“I was a postman one Christmas and I developed a morbid fear of dogs.”

Diane Abbott, Politician

Pros and Cons of Being a Mailman

You consider becoming a mailman? While there are indeed some upsides to a career as a postman, there are also many issues related to it.

Thus, make sure to read all the pros and cons of being a mailman in this article to make a profound decision for your future career.

Postman Job Profile

Advantages of Being a Mail Carrier

1. Mailmen can get plenty of fresh air
2. Mail carriers can work rather independently
3. You don’t have plenty of stress as a postal carrier
4. Letter carriers often have free weekends
5. Not many extra hours
6. Good work-life balance of mailmen in general
7. You don’t have to sit in an office all day long
8. Mailmen don’t have to go to the gym
9. You can talk to many people
10. Mailmen have decent job security
11. You are important to keep our system running
12. You don’t need a college degree for becoming a mailman
13. You can avoid student loan debt
14. Mailmen may be able to work part-time

Mailmen can get plenty of fresh air

One advantage of being a mailman is that you can get plenty of fresh air during work.

In fact, many postmen use bicycles to do their work since it is just faster to get from one house to the other and also cheaper compared to using a car.

This also implies that you will be outdoors all day long while loan officers and many other people have to work in rather artificial environments and can’t wait until their workday is over.

Mail carriers can work rather independently

As a mailman, you will also have the privilege to work in a rather independent manner.

Sure, you will still have a boss who will supervise you to some extent.

Yet, you will still have plenty of freedom regarding how you want to structure your day and when to do your work, at least if you are reliable and your boss knows that you do your job properly.

This is not true for many other jobs in which your boss will supervise you all day long and will always look you over your shoulder.

Thus, working as a mail carrier can also be great for you if you are a freedom-loving person who wants to have great levels of independence during his or her work.

You don’t have plenty of stress as a postal carrier

Another upside to being a mailman is that you also don’t have plenty of stress as many other people do at work.

Instead, you will have a rather relaxed workday since you will not have that much time pressure and can just bring letters to every door in your neighborhood.

You will also be quite flexible regarding whether you want to listen to music during work.

This is a privilege that not many other workers have since they often have to focus on their tasks in a pretty intense manner and don’t have time and nerves for any distractions.

Letter carriers often have free weekends

By working as a letter carrier, you will also be able to enjoy many free weekends.

In fact, many postmen don’t have to work on Saturdays and almost no postman has to work on Sundays.

Hence, this also implies that you will have many weekends that you can spend with your family and friends or also on your hobbies.

You can also make nice weekend trips with your loved ones while other people have to work during those times.

Not many extra hours

Post carriers are also not known for making that many extra hours.

Sure, from time to time, workloads will be higher than normal and you may have to work some additional hours.

This is especially due during Christmas season since people send more letters than at other times of the year.

However, you will still not feel overworked and will still have enough leisure to relax and to reload your batteries.

Good work-life balance of mailmen in general

Since you will have many free weekends and holidays and also don’t have to work many extra hours, you will have a pretty good work-life balance in general as a mailman.

Most mailmen also don’t have to work in the early morning or at nighttime and this further improves the quality of life of postmen since they simply have a pretty standard workweek without having to work at rather exotic times.

This also means that you can enjoy plenty of time with your family instead of just living for your job as many other people do in our current state of the world and chances are that you will be much happier due to that in the long run.

You don’t have to sit in an office all day long

Another benefit of becoming a mailman is that you can also avoid working in a classical office job.

Sure, there are people out there who really enjoy their work at the office.

Yet, there are also numerous people who don’t like office work at all and rather want to work outdoors instead.

Hence, depending on the type of person you are, you may also really benefit from the fact that you don’t have to sit in front of a computer screen for many hours a day and can enjoy your time outdoors instead as a postman.

Mailmen don’t have to go to the gym

As a mailman, there will also not be any need to go to the gym.

Since you will use your bicycle quite a lot in your job, chances are that you will stay fit in a rather natural manner.

Sure, you will still have to make sure to eat healthily so that you don’t gain that much weight.

Yet, compared to people who work in classical office jobs and don’t exercise at all, you will still have a huge advantage in this regard and will be far more likely to avoid overweight and the adverse health issues related to it.

You can talk to many people

Working as a mailman can also be great if you are the kind of extroverted person who really loves talking to people.

In fact, many postmen out there do not only bring you letters.

