I spent decades working a stressful job that paid $30,000. At age 53, I quit my job to become a postman and my salary nearly tripled.

• Jim Lexa worked as a journalist for 30 years and saw his salary plummet as print media died.

• He quit without another job at age 53, worked as a bricklayer, then worked at the Post Office.

• He now earns up to $85,000 a year – nearly three times his old salary – and can walk 40,000 steps a day.

This interview is based on a conversation with Jim Lexa, 63, a mailman from West Seneca, New York. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I never started journalism for money. I could have earned a higher salary by continuing my job right after college, working in the kitchen of a chain restaurant.

Instead, I was bitten by the writing bug as a high school student, when I was hired by a local town newspaper in Lily Lake, Illinois to cover all high school sports, especially football.

Those were the years I learned basic journalistic rules, such as writing people’s names correctly and keeping score correctly.

I got my journalism degree and after a short stint working at a diner, I got a job as a sports reporter at a regional newspaper group in Amarillo, Texas. My salary in 1984 was $230 a week.

The popularity of newspapers decreased

It’s fun to write about teams like the Dallas Cowboys, and there’s more to it than just game coverage. I love meeting people and telling their stories.

In 1998, I moved to the copy desk, where my responsibilities included cleaning the front page and assigning tasks.

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After that, the popularity of newspapers began to gradually decline. Circulation is reduced. Publishers have stopped hiring and you’ll see offices closing. Then came the pay cuts.

Management always says they do it for the good of the company. However, when my $37,500 annual base salary dropped to $30,000, I started to get really worried.

I go to the grocery store with a calculator to figure out what foods I can buy. If one of my pets got sick, I would worry about paying the vet bills.

By early 2015, I felt exhausted. Constantly meeting deadlines and filling in pages was getting on my nerves. The stress is not worth the money I get paid.

I took a deep breath and quit my job, moving to DeKalb, Illinois, where I did janitorial work, painting, and cleaning.

I was promoted within 2 years

However, I feel like I need a new, right direction. Changing careers at 53 seems late, but I heard they were hiring at the post office and was hired in November 2015.

My entry-level clerk job was a brief stepping stone to becoming assistant city carrier in January 2016. About two years later, I was promoted to letter carrier after moving to Buffalo, New York.

You have a few days of practice and then you have to go out on your own, which is scary. At first, I spent a lot of time studying the map, but as time passed, I got to know my routes well.

In my current position, I make $34.26 per hour, with overtime after 8 hours and double overtime after 10 hours. During COVID, I worked 60 hours a week.

Last year, I earned $85,000 — almost three times my base salary at the newspaper. My husband and I don’t have to worry about eating out and we enjoy fun vacations together.

I’m much less stressed

One of the best things to come out of all of this is feeling the healthiest I’ve ever felt. I use the post office bus but I walk 12 to 18 miles a day. If it was just my route it would probably be about 30,000 steps a day.

In the winter, when it snows heavily and I have to work long hours, I can take up to 40,000 steps. I am 5’8″ tall and weigh 160 pounds.

I’m so glad I made the switch. I have a decent salary, less stress, good benefits, friendly relationships with regular clients, and a 63-year-old step in my step.

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