Does anybody work at UPS?

Re: Does anybody work at UPS?

Full time positions at UPS are hard to come by, you don't just 'get' one.
Track down some people who are full time UPS employees and ask how they got the job.

Re: Does anybody work at UPS?

Were you hired for the holiday season? I did that once when I was in college. I can't say that I liked it much but it was easy work and the pay was ok.

It’s been almost twenty years since I worked there and things may have changed but if you are a holiday worker it is really hard to stay on after the holidays let alone get a full time job.

Many of the regulars that I worked with had been with the company for sometime and were still only part time workers. It seems like most of them were trying to become drivers because drivers do make pretty good money.

Good luck on the new job.

Re: Does anybody work at UPS?

I had a friend who worked there many years ago and he said that most preloading/unloading jobs are part time only. He worked there during college and only became full time only when he got a driving job. Driving for UPS can be very lucrative but there is mandatory overtime and you run your ass off. You do not go home until your route is finished, the Christmas season can be a PITA.
I worked there for two hours during college and was not paid, it was the worst job I ever had, if you stay, you are a better man than I.

Re: Does anybody work at UPS?

I gave them two weeks of my life. I had answered an ad at my college for part time "flexible" work. I realized when school came around again (I was going to be a full time student that year) what flexible meant on the sign and I suppose it should have occurred to me sooner than that - as a business, they are not obliged to be flexible to your needs, but you to theirs.

Shame that wasn't spelled out, but at least I came to realize that for me at least, the part time money to me did not equate well with the grueling 3-4 hour shifts I was given to unload over 20 trucks. By the end, you didn't feel like doing anything. Not a good combination if you are also a student in school - maybe a part time student, but not a full time one.

Also as far as I know, full time positions were for the most part for driving positions and from what I remember, everyone I knew there seemed to start where I started - loading, unloading or sorting part time.

Re: Does anybody work at UPS?

I worked there in 90-91 as a mechanic Full time but I had second shift did Not like that shift at all. and the chances of getting day shift was a 2 year wait.

They had an add in the Paper for mechanics so I applied Got the Job they trained me then put me on 2nd shift it was a god Awfull 9 months!!

they we're bent on this Time thing which was crazy to a point. they took it to Seriously and People almost got killed. I had mentioned some welds I noticed didn't look to good. I asked the Supervisor that I could ReWeld the axle and he said WE Spent too much time on that Already. as Everything you do has a Time limit.

Well ltr that week the Dolly Axle Spring boot Broke off and almost killed some people. CRAZY Place to work for.

AS I was Told the First Day there by another mechanic "There is the Wrong Way there is the Right way and then there's the UPS Way

Re: Does anybody work at UPS?

March he said.

I did the holiday thing, in college as well. In the days of ~$5 minimum wage, $9 was almost a fortune. Mostly, the educational benefits were the attraction for me -- IIRC college would have been essentially free. You had to have had a few months in for them to kick in. I didn't hang around that long unfortunately:

I was taking 17 credits of electrical engineering. My UPS shift was from 2AM to 7AM (or 8AM). Then I headed directly to class, 5 days a week. Although the facility was in Queens (NY) where I lived, it was a still a good 20 minutes walk from the nearest train station. Add the wait on the elevated subway platform (at 2AM you can wait a while) on the frigid northeast fall-winter and you can imagine just getting to work was no fun. The job was pre-loading. Often, I would be assigned to "bulk packages", the heavy stuff. That's where they dump the big guys.

One of the hardest aspects of the schedule was trying to go to sleep at 7PM or so every night. I am a night owl; my regular bed time (even today) is more like 1AM. And right when I managed to fall asleep, I had to wake up (1AM). I never really did adjust during to the schedule during those 2-3 months. It was awful.

I quit the day my jacket vanished from the coat room and the security morons wouldn't even rewind the tape for a variety of lame excuses.

All that to say: Despite it's reputation as a blue collar heaven, I am not a big fan of Brown . I also realize many of the hardships I endured at the time had little to do with UPS but I can't shake the negative association. Life sucked when I worked at UPS.

Strangely enough I had my best grades that semester. Go figure.

I do remember as well that the driver jobs were very much coveted. But UPS has a strict seniority policy. In other words, those drivers spent years lifting shit before they got the job.

--
H

Re: Does anybody work at UPS?

Just found this:

http://www.browncafe.com/

It appears to be a forum for UPS employees (not endorsed by UPS!). You might find some info there.

Re: Does anybody work at UPS?

I am a full time supervisor for UPS. I have worked there for five years. I came aboard as a part time preloader 4-9 am for 3 months. Then I went into management. I spent 9 months as a part time supervisor and was them promoted to full time. It is a very lucrative position but it does have it's drawbacks. My first manager told me that I should be sure before I made the jump to full time as "We eat our young here". It is the most demanding job I have ever had. If you can deal with the stress and the hours, put in the time and you will get there. Few people jump as quick as I did but I have a background that they wanted. And yes, the driver's do make a great wage.