India, April 13 -- A US journalist who spent nearly 30 years in the industry quit his job at 53 and switched to working as a mailman, a decision he says helped him nearly triple his income and significantly reduce stress. In a conversation with Business Insider, Jim Lexa said he now earns up to $85,000 a year, compared to about $30,000 during his time in newspapers.

The 63-year-old told Business Insider that he never entered journalism for financial reasons. He said that his interest in writing began in high school when he covered sports for a local newspaper in Illinois. "Those were the years I learned basic journalism rules, such as spelling people's names correctly and getting the scores right," he said.

Lexa shared that he started h...