Hi, I might start working at UPS part time and have some questions

mario826

New Member
Ok, I might start working at UPS soon and as wondering how much do they pay starting drivers when they become full time? What are the regular raises? Is part time preloading harder?
 

Kraetos

Preload, Loader
Hey Mario I have worked at my local Hub for about nine months now. I work the Pre-Load from currently 5:00AM to 9:00AM. I started at 8:50PerHour, and after about 4 months I moved up to 9.50PerHour. Keep in mind that on Pre-Load I only work 5 days a week, giving me 20 hours per week so although the pay is good, they make sure you don't get too many hours.

As a current college student, this job is perfect for me, I work 4 hours a day, go to school afterward, and then i'm off for the rest of the day, plus i'm off on weekends. UPS Pre-Load can be very tough and rough at times depending on what you are doing.

I always remind myself that i'm only having to do this for a short part of the day. When I first started working, they put me in the unload section which is where they usually put all their entry-level employees to make or break them. This job requires very little mental capacity, and decent amount of endurance and strength. You unload trailers full of boxes and bags onto a conveyor belt. This can be very testing, because in the winter it's very cold, in the summer very hot, those trucks increase temperatures vastly. You also have to worry about boxes falling on you, the Night Shift load these boxes onto the trailers and if they don't stack them right, heavy boxes can injure you if they fall off the top of the stacks.

After about a month, I moved from trailer unload, to belt sort. In my Hub we have three belts, the boxes from the trailers come down the conveyors, and are thus transfered by the sorters to belts 1, 2 or 3. This job is all about the strength and working in unison with the employees next to you because the boxes can get super heavy, and they come in all shapes and sizes. A lot of the times you get loads of tires, strange containers, metal parts, wooden parts, anything you can imagine. Plus you have to balance all the different weights while looking at the label on each parcel object/box to send it to the right belt.

Then I moved to 'De-Bagger' which is does not require too much strength, because you get to utilize roller equipment and a large slide for smaller objects. The amounts of volume that come through my area are incredible, I open hundreds and hundreds of bags that contain smaller packages and have to wrestle with these bags coming down the belt, while at the same time, sending blanks, misorts, not in systems, decaps, and no labels to the workforce around me so they can be scanned and rescanned.

The easier jobs include the truck loaders which handle the driver's trucks and organize their packages for deliveries. And decap workers and scanners, who just have to stand their all day and scan/look up adresses.

The work has been tough, but you certainly get used to it. Not to mention the amazing medical benefits they offer after 90 workdays, really good even for part-timers.

Sorry I can't comment on Drivers, i'm only pre-load. Also I have no idea how the other hubs operate, plus my Hub is for a smaller area, not so much for the big cities that I've heard really huge. Keeping this in mind, the other hubs might have totally different jobs and operate completely different.
 

old levi's

blank space
Ok, I might start working at UPS soon and as wondering how much do they pay starting drivers when they become full time? What are the regular raises? Is part time preloading harder?

You don't need to be concerned about how much they pay drivers for a long ,long time. More than 10 years here.
 
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westsideworma

Guest
wow we go driving after a year or little more here it seems. I didn't sign the list last year and someone who was hired after me went driving (been here over 2.5 years). My name came up this year (actually signed it) but decided I'm going to finish my degree first, though the money was very tempting.
 

trickpony1

Well-Known Member
.......but decided I'm going to finish my degree first, though the money was very tempting.

PLEASE finish your degree now because 10, 15, 20 years down the road you will be glad you did. You can go driving anytime because your seniority to bid on such jobs continues to accrue as you work PT, taking advantage of any tuition reimbursement and finishing your degree.

Days go by, weeks go by, semesters go by......time flys. I finished my degree before going driving and I'm just now benefiting regarding my future plans after retirement.

PS-the company may sweet talk you into going into management after you graduate. You may want to weigh those offers carefully.

Good Luck.
 

wakyzachy

I am the IRS for UPS!
You don't need to be concerned about how much they pay drivers for a long ,long time. More than 10 years here.

