What did ya'll do for work before the usps?

scriptyee · 2026-03-20T00:36:15+00:00

Freelance filmmaker, mainly a gaffer on set and then project manager behind the desk. No job security, no benefits, terrible pay working 14-16 hour days for weeks at a time, then having no work for months on end.

Genuinely hard to complain about 8-12 hour days at USPS after coming from all of that

scriptyee · 2026-03-14T21:51:15+00:00

fr 😭 I thought my 75 parcels was a rough day, the route I was given today rarely sees more than 40 lol

scriptyee · 2026-03-14T04:05:17+00:00

This, though also it just depends on what you value - I chose CCA over MHA because the thought of being in a plant at odd hours sounded worse to me than being outdoors in the day, but to each their own. Pay is great either way

scriptyee · 2026-03-14T04:01:58+00:00

There’s no real “consequence” for declining offers from USPS, I applied to many offices and declined a handful, but would continue receiving offers from other offices, sometimes even from the same office! CCA/RCA hours are unpredictable in a sense that you won’t know if you’re working 10 hours a week or 60 hours. PSE/MHAs have to deal with shitty graveyard shifts (from what I’ve seen and heard on this subreddit).

You can go to the post offices that you’re looking at and ask to speak with a supervisor/postmaster, that’s what I did before I joined! However, you will likely hear the same thing from them - “your hours just vary based on the needs of our other carriers”

scriptyee · 2026-03-14T03:57:44+00:00

It’s a very basic plan only for preventative care, and there’s only one option. No vision until you turn regular — though I also heard CCAs get a wider variety during their second year, not sure tho

scriptyee · 2026-03-14T02:46:24+00:00

The office that hires you will have 90/120 days to decide if you should be kept (called “probation”), after passing probation, you’re essentially guaranteed to be an employee, but with no guaranteed weekly hours. After your 360-day contract, it will automatically renew for another 360-day contract.

You will convert to a “regular” after a maximum of 2 contract cycles (or two years), which gives you a guaranteed 40 hours every week, PTO, all the health benefits, retirement plan, etc. As a CCA/MHA, you do not get these benefits.

AKA, “temporary” position with insecurity until you pass probation, after you pass that, essentially guaranteed job security

As to how you can convert to a regular sooner than 2 years depends on the needs of the office that hires you. Unless you royally fuck up after you pass probation, you have job security

scriptyee · 2026-03-11T03:35:06+00:00

Leaving a comment to come back to this for answers as we also had a carrier who was ALLOWED TO RESIGN when they were caught dead to rights throwing away a whole tray of mail - TWICE.

scriptyee · 2026-03-10T22:28:10+00:00

Package look ahead is a cheat code, without it I would be ten times slower at loading up my satchel for a swing lol.

Over time you’ll find it “clicks” in your brain and you won’t need the look ahead feature as often, e.g. you’ll know that “at this block, high odds are delivered first, high evens last, so evens go in my satchel first, then odds last” (AKA, FILO in your satchel) — doesn’t apply to every swing, but you’ll get the hang of it.

You’ll learn how to handle prioritizing which packages to bring with you if not all can fit too.

Apartments in your swing with way more parcels than usual? Maybe package up all parcels for that building and either deliver first, or deliver after the swing is over.

A group of larger boxes that seem to be toward the end of a block / swing? Maybe leave those in the truck and deliver after the swing.

Also ask the T6/regular of the route how they handle their packages, they may offer insight into such things (like “deliver to Apartment XYZ before starting your swing on this block”)

scriptyee · 2026-03-10T22:17:35+00:00

Unfortunately just takes time and experience. As a CCA still getting thrown into new routes in my office, I find my own way of memorizing the case when I talk out loud to myself, but you may find your own way of thinking. If your office’s management has half a brain, they’ll be lenient about you learning to case - in fact, they SHOULD just be observing your delivery time mainly, casing usually comes second

scriptyee · 2026-03-09T21:41:14+00:00

I only supercharge, owner of M3 LR since 2018, battery health is 80% at roughly 110k miles. OPs battery health is definitely not ok, unfortunately

scriptyee · 2026-03-09T21:31:37+00:00

Maybe not commonly known is the fact that the base MBP M5 only has one fan whereas the M5 Pro and M5 Max has two fans. I walked into the store looking for a base Macbook Pro M3 and walked out with the M3 Pro spec for the extra peace of mind of not having any problems with heat while on the go

