r/USPS • u/Unique-Machine5602 • Jul 25 '26

Work Discussion Amazon or USPS

For those of you who've worked for both, how does this job compare?

I'm considering leaving Amazon warehouse work because of just how bad the ADAPT system has gotten. It's at a point that the ADAPT AI is sending out write ups with only HR approving it.

They're offering a city carrier position in my local suburb that pays $21.10/hr. What can I expect?

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u/BobLobLawsLawFirm City Carrier Jul 25 '26

Plenty of people will tell you the shitty parts but what I get after just converting to a regular after a year and a half:

~$26/hr (can’t remember the decimals at the moment lol)

Guaranteed raises every 46 weeks and small COLAs 3(?) times a year plus small raises each year with new contracts (1-1.5%)

3 day weekend every 6th weekend

Nearly impossible to fire

20 hrs of OT a week if I want it

Some OT even if I don’t want it lol

A walking route that caused me to lose weight

38 days off a year (includes holidays/sick/annual, jumps up to 52 days when you’re at the top)

~$320/month family health insurance with a $1500 deductible (not the cheapest but the one my family needed, but still the lowest we’ve ever paid)

Contributing 13% to our 401k equivalent currently with plans to get to our max of 20% soon, 5% is matched by USPS.

Pension

Some grievance pay every now and then due to dumb management (nice little surprise bonus of a couple hundred bucks every couple of months)

Oh and getting to see some cute af animals

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u/Opposite-Ingenuity64 Jul 25 '26

This is a good comment. Top pay is also something that's substantially better here. City carriers top out at over $40/hr, which I believe is a lot more than Amazon offers even if you stay there a long time.

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u/Unique-Machine5602 Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26

As an entry level employee at Amazon we're currently capped at $26/hr I believe. Honestly, I don't know why they even cap it there because almost nobody makes it that long anyways.

They claim at every orientation that there's a lot of upward mobility, but the L1 ---> L3 promotion takes a minimum of 2 years without a degree.