career path: management or driving?

[brown_trousers]

I been with the company almost 5 years now. I have been patiently waiting that whole time for a FT driving gig. But I am now considering going the management route... I've been on these forums for a while so I know the dis-taste you all have for management, but after reading these forums for a couple years it sounds like driving is just as bad, if not worse. complaint after complaint after complaint.... It truly makes me consider if I want to have the same problems you guys have as FT drivers. And please don't take offense to that as I have respect for all you FT drivers and the loads of BS you have to put up with everyday, but it sounds like its a never-ending battle. Basically sounds like you go to work everyday with the unrelenting fear of being fired for the smallest things. I don't know if I could do that for 20+ years. So an honest opinion........ if you could do it all over again, would you go management or driver?

 

[badpal.]

Basically sounds like you go to work everyday with the unrelenting fear of being fired for the smallest things. I don't know if I could do that for 20+ years. So an honest opinion........ if you could do it all over again, would you go management or driver?

If you think that's bad then what do you think you'll go through in management? At least there is some recourse as far as union protection (in most locals). Ultimately, the choice is going to be yours and there is no right or wrong answer. When I was PT I was asked to go into management but declined because there was no way I was going to be a PT Sup and be given empty promises that UPS can and will dangle over your head as necessary. My choice to be a driver or a Sup was easy. If I'm gonna be treated like then they are gonna pay me well for it.

 

[packageguy]

You have to have it in you. If you can lie, than management is for you. Please management don't take this the wrong way. You know what we are saying. Goodluck, seems you made up your mind.

 

[tourists24]

Ive been at UPS for 22 years. Up until the last 7 or 8 I would always say that becoming a driver is a good thing to pursue. I cant say that anymore. The best advice I can give anytime someone asks me now is to give management a go. Worst case scenario if you can make it a couple of years then you have a great job reference to use. My advice rarely includes making a career of UPS being a driver or manager. Only a resume enhancer.

 

[Thanksups]

Being in management you got to worry bout 90 guys being a driver got to worry only bout yourself

 

[DS]

You have to have it in you. If you can lie, than management is for you. Please management don't take this the wrong way. You know what we are saying. Goodluck, seems you made up your mind.

This is the truth.They are lies disguised as changes in direction.

 

[Catatonic]

You have to have it in you. If you can lie, than management is for you. Please management don't take this the wrong way. You know what we are saying. Goodluck, seems you made up your mind.

This is the truth.They are lies disguised as changes in direction.

People hear what they want to hear and remember what they want to remember. Don't let this kind of interpretation of the truth (whatever that is) affect your decision.

UPS seems to be going the way of most corporations where the expectation is that people work for the company 2 -5 years and then move on to another company, at least in management. There will be opportunity to progress in management at UPS in 5 -15 years as opposed to now where there is little advancement opportunities. Depends on how patient you are.

 

[User Name]

Remember you could always take a shot at driving first and then go to management but you cannot do the reverse. At least you would be able to give them both a shot.

 

[nocturnalbuck]

when i was hired a few years ago , it was with the understanding that i was going into management. i happened to be the off the street hire, so i became a driver. at the time our management team was VERY strict and used intimidation and threats to get you to do things. that really turned me off to management. those managers no longer work for UPS. now you can actually joke around a bit with the newer guys. my plan is to drive for at least 10 years and then reevalute my situation on whether to pursue any management positions.

 

[brown_trousers]

I guess I am just worried that the ONLY feedback I get from driver's is very negative. They're always telling about how management is riding them or they just straight up hate the job. I have yet to hear anything positive about the job (except the pay). And then I browse these forums and I get the same negative impression, its rare to see driving reflected in a positive way here on brown cafe.

 

[MC4YOU2]

I started 22 years ago, and will be retiring in about 3 years. My oncar sup, who started about 10 years ago, told me he cannot retire until 2041! That's 40 years! Love it or hate it, either way that's a no brainer for me.

 

[menotyou]

I will give you my opinion, but be aware that I have had things occur to me that don't happen all the time.If you have a conscience, don't. I call management school -- soul-sucking school.Again, I am biased.