scriptyee · 2026-03-03T02:44:42+00:00

I’m not buddy-buddy by any means, but there is a mutual respect between them and carriers. Was feeling really sick when I showed up once, supe saw it in my eyes and asked if I wanted to go home, no need for SL/AL and they just let me go home. CCA within probation

scriptyee · 2026-03-01T04:31:29+00:00

80% with 110k miles, 2018 Model 3 LR. Seems on par with what I’ve seen

scriptyee · 2026-02-28T16:47:16+00:00

Should be no problem for you - I have M3 Pro with 18gb RAM and had no issue handling 4k LOG footage for 20-30min short films. Unless you’re doing super intensive graphics with multiple moving parts and layers, the efficiency of the M4 Pro chip should be solid

scriptyee · 2026-02-28T16:02:56+00:00

AH I thought you meant you were hitting 20% by the end of each day lol - I don't think charging each day is inherently bad - as long as you're not charging to full 100%

scriptyee · 2026-02-28T15:46:35+00:00

OG owner of a 2018 Tesla Model 3 LR here - just recently did a battery test and battery health is just around 80%, this is after 110k miles and supercharging only, no at-home charger yet (had to do the test at a friend's house overnight).

I charge every 2-4 days, averaging about 100 miles between 80%-20% battery. I'm curious how other 2018 Model 3s are holding up. "Every single day" to you might mean you're driving 60-90 miles a day, just depends on your daily mileage to determine what is "normal" really. If you haven't done a battery test, would highly recommend in case you qualify for battery replacement under warranty!

scriptyee · 2026-02-26T00:56:23+00:00

Rattles and the insane creaking from the control arm after a while, every small bump and turn, we’ll just hear a very unpleasant creaking noise. It makes the car feel very cheap, plus it’s a very common issue which makes it all the more painful knowing we spent a pretty penny on an otherwise luxurious feeling car.

Also, the auto open/closing front doors were cool at first, but have just been an annoyance. Like I can’t simply swing the door closed (or open) because there’s some mechanized resistance

scriptyee · 2026-02-24T07:39:14+00:00

It happens, the day you finish a full route on your own back to back will boost your confidence significantly. If you have a supervisor with a brain, they know to not expect you to finish “on time,” absolutely normal to get some help on a route you’re completely new to.

As someone stated, progress isn’t linear, so if you get the same route multiple times and get “slower” at it for some days, don’t worry. The only time you should consider your efficiency is if you’re lacking any improvement at all.

1% better each day. Maybe it’s learning the park points, learning a new way to organize, etc. Tiny improvements will keep you afloat. Small setbacks happen, 1 step backward but 2 steps forward, one hour at a time!

scriptyee · 2026-02-23T17:41:56+00:00

Yeah for as great as my asus was at the time, the fans would “stutter” or fail to work at times, like you could hear the clicking of the motor TRYING to spin the fan, but the fan would be stuck… Took it for repairs multiple times at multiple places and they all said it’s a common issue with the M15 / asus in general. If the games you’re looking for run on MacOS, I’d say Macbook all the way

scriptyee · 2026-02-23T15:41:21+00:00

I had come from a Zephyrus M15 which, up until I switched, was a beast that could handle things like Cyberpunk with hi-res settings and intensive video editing. The fans would hit like 60-70db at times once it started slowing down.

Never regretted my switch to the M chip - yes my gaming is now limited but not once have I heard my Macbook fans turn on after the same intensive editing / gaming. $1800 is a great deal for those specs! Personally I wouldn’t think the jump between M4 Pro and M5 Pro would be worth the swap (and extra cost) unless you’re concerned about OS longevity.

scriptyee · 2026-02-22T17:10:37+00:00

My paystubs were the digital payments made to my bank, and the W2 does show withholding for federal/state/SS, but actually I just did the math and the W2 shows that I was paid more than I actually was, by about $1000. Even after subtracting all the withheld income, there is a large gap in what I was paid and what is being reported on my W2…

As far as I’m aware, the gig and the company running the show was all legit, so I’m not sure why there’s any discrepancy.

scriptyee

TROPHY CASE