When people, especially educated people, think of crappy jobs, postal worker often makes the list. And yet when you stop to think about what really makes people happy in their career, letter carrier offers major advantages compared with jobs that most people fight to land.
Ethically solid. Many corporate jobs are selling products that are either unnecessary, environmentally wasteful, or marketed to appear better than they are. Nonprofits often obfuscate their inefficiency and ineffectiveness to potential donors. The work of letter carriers is ethically cleaner.
High success rate. Letter carriers succeed nearly 100 percent of the time—They successfully deliver the mail and, more often than in most fields, get a smile and a thank you.
Out and about. Yes, mail delivery is rain or shine---or as the inscription on the General Post Office in New York City says, “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” But many people crave a career in which they’re out and about rather than chained to a desk.
Good pay and great benefits. As of 2012, the average salary of a postal worker was $53,100 Plus the Postal Service covers 80% of group-rate health, dental, and vision insurance plus a Flexible Spending Account. And it matches up to 5% of your income that you contribute to a 401-K-like plan. You get ten paid holidays plus two to four weeks of vacation. HERE are details.
Job security. True, delivery services such as FedEx and UPS are serious competition and there has been serious talk of eliminating Saturday mail delivery. Also, ever more people pay their bills online. But the U.S. Postal Service is starting to deliver parcels on Sundays and holidays, letter carriers are protected by a strong union and, after hiring (and the Postal Service is hiring,) few government workers get fired. So in an era in which companies automate and part-time/temp ever more jobs, job security for letter carriers probably is at least average.
Promotional opportunities. The Postal Service offers comprehensive management and leadership training programs.
The Postal Service is hiring.
To reiterate, the U.S. Postal Service is hiring.
The takeaway
Of course, a career as letter carrier isn’t for everyone. For example, if you’re an intellectual, you might be bored. But many people tend to unnecessarily constrain their career options because of status. For example, they’d rather be a lawyer even though it always ranks as one of America’s most unhappy jobs.
The message: Status can be the enemy of contentment.
Marty Nemko's bio is in Wikipedia.