Post Office Jobs Overview - What To Expect From
Post Office Jobs Employment?
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Warning First (Scam Alert)
Don't pay anyone to take a postal exam or to find a
government job!
Apply for all job vacancies in the
government and
private sectors
to improve you chance of employment.
Hundreds of thousands apply each year for postal jobs, and those who
understand the hiring process and study for entrance exams - when required -
will dramatically improve their chances. The Postal Service never charges
fees to take an exam or to apply for jobs. Don’t be misled by ads that offer
postal employment and charge a fee for their services. You will find all you
need on this site and in the book Post Office Jobs:
Explore and Find Jobs, Prepare for the 473 Postal Exam, and Locate ALL Job
Opportunities.
Adding benefits, overtime, and premiums, the average bargaining unit
annual compensation rate was $66,929 in 2008. The Postal Service is huge by
any standard, employing over 765,000 workers with an annual budget of $75
billion. It pays over $2 billion in salaries and benefits every two weeks to
workers in 300 occupations for positions at 37,000 post offices, branches,
and stations throughout the United States. Approximately 40,000 postal
workers are hired yearly to backfill for retirements, transfers, deaths and
to replace employees who choose to leave for other reasons.
Starting pay in 2009 was $20.94 per hour, $43,555 per year, for part-time
flexible mail carriers. Mail handlers start at $15.65 per hour, $32,553 per
year, and clerks start at $19.19 per hour, $39,915 per year. Workers are
initially hired under the part-time flexible pay scale and typically work 40
or more hours per week.
The average pay and benefits for career bargaining unit employees was
$66,929 per year, excluding corporate-wide expenses, in 2008. The largest
pay system in the Postal Service is predominantly for bargaining unit
employees. There are also executive and administrative annual
Pay-For-Performance schedules for non-bargaining unit members that pay from
$21,293 up to an authorized maximum of $110,329. The
PS pay scale is the largest pay system in the
USPS and is predominately for bargaining unit employees.
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Employee Classification
Bargaining unit employees initial appointments are either casual or
transitional (temporary)
or Part-Time Flexible (Career). Hourly rates for Part-Time Flexible
employees vary depending upon the position's rate schedule. Some positions
are filled full-time such as the Maintenance (Custodial) classification.
Corporate non-tested positions are classified differently. Click
here for Corporate job information.
Full-Time and Part-Time Flexible (career) employees compose the Regular
Work Force. This category includes security guards. Part-Time Flexible
employees are scheduled to work fewer than 40 hours per week and they must
be available for flexible work hours as assigned. Part-Time Flexible
employees are paid by the hour. Hourly rates vary from $16.72 for PS Grade 3
Step BB to $31.62 for PS Grade 11 step P. See page 15 for a complete pay
scale listing.
A Supplemental Work Force is needed by the Postal Service for peak mail
periods and offers casual (temporary) employees two 89-day employment terms
in a calendar year. During Christmas an additional 21 days of employment can
be offered to Supplemental Work Force employees. Transitional (temporary)
employees can work up to 360 days in carrier positions
College students may be considered for casual (temporary) employment with
the Postal Service during the summer months. The rate of pay ranges from
$6.55 to
$22.50 per hour. Tests are not required and appointments can not lead to a
career position. Apply early for summer work. Contact Post Offices in your
area by no later than February for summer employment applications. Casual
temporary positions are also advertised on the Postal Services’ employment
and job listing web site. Visit the "Resources" section for direct links to
their site.
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Various standards from age restrictions to physical requirements must be met
before you can take one of the Postal Service exams.
You must be 18 to apply. Certain conditions allow applicants as young as 16
to apply. Carrier positions requiring driving are limited to age 18 or
older. High school graduates or individuals who terminated high school
education for sufficient reason are permitted to apply at age 16.
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Applicants for clerk, carrier and other specific jobs must pass an
entrance exam. Specialties such as mechanic, electronic technician,
machinist, and trades must also pass a written test. The overall rating is
based on the test results and your qualifying work experience and education.
Professionals and certain administrative positions don’t require an entrance
exam or written test. They are rated and hired strictly on their prior work
experience and education.
The Postal Service schedules exams for applicants who apply for specific
jobs online at
http://www.usps.com/employment.
Exams are scheduled within 14 days from the date you first apply and you can
use that same exam results to apply for other vacancies.
The 473 Postal Examination covers the following entry level positions:
- City Carrier
- Mail Processing Clerk
- Mail handler
- Sales, Services, and Distribution Associate
The 473 Postal Examination covers the majority of entry level hiring,
although some offices also maintain custodial registers which, by law, are
reserved for veterans’ preference eligibles. The USPS also maintains motor
vehicle and tractor trailer registers and some highly skilled maintenance
positions such as building equipment mechanic, engineman, electronics
technician, and general mechanic. All the skilled maintenance positions
require examination 931. A separate announcement, examination 932, is
required for Electronics Technician positions.
Eight sample exams are presented in Chapter Four of
Post Office Jobs, and a sample 473 Battery Test is included in Chapter
Five, along with a comprehensive study guide in the Fourth Edition of
Post Office Jobs, available at your local bookstore, library, or order
with any major credit card
online
or by calling 1-800-782-7424 to help you prepare for
this test. The 473 examination and completion of forms will require
approximately three hours. Jobs with the U.S. Postal Service are highly
competitive due to the excellent salary and benefits offered. It’s essential
that you pass the test with the highest score possible to improve your
chances. Applicants scoring between 95 and 100 percent have a better chance
of being hired.
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Applicants do not have to be U.S. citizens. If you have permanent alien
resident status in the United States of America or owe allegiance to the
United States you can apply for Postal Service jobs.
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Physical requirements are determined by the job. Carriers must be able to
lift a 70-pound mail sack and all applicants must be able to efficiently
perform assigned duties. Eyesight and hearing tests are required. Applicants
must have at least 20/40 vision in the good eye and no worse than 20/100 in
the other eye. Eyeglasses are permitted.
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Applicants must have a valid state driver’s license for positions that
require motor vehicle operation. A safe driving record is required and a
Postal Service road test is administered for the type of vehicle that you
will operate.
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The Postal Service maintains a comprehensive program to ensure a drug-free
workplace. A qualification for postal employment is to be drug free, and
this qualification is determined through the use of a urinalysis drug
screen. When you are determined to be in the area of consideration for
employment, you will be scheduled for a drug screening test.
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Rural Carrier Update
The Postal Service eliminated the Rural Carrier 460 exam in 2008. They
must now take the same 473 exam that mail
carriers and handlers must pass. You will find rural carrier jobs listed on
the Postal Services job search page and you can sort
by Sate and city.
This information is excerpted from the all new fourth edition of "Post
Office Jobs." This title includes everything you need to land a
Post Office job. You can also visit your local Library's Reference
Department to review this informative book, call 1-800-782-7424 to order a
copy by phone or order
on-line.
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