UPS Job

[bosco]

I applied to be a box handler at UPS back home (Brentwood/Franklin, TN area). I'm not sure of my shift yet, but hoping for the 3am-9am shift. I will be working for my father from 9am-2pm at his Subway (shameless plug for Subway of Berry Hill, 718 Thompson Ln!)..

Anyways, anyone worked for UPS, specifically as a box handler? Just wanted to see how the job was, and the overall experience was. I'll only be there for December, and if all goes well and I like it, transfer it up here and work in Knoxville.

 

[Icebrc]

I did the evening sort for a couple years. Hated it, but I blame that on my slave driving supervisor that thought the only way we could get the boxes from one truck to another is if he stood there and let us know if we were half a second too slow.
I let the pressure get to me and did a lot of stupid lifting (and bad lifting). Should have taken a cue from a couple of the older workers that just ignored him.

The work though wasn't that bad so long as you can keep up. I have some friends that worked at a hub and had a totally different experience.

 

[rhinochaser48]

I loaded trucks for about 4 months and then became a supervisor.

Both jobs were miserable. But maybe it was just me. You may enjoy it.

The labor is grueling, (depending on what you do). Loading is the worst, unloading is pretty bad too, and sorting is mind-numbingly boring but easier than everything else.

I loaded the first four months, and I probably lost 30+ pounds while eating 4000-5000 calories per day. And I don't expect anybody to believe this without experiencing it either, because it is in fact that hard. Try to imagine doing cardio at a pace that begins to build lactic acid over your entire body, like an all-out effort, and then imagine doing it for 4 hours per night, 5 days a week.

And like Icebrc mentioned, they time you. They count packages per minute loaded. They pressure you to load your ass off.

 

[chasec]

nope, you probably won't enjoy it. the pay is good, however the work is comperable to slave labor. i'm not joking about that. and if you fail to meet your box movement quota regularly than hasta la vista

 

[EEmain]

I worked at the Horsham plant when it first opened back in 81-82(Aug.-Jan) iirc. Worked my azz off. Never let me work enough days in a row to get into the union and laid me off right after X-mas.

 

[bosco]

starting to think i should just stick to the job w/ my father. hmm..

 

[TheCrownedOne]

Well, consider that right now is peak season and the volume of my hub is going to jump from 63k boxes a night to around 100k. You were hired for the busiest working season at UPS so be prepared for an endless stream of boxes.
I've been at my hub as a loader moving about 1400 boxes a night since June. They like for you to get at least a thousand scans a night, but there's no way they'd fire you for not meeting this quota. They have a ridiculously hard time even getting anyone to apply much less keep guys there. There are guys who work in my building who only show up about 3 nights a week, no call, no show on the remaining two. They keep their jobs and still get benefits.
But the first two weeks for me were insane. It's not an easy thing to adjust to, but like anything else in life you get used to it. Just keep in mind that the idea is not to keep your rollers clean (because this time of year it will never happen) but to keep the boxes off the pick-off man as well as you can. Godspeed man. Get as much rest as you can because UPS is a rough thing for the body to have to recover from.

 

[jmh80]

Brentwood/Green Hills is one of the 10 richest areas in the country.

You headed to school at UT?

 

[bosco]

it's a very wealthy area. often i get type-casted into the "rich kid" category and it bothers me time-to-time. i was raised to work if i wanted something. and damn glad i was raised that way- hence dual jobs every xmas to pay for my expenses. parents don't like for me to work during school- rather me focus on my education. but every break i'm back at dad's subway crankin out subs :woohoo:

as for UT, i was originally at Auburn University studying to be an engineer. but left for a very stupid reason- a girl, who is now my ex-girlfriend. that break up was really hard on me, she was my first love and it just shut me down. i hit rock bottom and finally came to the point where i really had to change or else i wasn't gonna make it. i stopped doing all the 'bad' things and started focusing on making me a better person. i'm now a history major and would like to attend law school (maybe here at UT but dream abt going to UVA).

i learned all i had to do was challenge myself with positive things and i could overcome all my pains of yesterday.

 

[jmh80]

Good luck bro.
But don't go to UVa. Unless you want to become a "wine and cheese" football fan that leaves at halftime to beat the traffic.

UT's engineering school is a pretty good value instate. I graduated with a degree in chemical engineering (#1 in the class) in '04.
Probably better off at UVa if you want to go into history - but UT if engineering.
Good luck.

 

[Yjyankee]

If you can get on w/ UPS, do it. I worked @ the Grand Rapids, MI hub, twilight **** & loved it! Talk about great cardio! The summers were brutal, but the winters were even worse! All the guys in my PD were awesome! We'd bust ass for 4 hours & then go get a few brewskis across the street at the end of the night. I signed up to be a driver, but then joined the Marine's. I still miss that job.......

 

[rhinochaser48]

Don't worry about getting canned there. If you 'work', meaning, follow instruction, you can't get fired. They will tell you your job is contingent on meeting your pieces per hour goal, but it isn't. If you show up everday for your first 90 days, you are in. After that it takes about 4 months of continued employment to enter the union, at which point you have a job for life. They can never fire you unless you steal or start a fight or something. Even then, if you got fired, the union has the power to get your job back if you request it.

Also, training employees is very expensive. They will tell you that they never re-hire employees that have quit, but it's an utter lie. 50% of my guys were re-hires that came and went. Re-hiring allows them to get help without retraining.

The pay is very fair and the benefits are great. You don't really have to worry about the stability of the company. As long as this country is still afloat, UPS will be too.

All in all, it's a great job if you don't mind the work.

Personally, my biggest problem was working nights and sleeping days. That killed me. I am very sensitive to alterations in my circadian rhythym.

 

[meowmeow]

would like to attend law school (maybe here at UT but dream abt going to UVA).

Hey bro, I graduated from UVA law school. You'll create a lot more life-options for yourself if you attend a top ten law school like UVA.

Here is some unsolicited advice on women. Stop putting them on a pedestal. At your age do not build your life around or make huge life decisions based on a woman.

Women go after successful men...they just do. If you go to a top ten law school you will have to beat them off with a stick.:whip: So focus on your goals and get over your ex-girl"friend" by getting yourself laid. But please, please don't fall in love with your rebound chick.