They also want to talk to you about many different topics and want to discuss what’s going on in the world.

Thus, becoming a postman will also be a good career choice if you are the kind of person who always needs attention and needs to communicate with people on a regular basis to stay happy and healthy in the long run.

Mailmen have decent job security

Another advantage of working as a postman is that you will also have pretty decent job security.

Not that many people aspire to a career as a mailman anymore and this often implies a shortage of mail carriers in many states and regions.

Therefore, becoming a mailman may also be suitable for you if you want to have a secure job that you can do for many years or even for the rest of your life.

You are important to keep our system running

Mail carriers are also crucial to keep our system running.

Imagine a state where you would no longer get letters anymore.

Our whole communication would eventually break down and our systems would no longer be able to work in an efficient manner.

Hence, while some people may belittle your work, you will still do an important job for society as a postman since many people just rely on your work without even knowing how important you really are for the overall success of society.

You don’t need a college degree for becoming a mailman

You also don’t need any fancy education for becoming a mailman.

You just need to finish high school and you will be suitable for a career as a mail carrier in most states.

This also implies that you don’t need to go to college to get a degree and this means that you can also save plenty of time and money that many other people have to spend on college degrees to get their dream job.

Not only can you spend this money on other things you like, but you can also earn money right from the beginning in your job as a mailman while many other people still sit in college and struggle with their finances.

Therefore, becoming a mailman can also make sense for you if you want to become independent pretty early in your life and are not willing to make huge financial commitments for your education.

You can avoid student loan debt

Since you don’t have to go to college for becoming a postal worker, you can also avoid student loan debt.

In fact, many students take on student loan debt to finance their college degree and while this can make their time in college more convenient since they don’t have to worry about money during this time that much, they have to pay the piper later on in their lives when they have to pay back huge sums of debt.

As a mail carrier, you don’t have to worry about student loan debt since you just don’t have to spend any money related to college education.

Mailmen may be able to work part-time

Many mailmen also work part-time.

Thus, working as a postman can also be great in case you have a family and a spouse who works full-time, yet you still need a bit of extra money to pay your bills and to afford some nice things for your home.

In fact, it is pretty common that the parent that takes care of the kids also works part-time and a job as a mailman can be great in this regard since you will be quite flexible and can manage your private and professional life in a pretty convenient manner.

Now that we have talked about all the advantages of a career as a mailman, we still have to talk about the downsides of this career path.

Therefore, I show you all the problems with being a mailman in the following chapters.

Disadvantages of Being a Postman

1. Mailmen don’t make that much money
2. Some tasks will be carried out by machines in the near future
3. Rather low social standing of postmen
4. You may have problems in the dating market
5. Difficult to start your own company
6. Dogs may bark at you
7. You will have to work outdoors under extreme conditions
8. Some mailmen suffer from old-age poverty
9. Being a postal carrier may become boring in the long run
10. Difficult to change jobs
11. You need to stay fit as a mailman
12. Some people may just mistrust you

Mailmen don’t make that much money

One disadvantage of being a mailman is that you will just not make that much money from your job compared to people working in private equity and many other people out there.

Yes, it will be enough to survive in most regions.

Yet, you will just not be able to afford any luxury, especially if you don’t have a partner who makes significantly more than you.

You may also have problems to raise your kids in a proper manner since kids are expensive and need new things all the time.

Thus, make sure that you are the kind of person who is fine with living humbly and doesn’t need much to be happy before deciding for a career as a postman.

Some tasks will be carried out by machines in the near future

While working as a postman implies decent job security right now, this may change in the near future.

Due to our technological progress and the invention of artificial intelligence and machine learning, chances are that many jobs will be outsourced to machines in the near future.

This also implies that many jobs in the postal industry will vanish and at some point in time, drones may just automatically bring your letters to your balcony or your mailbox and postal carriers may no longer be needed.

Rather low social standing of postmen

While postal workers are pretty important to keep our system running, they are still not greatly appreciated by many people in society. Yes, many people will greet you.

Yet, they will often talk bad behind your back and even your own family might not understand why you want to become a mail carrier instead of going to college and working as a doctor or in another fancy job.

Consequently, you should also make sure that the opinions of others don’t bother you that much and that you are fine with being belittled as a mail carrier.

You may have problems in the dating market

Since you will have a pretty low social standing, you may also have difficulties with finding a partner as a mail carrier.

Don’t get me wrong, many post carriers are married.