Is it really so long? My lord. People people, here in jersey spots are always open for full time driving. Ive been asked so many times to switch over and Im not kidding. :ohmy:
 
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westsideworma

Guest
PLEASE finish your degree now because 10, 15, 20 years down the road you will be glad you did. You can go driving anytime because your seniority to bid on such jobs continues to accrue as you work PT, taking advantage of any tuition reimbursement and finishing your degree.

Days go by, weeks go by, semesters go by......time flys. I finished my degree before going driving and I'm just now benefiting regarding my future plans after retirement.

PS-the company may sweet talk you into going into management after you graduate. You may want to weigh those offers carefully.

Good Luck.

don't worry trick I have every intention of finishing my degree :thumbup1:
 

osustuident

Member
I see people say they work only 3.5 or 4 hours on a 5 hour shift. Does UPS give you breaks or 15's on a 5 hour shift or is your shift length based on how many boxes there are on that particular day?
 
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westsideworma

Guest
I see people say they work only 3.5 or 4 hours on a 5 hour shift. Does UPS give you breaks or 15's on a 5 hour shift or is your shift length based on how many boxes there are on that particular day?

its really based on how long it takes to get done. The contract guarantees you at least 3.5 hrs a day (why its not 4 I don't know) but it varies. for instance my shift varies its start times, some people start at 3:30 some at 4:15 (some even later than that I think). So long as each person gets their 3.5 its legal as far as the contract is concerned. As for breaks, we get one 10 min break but I don't know if thats the same in all areas or just part of our local supplement so I really can't say if you have them or not.
 

diesel96

Well-Known Member
wakyzachyQuote:
Is it really so long? My lord. People people, here in jersey spots are always open for full time driving. Ive been asked so many times to switch over and Im not kidding. :ohmy:

705red6 Months to a year in chicago for driving, over 7 for 22.3 combo jobs now.Today 08:46

AMwestsidewormawow we go driving after a year or little more here it seems. I didn't sign the list last year and someone who was hired after me went driving (been here over 2.5 years). My name came up this year (actually signed it) but decided I'm going to finish my degree first, though the money was very tempting.


Are you guys talking about "Cover driving" 40 hrs a week(still part-time status)
OR
Full Time Senority Driver Bid positions.(full-time status).There's a big differece.
also,your chances of moving up in any positions at UPS are greater at Major Hubs then at smaller bldgs and centers.
 

samiam

I wish, there for I am?
Just my opinion about working at UPS. The longer you are there, the easier the jobs get, and you get a lot more money. However, the downfall is you have to answer to a lot more numbers that get printed out on a piece of paper daily.
 

705red

Browncafe Steward
wakyzachyQuote:
Is it really so long? My lord. People people, here in jersey spots are always open for full time driving. Ive been asked so many times to switch over and Im not kidding. :ohmy:

705red6 Months to a year in chicago for driving, over 7 for 22.3 combo jobs now.Today 08:46

AMwestsidewormawow we go driving after a year or little more here it seems. I didn't sign the list last year and someone who was hired after me went driving (been here over 2.5 years). My name came up this year (actually signed it) but decided I'm going to finish my degree first, though the money was very tempting.


Are you guys talking about "Cover driving" 40 hrs a week(still part-time status)
OR
Full Time Senority Driver Bid positions.(full-time status).There's a big differece.
also,your chances of moving up in any positions at UPS are greater at Major Hubs then at smaller bldgs and centers.
We dont allow ptime cover drivers, all package car drivers are fulltime, minus the parttime air dept.
 

brownboss

Brownblood
yea here in oklahoma in my hub it takes just about around 5yrs to go driving or atleast it did when i started (1999) but as yrs have pasted on that has gotten shorter...but like you said...the larger the hub most likly the quicker you move...r hub is not large but its not small...we have drivers retiring left and right these days..which are making more and more positions availible..im seeing guys now with 2yrs jump in bc the demand is higher now...but also it is "coverage driving" and saturday drivers and air drivers that r mostly needed ive been there
7yrs and havent attempted 2drive but i know when in fact i do decide ill surpass more than half of ppl on that list...but as it stands i enjoy makin 17.22 doin what i do which
are many diff things..but as sum1 said earlier the longer ur at u.p.s the easier any job gets...so for now ill enjoy the nostress position i have now...bc goin drivin...ull be earning every penny u make
 
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