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.
Pablo, you can definitely have tattoos (visible or not) to be a letter carrier. Co-workers have had them since I have started working at the USPS 15 years ago. You can be hired with only a HS diploma if you do well on the test. It isn't true that you have to wait until someone retires before being hired. To become a full time employee this may be true but new hires are CCA which is City Carrier Assistant which is position requiring your flexibility in work hours and no guarantee of more than a few hours per week. I don't know the exact number of hours and the CCAs where I work have plenty of hours to work, including some Sundays delivering parcels.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Can%20u%20become%20a%20mailman%20right%20out%20of%20highschool%2C%20are%20arm%20tattoos%20unwanted%20and%20if%20you%20can%20join%20right%20out%20of%20high%20school%20what%20is%20the%20likely%20chance%20you%20get%20hired%20if%20u%20do%20well%20on%20the%20tests.%20%28Heard%20someone%20must%20retire%20so%20u%20can%20recieve%20job%20if%20no%20vacancies%29&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13683)
Marhsall, thanks for writing to this Q and A message board. In an apt. building, it is possible the mailman doesn't see the mail left in the mailbox to return because they may assume it is just tenant mail from a previous day not yet picked up by the resident. If you are putting back in the mailbox to be returned to sender, it should be marked accordingly (like "refused" or "person doesn't live here"). Is it possible for you to leave it outside the cluster of mailboxes to be returned? This way they will see it as a piece of mail that was incorrectly delivered or being refused. It is common for residents not to collect their mail each day which is why a mailman my not look at any mail that is remaining in a mailbox when they come to deliver a subsuquent days mail.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20live%20%20in%20a%20complex%20building%20made%20up%20of%20many%20apartments%20is%20the%20mailman%20supposed%20to%20return%20%20mail%20that%20I%20put%20back%20in%20the%20mailbox&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12674)
If you live on a college campus, they probably already have established a standard method of delivery to the dormitories. They probably don't deliver it to your room. It is likely that the dormitory has central delivery boxes in the lobby area or in a mailroom. Other campuses might have all the student mail come to a central mailroom or student center which has individual mailboxes for each student. You can contact the student life office or office of residential life for more information. Thank you for writing.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=WIll%20you%20deliver%20to%20my%20school%20room%20door%20if%20i%20leave%20on%20campus%20or%20you%20would%20leave%20it%20in%20front%20of%20my%20dorm&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12247)
I don't believe you have any obligation ever to retrieve your mail. After awhile the mailbox will fill up and then the letter carrier will probably do the following: stop delivering any future mail and return any first class or periodical mail or mail sent by a mailer requesting return if undeliverable with the endorsement "Box Full". I have never encountered this situation but I understand people not caring about their mail deliveries these days especially when so much of it is advertising. Please be advised, however, that if your mailbox is full that you may not receive even one piece of mail that could be important. If you are so sure you don't want anything delivered by US Mail, then feel free to let your mailbox fill up or you could even take it down if you aren't a cluster box. I am sure this is a growing sentiment since most business and communication can be done electronically. Thanks for writing.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Hi%21%20Do%20you%20know%20if%20I%20am%20obligated%20to%20retrieve%20my%20mail%20--%20%28which%20consists%20entirely%20of%20trash%20for%20me%20to%20dispose%20of%29%20--%20from%20my%20mailbox%3F%20What%20if%20I%20just%20leave%20it%2C%20and%20never%20attempt%20to%20retrieve%20it%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13065)
Programmer
Why are so many developers such bad communicators?
Help Desk Technician
Do the stats actually back up the "Mac's never get viruses and crash way less than PCs" thing?
Security / Bodyguard
Have you ever had to disarm an attacker?
I don't know Ke. I once wore a pedometer to record my steps but have since forgotten the results. I know that my vehicle odometer to/from the PO plus delivering the route is about 9 miles per day. On part of my route I have dismount deliveries where you deliver a few houses at a time, return to the truck, move it forward to another set of houses and deliver those and so on. Other parts are "park and loop" deliveries which is where most of the walking occurs wearing a sometimes heavy mail satchel. I don't know about other routes, but I'm guessing I walk maybe 5 miles total. There are probably is a way to estimate by taking the number of deliveries I have and multiply by the distance I think there is between each house. Very rough estimate of 350 houses times 50 ft equals 3.31 miles. I hope this helps, but keep in mind that the route size, delivery method, and layout vary greatly.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=How%20many%20miles%20does%20the%20average%20mailman%20walk&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13769)
From what I understand, most city carriers that need a vehicle to deliver the mail will use a USPS vehicle. We do have CCAs that use their own car to deliver the mail on walking routes when there aren't any USPS vehicles available for them to use. They can get reimbursed for some of their expenses when doing this. In some offices rural letter carriers have no choice but to use their own vehicles to deliver their rural routes. For ease of maintenance and not having to wear down my own vehicle, I definitely prefer using a USPS vehicle at work. I don't have a choice in the matter. Gasoline is paid for using a fleet credit card and maintenance is handled by a contracted mechanic. Thank you for your question.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Can%20letter%20carriers%20deliver%20mail%20in%20their%20own%20vehicles&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13551)
When you mail a letter it goes through a fairly extensive sorting process until it reaches the destination post office that does the actual delivery of the letter to the addressee. That is the way it works in the US and I imagine it is similar in other countries. Once the letter reaches the final post office, it is then sorted to the route which covers the address. The letter carrier for that route usually will have a map with them or a GPS or smartphone to help them find the address if they aren't familiar with the area. In the post office where I work, many of the streets are delivered by the same letter carriers each day so we know where the mail goes to. It is also helpful and important if the street signs are clear as well as the house/apt #'s are labeled well.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=If%20my%20address%20is%20on%20the%20mail%20that%20I%27m%20sending%20to%20another%20person%20shall%20we%20say%20in%20another%20country%20%2C%20how%20does%20a%20mailman%20find%20that%20address%20on%20that%20particular%20letter%3F%20Do%20they%20have%20some%20kind%20of%20map%20or%20device%20to%20help%20to%20them%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13066)
-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
