed%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/11867)
Thanks for your question. I work at the Syosset, NY 11791 PO. City Carriers usually spend 1.5 to 3 Hrs each day in the office sorting the incoming mail into delivery order and then spending apprx. 5-6 Hrs each day "in the street" delivering the mail. A lot of mail these days comes pre-sorted into delivery sequence which has reduced the amount of hours that carriers spend in the post office compared to many years ago. The volume of mail over the years also hasn't remained as high so there is less mail to sort in the post office and deliver. For myself and most of my co-workers there is certainly still 8 hrs/day or more of work.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Hi%2C%0AWhich%20part%20of%20Long%20Island%20do%20you%20work%3F%20Just%20curious%20because%20I%20live%20on%20LI.%20Also%2C%20do%20letter%20carriers%20spend%20their%20whole%20workday%20delivering%20mail%2C%20or%20do%20you%20also%20work%20inside%20the%20post%20office%3F%0AThank%20you%21&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/10713)
Server / Bartender
How much more do female servers get tipped?
SWAT Team Commander (Retired)
How much protection do those bomb disposal suits really provide?
Bodybuilder
How prevalent is steroid use in pro bodybuilding?
If the item was mailed via media mail, then it is valid for a postal employee to open a package to make sure that the item being mailed qualifies for the media mail rate. As far as just checking to see if a Priority Mail packaging was used to mail an item via non-Priority, I don't know the rule on that but I'm not too familiar with that being done. I thought that most, if not all, priority mail packaging now is printed on both the inside and outside making it very difficult to use for Non-priority mailing.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Is%20the%20post%20office%20manager%20allowed%20to%20cut%20open%20a%20package%20%28a%20book%29%20I%20was%20sending%20out%20%28wrapped%20in%20cardboard%29%2C%20simply%20to%20make%20sure%20I%20was%20not%20using%20one%20of%20USPSs%20priority%20mail%20envelopes%20to%20ship%20something%20%28non-priority%29%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/9591)
Sarah, I would suggest that you speak with either the letter carrier who delivers to your address regularly or call your local PO and speak with a delivery supervisor. I am not sure how either way will result in the package getting to its correct address (you), but I wish you well. As letter carriers we all do make mistakes, but I would hope they aren't too frequent and that the errant recipient of the package would leave it out for a letter carrier to pick up to be brought to the correct address. Thanks for writing.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=A%20package%20was%20supposed%20to%20be%20delivered%20to%20my%20box%20Wed.%20according%20to%20tracking.%20I%20am%20pretty%20sure%20the%20postman%20put%20it%20in%20the%20wrong%20box%2C%20but%20regardless%20It%20was%20not%20in%20mine.%20Is%20there%20someone%20I%20could%20speak%20to%20that%20could%20get%20my%20package%20back%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/10623)
I can't say for sure what happened to your priority mail item that you were expecting. Did the sender give you a tracking number? Most items shipped via Priority Mail would have a tracking number? As long as the mailer put the correct address on the Priority Mail and actually shipped the item, it is not likely to be lost, but not impossible.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20am%20expecting%20something%20in%20the%20mail%20shipped%20priority.%20Its%20was%20dropped%20off%20Aug18th%20for%20delivery%20.%20Its%20coming%20from%20New%20York%20and%20I%20live%20in%20So.California.%20I%20still%20haven%27%20received%20it%20Aug%2024th.%20Could%20it%20be%20delayed%20or%20lost%3F%20or%20maybe%20not%20actually%20sent%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/9101)
-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
