I spent decades in a stressful job that paid $30,000. At age 53, I quit being a mailman and nearly tripled my salary.

• Jim Lexa worked as a journalist for 30 years and saw his salary drop as print journalism declined.

• He left without another job at age 53, worked as a handyman, then got a job with the Postal Service.

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

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

He did not go into journalism because of money. Getting a job straight out of college, working in the kitchen of a diner chain, could earn more wages.

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

Those were the years I learned the basic journalistic rules, like spelling people’s names correctly and getting the right numbers.

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

Newspapers declined in popularity

It was exciting to write about teams like the Dallas Cowboys, and there was much more to it than sports coverage. I enjoyed meeting people and telling their stories.

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

Did you change careers in midlife? Please contact Jane Ridley at jridley@insider.com

After that, the popularity of newspapers began to decline. Circulation decreased. Publishers stopped hiring people, and you’d see offices closing. Then came the pay cuts.

Management always said it was for the good of the company. Still, when my $37,500 annual base salary was reduced to $30,000, I began to seriously worry.

I go to the grocery store with a calculator to see what kind of food I can buy. If one of my pets got sick, I would worry about paying the vet bill.

At the beginning of 2015, I was feeling burnt out. Meeting deadlines and filling out sheets was overwhelming. The stress was not worth the amount I paid.

I took a deep breath and quit, moving to DeKalb, Illinois, where I worked as a handyman, painting and cleaning.

Got promoted within 2 years

Still, I felt I needed the right, new direction. It felt late in the game to change careers at 53, but I heard they were working at the post office and were hired in November 2015.

My entry-level job as a clerk was a short step to becoming a city carrier assistant in January 2016. About two years later, I was promoted to letter carrier after I moved to Buffalo, New York.

You have a few days of training, and then you’re out on your own, which was scary. At first, I would spend ages looking at maps, but as time went by, I got to know my routes better.

In my current position, I make $34.26 an hour, one and a half overtime after eight hours and double time after 10 hours. During COVID, I was putting in 60 hours a week.

This past year, I topped $85,000—almost three times my base salary at magazines. My wife and I don’t have to worry about eating out, and we enjoy great vacations together.

I am much less stressed

One of the best things to come out of all of this is that I feel fitter than ever. I use the postal car, but I walk 12 to 18 miles a day. If it’s just my route, it’s probably 30,000 steps a day.

During the winter, when it really snows, and I get a lot of overtime, I can get up to 40,000 steps. I am 5’8″ tall and weigh 160 pounds.

I’m so glad I made the switch. I enjoy low stress, good benefits, friendly relationships with my regular clients, and a good salary with a spring in my step at age 63.

Read the original article on Business Insider