However, the selection of potential partners will be rather limited due to the rather low social standing and since you also don’t make that much money.

Hence, while other people who work as doctors or lawyers will almost have freedom of choice in this regard, you may have to put in much more effort to convince potential partners in the dating market that you are indeed a good choice for them.

This also implies that you will have to deal with rejection much more than other people and this can be really annoying in the long run.

Difficult to start your own company

Another problem with being a postman is that you will also not be able to work for yourself.

In fact, you will just not be able to start your own postal service and will have to work as an employee forever.

While some people like working as an employee, you will really struggle with it if you are the entrepreneurial type of person who wants to build businesses.

Thus, becoming a mailman will also not be suitable for you if you belong to the second category of people who are far happier by starting their own business instead of working for someone else.

Dogs may bark at you

Working as a mailman can also be difficult for you in case you are afraid of dogs.

You will just meet many dogs during your career that will bark at you and will not like you at all.

Some of them really look aggressive and intimidating and you should make sure that you are able to handle those situations in a calm but yet effective manner.

You will have to work outdoors under extreme conditions

Another downside of becoming a mailman is that you also have to work under extreme conditions outdoors.

While it can be nice to work as a postman on nice summer days, the opposite can be true when it rains or snows outdoors.

Since people will still need to get their letters, you will have to work outside and your boss will not care about whether it might be too cold or wet for you or not.

Some mailmen suffer from old-age poverty

Since you will not make that much money as a postman, you may also suffer from old-age poverty.

In fact, many mailmen, especially those who don’t know how to save and invest money, will no longer be able to pay rent and other basic expenses once they retire.

Thus, if you still want to become a mailman, at least make sure that you have proper investment schemes in place that can protect you from poverty once you get older and are no longer able to work.

Being a postal carrier may become boring in the long run

Many mailmen also get bored with what they are doing in the long run.

Sure, in the beginning, every job looks new and exciting and people are often quite ambitious to go to work.

However, after a while, this initial excitement vanishes and only a lack of motivation will often be left instead.

In fact, there are more exciting jobs out there and you should really ask yourself whether you can be happy with “just” being a mailman in the long run.

Difficult to change jobs

Another disadvantage of becoming a postal carrier is that you will also have serious difficulties changing jobs.

Especially if you have become a postman right after high school and don’t have any other qualifications, chances are that you will just get stuck in the postal industry since you will simply lack the skills that are necessary for working in a different field.

Thus, before becoming a letter carrier, you should really make sure that you want to do this job for the rest of your life.

You need to stay fit as a mailman

Since working as a mailman also implies some physical work since you will often have to get around by bike, you also have to make sure to stay fit and healthy.

For instance, you might get involved in an accident and may no longer be able to use a bike after that.

In turn, you may also no longer be able to work as a postman.

In turn, you may even get fired and may get into serious financial trouble due to that since you still have to pay your bills but may have no income anymore.

Some people may just mistrust you

While you will meet many nice people during work, some people will just mistrust you since they made bad experiences in the past and may also think that you want to rob them.

Hence, also make sure that you know how to deal with difficult people since you will need those skills once in a while.

Top 10 Being a Mailman Pros & Cons – Summary List

Should You Become A Mailman?

While there are many important advantages of working as a postman, there are also many downsides related to this profession.

In the end, you have to evaluate all the pros and cons of being a mail carrier yourself so that you can make a profound decision regarding your future career.

If you are still interested in becoming a letter carrier, you should also get detailed information on the salary, duties, future outlook, working hours, work-life balance, educational requirements and job satisfaction of mail carriers.

Also make sure to check out the following articles if you want to learn more about additional promising job opportunities:

Advantages and disadvantages of working as a gardener

Advantages and disadvantages of working as a farmer

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mail_carrier

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1087960/share-postal-service-mail-carriers-united-states-gender/

About the author

My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people about the different career paths that are possible in our current state of the world. In my opinion, people often make the mistake to choose their profession solely based on how much money they can earn from it instead of doing what makes them really happy.

This is quite sad and I just want to give people a more objective picture of how a fulfilling career could look like. I did the same when I started working in consulting after finishing my Master’s degree in Economics. However, I’ve quit pretty soon after that since I haven’t found true meaning in my job.

Now I can do what I really love to do and I want to enable as many other people as well to go this exciting path towards happiness instead of money.

I conducted various interviews with employees to give you a good impression of what working in different fields will look like and that you can make the best possible decision regarding your future career choice.

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