This interview is based on a conversation with Jim Lexa, 63, a letter carrier from West Seneca, New York. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I never started out in journalism because of the money. I could have earned higher wages by staying in my job straight out of college, working in the kitchen of a diner chain.
Instead, I was bitten by the writing bug as a high schooler, when I was hired by a local town newspaper in Lily Lake, Illinois, to cover all high school sports, particularly football.
Those were the years I learned basic journalism rules, such as spelling people’s names correctly and getting the scores right.
I got my journalism degree and, after a brief stint working at the diner, landed a sports reporter job at a regional newspaper group in Amarillo, Texas. My salary in 1984 was $230 a week.
The popularity of newspapers dropped
It was exciting to write about teams like the Dallas Cowboys, and there was a lot more to it than game coverage. I enjoyed meeting people and telling their stories.
In 1998, I moved to the copy desk, where my responsibilities included clearing the front page and assigning tasks.
Then the popularity of newspapers began to dwindle. Circulation dropped. The publishers stopped hiring people, and you’d see offices being closed off. Then came the pay cuts.
Management always said they were for the good of the company. Still, when my $37,500 annual base salary was reduced to $30,000, I started to seriously worry.
I’d go to the grocery store with a calculator to figure out what kind of food I could afford. If one of my pets got sick, I’d be concerned about paying the vet bills.
By early 2015, I was feeling burned out. Constantly meeting deadlines and filling the pages was getting to me. The stress wasn’t worth the amount I was paid.
I took a deep breath and quit, moving to DeKalb, Illinois, where I did handyman, painting, and cleaning work.
I was promoted within 2 years
Still, I felt like I needed a proper, new direction. It felt late in the game to make a career change at 53, but I heard they were hiring at the post office and was hired in November 2015.
My entry-level job as a clerk was the brief stepping stone to becoming a city carrier assistant in January 2016. About two years later, I was promoted to letter carrier after I moved to Buffalo, New York.
You have a few days’ training, and then you’re out on your own, which was scary. At first, I’d spend ages poring over maps, but as time passed, I got to know my routes well.
In my current position, I earn $34.26 per hour, with overtime at time-and-a-half after eight hours and double time after 10 hours. During COVID, I was putting in 60 hours a week.
This past year, I topped $85,000 — nearly three times as much as my base salary in newspapers. My wife and I don’t have to worry about dining out, and we enjoy nice vacations together.
I’m much less stressed
One of the best things to come out of all this is feeling the fittest I’ve ever been. I use a postal vehicle, but I walk 12 to 18 miles a day. If it’s just my route, it’s probably around 30,000 steps daily.
During the winter, when it’s really snowy, and I get a lot of overtime, I can get in as many as 40,000 steps. I’m 5’8″ tall and weigh 160 pounds.
I’m so glad that I made the switch. I’ve got a decent salary with less stress, good benefits, a friendly relationship with my regular customers, and a spring in my step at 63.
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