Should I quit my job?

I’d like to know the attendance records of your co-workers. How many of them are oversleeping and late for their shifts? How many are sneaking around the corner while on break to take a hit? (Weed + vehicles = stupid.) I’m guessing you’re a much more reliable employee and your boss takes that into account. He knows you’ll be there. He knows the job will get done and done well, even if it’s not perfect. These jamokes, he’s not so sure about them.

 

Maybe the guy who is saying shit wanted his friend to get your job but they hired you instead. Maybe you’re doing a lot better than you think and this guy just wants to rile you up enough to quit so his friend has another crack at it.

 

Piggybacking on some of the other comments - I've been driving a USPS truck (LLV) on Sundays for about two years, to make some extra cash for an engagement ring. It honestly took me about 3 or 4 months to get used to driving it, and that's with the benefit of a bunch of mirrors that make parking pretty easy. Now that I'm two years into the job, I'm about as fast as anyone else there when it comes to loading the truck, doing my stops and getting back at the end of the day.

As others have said, if the workplace just isn't that great, you might want to explore USPS, Fedex, UPS, etc. The downside to all three is that they all pretty much work you 50, even 60+ hours at various points, but it's really good money if you're dependable. A buddy of mine switched from the news side to USPS, and he would never go back. It can take a while to make regular - anywhere from a couple months to 10 years, depending on the seniority list where you start - but once you do, it's a pretty stable, regular job.

 

Several years ago I would regularly go to USPS and UPS career websites.

Never anything available at UPS. Only "rural" routes 75+ miles away at USPS. I just checked for shits and giggles, and USPS has a rural carrier associate position available in a town "only" 35 miles from my house. But it's a "non-career position which may lead to a career position."

 

I commute 30 miles each way to work right now. Before that, I commuted 1 hour and 40 minutes each way for four years on a train, waking up at 5:30 a.m. and getting home at 7:30 p.m. What do you consider a reasonable distance to travel to make more money? Like, what's the cut-off/trade-off?

If you were gonna make, say, 33 percent more in salary, would you commute 30 minutes more each way?

 

This may be ironic considering I haven't driven once since late 2015, but driving is like any skill. The more you do it, the better you get at it.

You may not have the skill set necessary for the job right now, but who's to say you won't get there? I'd suggest you try some practice driving as much as you can so you can get better. In some sense, it's like writing. If you were still in a writing gig, I'd recommend you do practice writing, even if it's not intended to see the light of day. Just hone your craft, and you'll get better.

I also recommend talking with your supervisor. If he's as fine with you as you suggest, he'll be happy to help you through both your concerns about doing the job and with the bullying from your co-workers.

 

My guideline is no more than 45 minutes to get to work. Currently it's a little less than that (drive is only 30 minutes, but half-mile walk to the office adds another 10).

I would not take a job that required an hour and 15 minutes to get to work for a 33-percent raise. Not at THIS point in my life (where time > money). Equation would certainly change if I was 25 (that extra salary would have a long time to build a nice retirement).

But right now? I believe I would basically dread going to work each day knowing 75 minutes in the car was staring me in the face.

 

Oh, hell yeah, I would never drive 75 minutes to work. A train is altogether different.

 

Oh, it definitely leads to career - the problem is, that could mean anywhere from 90 days to 25 years, haha. All depends on when the regular carriers retire. Once you make career, you have a steady, five day work week, but the problem is that RCA is an uncapped and unscheduled hourly position. Meaning, you can literally work 28 straight days (as one person I know did), or, you might work two days a week (another person). It's usually one extreme or the other, but you don't normally find out until you're hired.

 

Local knowledge helps, like if the prior carrier just croaked and they’re testing people out.

 

A long time ago, I applied for a job at UPS. They didn't take me because my cousin worked there (She still does) and they promote entirely from within, so no family members can work there.

I've heard Costco is a good place to work.

From what I've heard about Amazon, I'm not sure that it would be a good fit for me. I don't think I can keep up with the pace they expect. That also holds true for UPS and night stocking jobs at supermarkets.

The last few nights at my job have been interesting. Last night I had to drive three different passenger vans, the kinds that schools use to carry cross country teams. My whole life I've driven smaller cars, Nissan Sentras, Toyota Corollas, Dodge Neons, etc., so I get a bit of anxiety about driving something that big. One of them I had to drive for an hour in a driving rainstorm, through several construction zones. I white-knuckled it the whole way.

I guess you can't avoid things because you're not good at them.

It's funny about the guy who gave me a hard time. We've gotten along OK the last few days. I've given him rides to the train station at the end of the shift. I didn't bring it up. I figure just go forward.