Advice for a new guy?

[sixat28]

Im 38 not some kid so I cant afford to screw this up. Please take a second to read this.

I worked as a casual this past peak season in the metro NY area . They started talking to me about a part time job almost immediately. I was laid off on the 31st as they said I would be the first day I worked there so it wasnt a supprise.

I assumed the ment work as a part time air driver. I got a call from my supe offering me local sort with Saturday air driving work. I know I could put my name on a list to become a full time driver but I would have to wait a year. I know that I would be on the good side of the 4:1 or is it now 6:1 inside to outside hire rule but there is no guarantee that I couldnt take a lot more then a year to get a full time job.

I have heard horror stories of it taking 4 or 5 years to go full time. Although some are telling me that thats not true anymore. Im thinking I should hold out at least till next season because I feel I could get the casual job again and be in this position next year. If I take the part time job Im stuck with waiting a year making almost no money ( I would get some other kind of part time job but a lot of them want you to work on Saturday so its going to be that much harder)

Do you think I should hold out through the summer for full time or go the part time route now.

Thanks

 

[dannyboy]

One problem I see is that you are asking a broad question, with limited answers.

In our center, the last full time person that was hired off the street was in 1982. Since then, all the "outside hires" have been from part time management. So if you are interested in a full time job in our area, you HAVE to get your foot in the door by working part time.

I have heard in other areas it might not be so. That is why the one size fits all does not apply. You and only you can decide which way to go. I would ask when the last full timer was hired off the street. At least that would give you an idea.

d Good luck!

 

[smf0605]

dannyboy is right. Your chances of being the 1 in the 6 for 1 are slim to none. Those positions generally do go to part time sups.
Your best bet is to take a part time job and wait your turn.
It's hard to judge how long you will have to wait. The employment rep that hired you would be able to give you a better idea of the wait time.
It's different everywhere. In my district we have some facilities that promote within a year or two. We also have some buildings that have a 5 or 6 year, and longer,wait.

 

[trouble1903]

The merto NJ area had and has a lot of people retiring. New faces almost every day. Might be some thing to check out. If you are close enough to NJ; go there make book and then put in your tranfer.

 

[upslocal480]

Sixat28...if you really want to try and jump ahead into driving then go get a job at the nearest UPS that isn't a big hub and get into part-time management as quick as they'll let you. Don't go to a very large hub or a very small center either. If you go to a large hub then yes you'll still have a chance to be he 1/6 hire but you'll have a bunch of other sups to compete with as well. If you go to a tiny package car center like mine where there are only 2 or 3 part-time sups for the whole building then you'll have a better chance to be picked but you'll end up waiting about the same time as at a big hub to move into driving. The best places to take advantage of the 1/6 hire is at "medium sized hubs". I of course can't tell this based on my own personal experience but I have met and know or know of lots of drivers that moved up this way. Our newest driver was the preload sup for a few years until they hired him right before the last contract took affect. Some UPSs even would use the non-union clerks and auditors to fill 1/6 driving positions. I'm not sure about that now though.

 

[tieguy]

Six do you hold a degree if so in what? If you hold any type of engineering degree or an Industrial engineering degree your fast track may be to apply for a position as a management trainee in either P/E or I/E.

 

[rushfan]

I worked 6 years before going full-time. Every center is different.

 

[upslocal480]

<font color="0000ff">Degrees don't seem to mean anything around here. We have a guy that put in his letter for full-time management over a year ago and is still stuck in our center working reload in the evenings. Actually that seems to be the trend outside of UPS as well. Including relatives, I know 11 people that graduated college within the last year or so and they can't find decent jobs. Two of them are on my shift. One foot note on that though is that half of those peoples' degrees were in finance/accounting. I just don't understand why it's taking the guy I work with so long to get a full-time job in UPS. The funny thing is that one of our two full-time sups never finished college and he moved up to that job pretty quick back in the late 80s. Supposedly they are working on giving our guy a job in sales or something but then again they've been saying they'll do things for over a year and nothing has happened yet. We lost a guy to Fed Ex Ground 2 years ago for that same reason. He got tired of getting "put on the backburner"(as management says here) and used his degree to go full-time at Fed Ex Ground instead. I told our guy that he'd probably be better off going to work in a hub and start as a part-time sup first because he more than likely won't get noticed working in our small and isolated center.</font>

 

[tieguy]

Engineering degrees are one of the few exceptions. Finance and business degrees are a dime a dozen. If you have an engineering degree this company could very well fast track you into a full-time management position.

 

[badhab1]

Just a brief comment. It seems to be the idea is that anyone wanting to go in to management can. That is not the case. Many people have sought this and been denied. Everyone is not a good fit. A good hourly employee is not being done a service when promoted if most evidence leads to suggest that individual is incompable with the sought after position. Everyone comes out a loser. Most often the employee becomes disgruntled and leaves or is seperated from the company and the company no longer has this quality hourly employee plus still has the opening in management. Quality candid coaching and top notch developement skills by management improves the selection process but also fortunately for the company increased the competion for openings. I never rubber stamped any candidate for promotion. If they needed further developement, experience, or improved education they were told tactfully and privately what it would take on their part to improve their chances. No matter how carefully this is handled there is often a let down, sometimes bitter. The memories of promotees succeeding and competently climbing the rungs are wonderful to recall but it is not for everyone regardless of their aspirations. JMHO