Okay so I can't give a lot of information as I am rounding into my second week but what I can do is give enough to assist those that are considering the job.

And one important thing before I begin: THIS ALL DEPENDS ON THE LOCATION THAT YOU ARE AT. So please, keep that in consideration.

First and foremost: Whilst being a MHA is an easy job, it is EXTREMELY physically demanding. You will be sweating, you will be sore in the morning, you WILL BE tired, achy, etc. I suggest bringing a 62 oz or a bigger water bottle to continuously pump fluids into you.

Depending on the building that you work at, it WILL GET hot in the summer months because most if not all of the government buildings are old. The one I work at is super old so it gets extremely hot. Also, some of the buildings, I know the building I work at has AC, but that AC ain't for you. It's for the machines so they don't over heat.

They do have huge industrial fans (ik my building does) and they do help cool me off when I'm getting super hot.

I cannot stress this enough: WEAR GOOD SHOES. You are only allowed to wear all leather shoes, or shoes that have leather covering the FULL heal and toes. I suggest wearing compression socks with your regular socks, and shoe inserts. You will be on your feet the duration of your shift.

In terms of your shifts: No you will not have a set schedule until you make regular (career). Expect to work EVERY weekend and every holiday. Depending on the mail volume you may get UP TO two days off. But it is not a guarantee.

Also expect to be working late afternoons into the mornings. Now, due to COVID many people retired so you MIGHT work the morning shifts but that depends on where the location needs you. It is NOT guarantee and because you are low on the seniority list, you more than likely won't get to go where you want to.

What I suggest is just keep plugging along, work your way up via seniority and do what is BEST for YOU. When you have the opportunity to make career, you can bid on a job but keep in mind that they will choose whomever has seniority (Bidding for a job just means signing up for that set schedule).

Your hours WILL FLUCTUATE. Again, this all depends on the mail volume and where they need you in the plant. As a MHA you are only guarantee 4 hours each day, 20 hours a week. HOWEVER, they will tell you in training expect to work up to 12 hours a day plus OT (up to 12 maybe 16 hours).

MHA's are mandated to work OT if all the career folks who have signed up for OT are already working.

When you are first starting out you get 90 days of probation. It just means that they want to make sure that you are doing your job. I suggest to be EXTREMELY cautious during these 90 days. Show up to work on time, do your job to the BEST of your ability, and for the love of God don't be on your phone.

Edit: What I mean by working to the best of your ability: Do not try and over exert yourself and get yourself injured on the job, ESPECIALLY during your 90 days. Management can try and get you for that as well too. So with that being said, if you are lifting, lift with your legs not your back. Wear all PPE (Personal protective equipment) given to you. In orientation and training they will continuously tell you that safety comes first.

Edit: during your downtime do some stretches. Keep your body moving, blood flowing, etc. I always do stretches during downtime throughout my shift. It has helped my body from being as stiff and sore.

Management can fire you for pretty much anything (they can't fire you for reasons such as your age, race, etc.). If they see you are on your phone, they could fire you for stealing company time. If you try and move your car or go out to your car without asking if it's okay from management they can fire you for that. They can fire you for being absent or being late. If you choose get trained on PIT equipment (highlows, tugs, etc) and you cause an accident they can fire you for that.

I suggest you join the union after orientation because if management tries to come sideways towards you, the union can help you get your job back.

They use a 24 hour clock so if you are not accustomed to it, I would suggest getting accustomed to it. They also pay by the 100th of the hour. So for instant if you clocked in at 3:30pm, it would show up on your timecard as 15:50.

You are allowed to not take your lunch break and work through it. It's unpaid but you will have to fill out paperwork work for it.

You are allowed to listen to music, podcasts, etc with earbuds or headphones.

And to make regular also depends on the location and the trend. Right now where I'm at, they are estimating that MHAs are converting to career after 6 to 9 months. If you work for the post office for up to 2 years you will automatically be converted to career. HOWEVER, across the board MHAs convert faster than any other career regardless.

Edit: ASK QUESTIONS!! Depending on your location and who you're working with, they welcome any and all questions!! They know you're new to the job and they will answer anything for you or direct to someone who can. Don't try and rush your way through the job and make mistakes. Take your time, learn the job, the speed will come later. I'm still asking questions and double, triple checking my work. When a worker comes over and explains to me why I got something wrong, I don't get offended because I'd rather make the mistake and learn now while I'm fairly new, than make the mistake months/years now the line.

Any other helpful tips or questions I will try to answer however for the time being this is as much as I know. Anyone else can put their two cents in as well too. What I will leave you is I highly recommend this job. It's not as scary or bad as you might think.