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Wow,, my simple comment warranted that snoozefest of a tangent,, thank you for validating it,, I really dont understand what you do, I do however understand the ridiculous futility of operations. the enviorment is completely diff now
I have a couple of kids who are in the job market and it's tough out there.... Not a lot of jobs to pick from.
If they were interested, I would definitley encourage them to be a UPS supervisor. But I would counsel them as I have done others.
As you said the job is different today. The old skills will not cut it any more.
In the old days we had cookie cutter operations and if you followed the tried and true procedures you would be successful. We had very few services and customers did things our way. Today we have many personalized services that must be treated individually.
In the old days, UPS was growing leaps and bounds. Salary was never high for a supervisor, but stock and stock growth carried the day. Because of growth, promotions, moves, etc. for management was more common. That is no longer true.
In the old days, there was little or no competition. We were the small player taking volume from the post office (and FedEx). Today, FedEx ground has stolen our packages. Our packages are moving through a cheaper non-union workforce because we got fat and happy.
The old days are gone, and wishing for them is fruitless.
So, UPS today is in the same situation as most companies. We have to deal with competition, lower margins, and a tougher environment. Go talk to people in other companies. This is true everywhere.
The supervisor of today needs different skills. They need more technical skills. More analytical skills. More managment skills. More business skills. More people skills.
An individual with those skills can do well, even today.