A former USPS employee went viral on TikTok after claiming that working for the mail carrier service wasn’t a worthwhile prospect for him, stating the “cons” of the job far outweigh its “pros.”
TikTok user @thisiscls uploaded a clip of him speaking into a microphone with a green screen of a photo of a USPS truck filled with packages.
@thisiscls Working for #usps #mailcarrier #mailman #cls #thingsyoushouldknow #stress #hardwork #details #atl #atlanta #greenscreenvideo #greenscreen ♬ original sound – CLS
“I used to work for USPS. I was a carrier for almost two years and I can honestly say it was one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had in my life,” he says in the clip. “I’m not really sure how it was prior to COVID, ’cause I started working there in 2020.”
He says that having time to himself was almost impossible while he was working for the mail carrier.
“If you want to have a personal life it’s not a place you want to work,” he tells viewers. “I mean you literally have to sacrifice your personal life to do a job. And I feel like anytime you have to sacrifice your personal life to do a job, it’s not worth it.”
The TikToker says working as a mail carrier could potentially be a good career for individuals who are willing to put in long hours and want a company they can retire working from after 20 to 30 years.
“And you can make a lot of money working for this company. But it’s not always about the money,” he shares. “My thing is, if you decide to work for this company, there are some things you might want to research prior to starting. You know, when you’re going through that application process.”
He claims that USPS managers refrain from telling employees some of the drawbacks of working for them, however.
“There’s some things that you might want to know before you even start moving in that direction. And guess what, they’re not gonna tell you. They’re not gonna put it on the website, the people in the office are not gonna tell you,” he says. “They might give you little bits and pieces, but they’re not gonna give you all the details. But guess what, I’ll tell you. Let me put it to you like this: this is a situation where the cons definitely outweigh the pros.”
The TikToker concludes the video by promising to deliver the details as to why working for USPS ultimately isn’t worth it. In follow-up clips, however, other viewers on the platform criticized him for taking too long to deliver the “cons” of the job.
“DANG NABIT, I know I waited 9 months to be born but you’re taking TOO LONG FOR THE VIDEO WE’RE LOOKING FOR,” one user said.
Another quipped, “Bro is literally too slow at delivery this is starting to sound like a skill issue.” Someone else remarked, “Bro just give the details it don’t take that long.”
In response to his initial video, however, there were a number of users who said that despite the potential for mail carriers to make a lot of money with overtime, there’s a lot of labor that goes into the job.
One user wrote, “And ppl say being a mail carrier is easy. They have NO CLUE what ups, FedEx, and USPS go through everyday.”
Another said while they worked six days a week, they were able to provide for their family quite well, writing, “I worked for USPS from 1992-2002 made a lot of money but worked 6 days a week. Took really good care of wife and kids.”
Other mail carriers said the key to ensuring they didn’t experience burnout on the job was carefully restricting the number of hours that they allowed themselves to work in a day.
Some stated that the volume of deliveries has increased over the years, which has made the job much more difficult for new carriers.
As one user said, “mailman for 20 years and I love it. the newbies 100% have it much harder now than when I started.” This insight seems to be in line with what @thisiscls said about starting his job during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Others listed their own pros vs. cons list for working for USPS.
“35 years as a carrier. Body breaks down. High divorce rate. Good retirement if you plan it right,” a user shared.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @thisiscls and USPS via email for further comment.