 

[TSJ]

Go driving first, make progression, then re-evaluate your situation. Drivers with siginificant experience on the road have a lot more respect and practical knowledge as managers. Also, the company tends to favor those with a well-rounded operational background.

Just remember, you should always be thinking about your next career move. Develope a path and stick with it.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Go driving first, make progression, then re-evaluate your situation. Drivers with siginificant experience on the road have a lot more respect and practical knowledge as managers. Also, the company tends to favor those with a well-rounded operational background.

Just remember, you should always be thinking about your next career move. Develope a path and stick with it.

For the longest time being hired at UPS was your first and final career move.

 

[Indecisi0n]

For the longest time being hired at UPS was your first and final career move.

That can be said about a lot of large companies. When i started years back with my previous employer (large name) i remember a union member coming up to me to welcome me to the company. He also stated "this will be your last job so enjoy it." Job lasted 5 years until they wanted to get people to quit and moved half the company 6.5 hours away.

In my 5 years i had never one gotten into any trouble. I was certified in just about every aspect of my job. I use to get positive feedback from customers (letters) on a regular basis and it helped that i really did love my job. The company could have cared less. They went the way every other company is going. Have less people do more work.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

No one could have foreseen the onset and duration of the recession. Companies had to rethink how they do business and, in some cases, had to stop doing business altogether. UPS had the foresight to change in light of this poor economy and is still able to post record profits as a result.

With the direction the company is going I would be hard pressed to recommend this job to anyone.

 

[Anonymous 10]

If I had it to do all over again I would have gone a whole different route all together. I would have moved to Las Vagas and become an entertaine/ icon. My idea was full proof. I would have sang the lyrics to snoop dogg songs Frank Sinatra style. When I practiced it people thought I sounded so much like Frank it wasn't even funny. Right now I would be charging 150 to 600 for a show and hanging with Wayne Newton. My advice is to go for your dreams.

 

[Prickle]

Mgt is 24/7. Driving up to 10hr a day.

Drivers get blown knees, back and shoulders.

Mgt. High blood pressure, and stress related injuries.

Drivers have the union so they don't get screwed. Mgt has nobody, unless you find the right person to kiss their butt.

Drivers get warning letters, Mgt gets their job threatened twice a week.

Drivers report to a close by center, Mgt sometimes have to drive hours each way.

Mgt used to be lucrative, now it is only for above the Division level.

Go Driving!!!!!!

 

[soberups]

..... Basically sounds like you go to work everyday with the unrelenting fear of being fired for the smallest things. I don't know if I could do that for 20+ years. So an honest opinion........ if you could do it all over again, would you go management or driver?

The only ones who truly have to fear being fired over the "smallest things"....are management people.

I personally know of 6 management people in my immediate area who are out on stress leave right now. I also know of 3 who have been fired over trumped-up BS charges, all within 2 years of being eligible for retirement. UPS management shoots its wounded, eats its young, and throws its old and weak to the wolves.

All UPS'ers....management and hourly alike...put up with BS, harassment, and impossible expectations. But the management people are not covered by a collective bargaining agreement. They have no rights, they are considered "at will" employees, and they can be arbitrarily fired at any time for any or no reason at all.

In the past, the "payoff" for management people was stock and a good pension.Today, newly-hired management people get no pension at all, and the stock isnt ever going to double in value and split for them like it did when we went public 15 years ago. As a newly-hired managment person, you will have no job security, no real opportunity for advancement, and for the most part you wont really get to "manage" anything at all. You will be little more than a puppet, a facilitator who is held responsible when things go wrong while being denied the authority or resources you need to make sure they go right.

This may sound harsh, and I dont mean it to be, but the reality is that only a naive idiot would even consider going into management for UPS today. I have no regrets whatsoever about the choice I made to go into driving. I make decent money, and after 24 years my sanity and integrity are still intact. All complaining aside, the money and benefits are worth the BS.

 

[brown_trousers]

The only ones who truly have to fear being fired over the "smallest things"....are management people.

It still seems like from reading these forums that drivers are getting abused day after day. Im truly impressed how you guys do your jobs everyday. It sounds like you all get fired about once a week. And then the union gets you your job back and the cycle repeats. Just take a look at the "union issues" forum.