jack4ever
UPS4Lifer
Hello Brown Cafe,
It has been years since I posted on this forum, but now at the turn of the tide, this is the only place where I can go, that I know some people will understand what I have to say.
I know there are many long timers at UPS. Some guys work twenty to thirty years, some longer. What I'm about to say may not seem that special to them, then again, maybe it will. I started at UPS in 2006. It was intended to be a college job. I know guys that started at UPS with the same intent, they ended up as lifers. Many of my co-workers told me that I was going to be a lifer. I told them they were wrong, and they were.
I quit UPS. You see, I was going to college during my tenure at UPS, and I graduated with a degree in Computational Mathematics. I am now moving to California to develop video games for a living, where I will sit on my butt all day, and never lift anything up to 70lbs. Video games are my true passion in life, not these brown boxes that I've seen so many of. It is a big relief to be leaving UPS. I must have handled four or five million packages while at UPS, maybe more.
My whole body aches. It started aching from my first day at UPS. It has never stopped. Even now, it is only recovering. UPS was the hardest job I ever had in my life. I was a part-time package handler in two facilities. One was a major hub where I worked as a loader then a sorter. One was a small center in a small college town, where I worked as a Local Sorter, which was a combination of Loader/Scanner/Metro Unload, depending on the day.
My greatest joy at UPS was mentoring new employees. I wanted to help them through the tough times that I had faced as a new employee. I remember when I first started, I wanted to quit right away, and I thought I'd quit after six months. When I was about three months in, I was on break and I heard some guy say "Three *bleeping* years, I've wasted three *bleeping* years of my life at UPS." If that guy is still at UPS, he is probably now saying that he's wasted eight *bleeping* years of his life. I personally didn't feel I wasted any time there, it was hard, sure, but I made it through it.
Like I said, I enjoyed mentoring new employees. Most recently I mentored a new hire who I called "Tyroid". That was my nickname for him. I gave him that nickname, and now everyone calls him by it. "Tyroid" is a combination of his real name, Tyson, and steroid. You see, he is a little guy, and I said to myself, that guy could use some steroids if he wants to survive here (only joking, of course), so I started calling him Tyroid. Tyroid was hired as my replacement, since UPS knew I was going to graduate from college. He's come a long way, he's a tough kid even though he's so small, and I hope he has a good career ahead of him. He's in college too. He wants to be a doctor, and by darn it, if I can get into my dream job of developing video games, then Tyroid is sure as heck going to be a doctor some day.
Yes, if UPS has taught me anything, it is that dreams can come true with a little hard work. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying all the lifers here should quit and pursue their dreams. Then again, maybe I am. I had to go through a lot of sweat, and some blood, to achieve my dreams. And if I can do it, then others can, as well. Then again, UPS is a good career choice. Despite how much us hourlies hate management, UPS isn't really that bad (except for the manual labor part). I know plenty of drivers that have long and prosperous careers, and I have nothing but respect for them. I honestly don't know how the lifers do it. It's amazing to me. Driving at UPS has got to be one of the toughest jobs I've heard about.
With all that said, it is such a relief to be done with UPS. I don't know when my body will stop aching, maybe it never will, maybe I have damaged myself for the rest of my life, maybe it will always be a reminder of the half decade I spent at UPS. Then again, I knew another guy that quit UPS after graduating from college, and he told me that it eventually gets better. Eventually it is only a memory. Pain, pain, never again, that's what I'm hoping for.
Best,
Jack
It has been years since I posted on this forum, but now at the turn of the tide, this is the only place where I can go, that I know some people will understand what I have to say.
I know there are many long timers at UPS. Some guys work twenty to thirty years, some longer. What I'm about to say may not seem that special to them, then again, maybe it will. I started at UPS in 2006. It was intended to be a college job. I know guys that started at UPS with the same intent, they ended up as lifers. Many of my co-workers told me that I was going to be a lifer. I told them they were wrong, and they were.
I quit UPS. You see, I was going to college during my tenure at UPS, and I graduated with a degree in Computational Mathematics. I am now moving to California to develop video games for a living, where I will sit on my butt all day, and never lift anything up to 70lbs. Video games are my true passion in life, not these brown boxes that I've seen so many of. It is a big relief to be leaving UPS. I must have handled four or five million packages while at UPS, maybe more.
My whole body aches. It started aching from my first day at UPS. It has never stopped. Even now, it is only recovering. UPS was the hardest job I ever had in my life. I was a part-time package handler in two facilities. One was a major hub where I worked as a loader then a sorter. One was a small center in a small college town, where I worked as a Local Sorter, which was a combination of Loader/Scanner/Metro Unload, depending on the day.
My greatest joy at UPS was mentoring new employees. I wanted to help them through the tough times that I had faced as a new employee. I remember when I first started, I wanted to quit right away, and I thought I'd quit after six months. When I was about three months in, I was on break and I heard some guy say "Three *bleeping* years, I've wasted three *bleeping* years of my life at UPS." If that guy is still at UPS, he is probably now saying that he's wasted eight *bleeping* years of his life. I personally didn't feel I wasted any time there, it was hard, sure, but I made it through it.
Like I said, I enjoyed mentoring new employees. Most recently I mentored a new hire who I called "Tyroid". That was my nickname for him. I gave him that nickname, and now everyone calls him by it. "Tyroid" is a combination of his real name, Tyson, and steroid. You see, he is a little guy, and I said to myself, that guy could use some steroids if he wants to survive here (only joking, of course), so I started calling him Tyroid. Tyroid was hired as my replacement, since UPS knew I was going to graduate from college. He's come a long way, he's a tough kid even though he's so small, and I hope he has a good career ahead of him. He's in college too. He wants to be a doctor, and by darn it, if I can get into my dream job of developing video games, then Tyroid is sure as heck going to be a doctor some day.
Yes, if UPS has taught me anything, it is that dreams can come true with a little hard work. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying all the lifers here should quit and pursue their dreams. Then again, maybe I am. I had to go through a lot of sweat, and some blood, to achieve my dreams. And if I can do it, then others can, as well. Then again, UPS is a good career choice. Despite how much us hourlies hate management, UPS isn't really that bad (except for the manual labor part). I know plenty of drivers that have long and prosperous careers, and I have nothing but respect for them. I honestly don't know how the lifers do it. It's amazing to me. Driving at UPS has got to be one of the toughest jobs I've heard about.
With all that said, it is such a relief to be done with UPS. I don't know when my body will stop aching, maybe it never will, maybe I have damaged myself for the rest of my life, maybe it will always be a reminder of the half decade I spent at UPS. Then again, I knew another guy that quit UPS after graduating from college, and he told me that it eventually gets better. Eventually it is only a memory. Pain, pain, never again, that's what I'm hoping for.
Best,
Jack
.
