Advice on angling for career?

[possumswerver]

So, I work at Office A, 35 min from home, where I'm the senior RCA who actually wants a route. (There is another doing it as a retirement job.) All POVs.

Office B, 20 minutes from home, might have a carrier retiring this year, if her "this is my last Christmas" wasn't bluster... AND it has a postal vehicle. They have a single new RCA, ineligible for a route until next spring. Office C, an hour from home, with a heavy but scenic, partially lakeside route (e.g. yuppies ordering off Amazon), has a route where the carrier has finally decided to retire after a year on sick leave. POV route, no RCA in the office.

All three are truly rural. Just a few boxes in small towns before heading out into the boonies. No suburbia in sight.

There's a lot of calculus to do, as you may see... in the end, Office B is the dream. Office A might keep me waiting a few more years for that salary, though the EMA on any route there would be great (all 80-100 mi.). Office C is an almost 100% guarantee of going regular (checking on some final deets), I love the scenery, I could take mini-vacays every day after work if I so pleased, and I've done long commutes before. That said, it's pretty sweet getting to sleep in when I'm working at Office B. Never worked that close to home except on days I work there.

Any sage wisdom here? Would going for Office C by transferring in at the last second make it harder to get into Office B later? (Possibly not much later at all, but that's not certain?) Or is going regular such a crapchute I need to snap up Office C right away?

Thank you!!

 

[Rogtar]

B: I would never trust a "i'm retiring this year" statement, and depending on how long that eventually happens that RCA may come out of probation in time to swoop in.

C: Actual likelihood is higher, but working that distance is a personal choice. More maintenance and time spent traveling than before. Transfers occur by mutual consent, so I would ask if anyone at B wants to move to C at some point and see if that helps. Also note it allows everyone else at the destinations first bids on the route transferring out, so you may not get what transferred and be stuck at the worst route of the office.

A: Yeah, that sucks. I don't handle EMA, appears undervalued for the costs associated to me, but grabbing that Reg status and all the OT from RDWL work for not having off-days is much better. Not to mention step increases and whatnot. Pick the other options.

 

[jaymacgthree]

Until someone retires you have no guarantees and yes there is much bluster and misinformation that gets passed around by people trying to manipulate subs (YOU).

You sound like you want or need to work a lot so Office C's retiring/sick carrier will give you that and potentially a regular position in the near future. However a long commute coupled with EMA that barely covers vehicle expenses doesn't make much sense economically unless you have the potential to relocate to that locale.

Office B is most advantageous if you can get enough hours to have a decent paycheck between transferring and becoming career. If you can pick up hours at the other offices you also get an increase in mileage reimbursement because those will be farther than home base. However transferring can burn bridges because you may be dead to Office A should you leave.

For me it would be Office B, followed by Office C and staying at Office A as last resort but you don't have a crystal ball and you never know if something will open up there. Good luck.

 

[jsthere723]

B for me unless it is J or H route . You never mentioned the sizes of the route though. Or C if B doesn’t actually retire

 

[Moe87]

Is moving an option? I just bought a house on my route and it's been amazing! Take the office you want, get to know the customers, then you will have inside info for when someone is moving from a house you like! Took a couple years for me but it's totally been worth it!

 

[Rt2mailman]

The way routes are awarded matters the most, not your desires.
Here's the contractual way routes are awarded to the most senior carriers.
1) First to any regulars in the office that want that route
2) Second to an̈y eligible Rca's (employed in the USPS for mire thsn 1 year)in that office
3) Third, it goes to any regulars or Ptf's in the district that want to bid on that regular route
4) Forth it is put up for bid to any Rca's in that office's district, this would be the first chance you would get to bid on the route, winning the bid if you had the most seniority.
5) The USPS hires off the street or can allow transfers of regulars/Ptf's outside of their district to take the route, rarely done and hardly know to be an ability to rural carriers.
Unless you officially are transfered to an office as an Rca, many other rural employees can out bid you for any of your "choice" routes. That being said, many rural carriers or pm's will say anything to an rca to get them to officially move (be assigned) to their office so they will have 1st choice of where you work. In general, everyone is out to help themselves first, others afterwards.

 

[Gotrope]

No one is mentioning the weather.
How is an hour commute in good weather versus blizzard? If it is snow country. Absolutely not on office C. Too many hazards to surmount with travel. And that's an extra 2 hours a day from home. Unpaid. As you age, that time not used productively makes you resentful. And puts 20-25% more vehicle repairs in your future. If you can move closer to that office, it's a better long-term fit.
But, really understand how bidding works. You may not be eligible for a route or even in the seniority running.
And NEVER trust anyone or rumors of retirement. Also, understand the new pay structure before you get stuck in it. Unless you are a ptf with time served, you will likely earn less when you first go regular than a RCA with heavy hours. Know that and expect a 15-20% decrease in take-home pay from deductions as a regular carrier.
As a regular, you will have retirement deductions, TSP deductions, and probably more expensive healthcare deductions. All great things. Just know the take-home will be less.