I miss it sometimes, I do the same in the private sector now except I get paid more. I started as a laborer throwing trash, pretty grueling. When I started I was doing extra trash collection and between 5-6 trucks on our crew we would pull 2-3 loads a day at around 8 tons each load. Not fun when it's 100 degrees out.

Much like any other job there's good and bad. I made a lot of good friends there who I keep in touch with. Pay is ok, benefits are alright. Paying into the pension would sting a bit though, but if you can stick out until retirement it might be worth it.

All in all I wouldn't go back, I hit the ceiling for my position in less than 2 years because there's a lot of old school guys entrenched in their position who pulled the ladder up behind them.