Whats the pay like at the USPS when you first start?

Question

like 15$ an hour?

Answer 1

When I started there 18 years ago, as a level 4 employee, I started at over $10/hr. I then changed to a level 5 job, then a level 6 position, and finally transferred to a different office at level 5. Later, I left the USPS so that I could go to Graduate school.

Before you can look up the pay schedules, you need to know about the different classes of employees.

First, there are temporary employees, known as "Casuals" who work for only 89 days at a time, and who get paid the least. They don't accumulate seniority, and have little status in the place. Their schedules can change, and they aren't guaranteed a certain number of hours.

Next are transitional employees, also known as "TE's", who are not career employees, but who can work for almost a year at a time, before having to take a non-pay break. They get paid just under the amount paid to entry level career employees. They get regular schedules. They don't accumulate seniority.

The highest paid are the career employees.
There are two types of employees here. Part-Time Flexible ("PTF's") employees can have their schedules changed around, and get assigned to jobs by the supervisors.
PTF's become regular employees ("Regulars") when they accumulate enough seniority. They can bid on jobs and, if they have high enough seniority, win the bids to work their preferred schedules and preferred positions.

You don't have to be a casual or TE before you take the career exam for the post office. When they are accepting applications for the exam, anyone can sign up for the test.

Once you're hired as a career employee, your pay will depend upon the level of job at which you're hired. Mail Processors are level 4, Manual Clerks and some machine clerks are level 5, and some machine clerks are level 6. It's possible that you could be hired at any of those levels. (There are other levels, of course.)

You can look at pay schedules for the various levels at:
http://www.apwu.org/dept/ind-rel/irpayinfo.htm

It doesn't list casual, but that is probably $6-8/hour.

Answer 2

Between $12 and $15 per hour, I think. But it's a wacky place to work - I worked one summer in the Hartford, CT facility and the people were indeed a bit wacky. I think you need to be picked up as a temporary worker, or 89-dayer, first before you're eligible to take the test to get in as a permanent employee.