Just Hired, Starting Tomorrow....

ca8680

Determined...
Hello all, i was just hired recently and will be starting tomorrow from 11PM to 3AM...Sun-Thur P/T....I will be starting with 3 others.

I am 18 and this is perfect to go to school and work. I worked for UPS last Christmas in the Driver Helper Position and really enjoyed it.

But my questions are:

What should i expect compared to all the running i did during Christmas? what do people that work from 11pm to 3am usually do? (because i was not told what i would be doing) so what is the most common job at those hours?

Thank you all...
 
Last edited:

helenofcalifornia

Well-Known Member
I used to work "night" shift in a hub a long time ago. What a god forsaken shift that was. Tried to sleep 4 hours before and 4 hours after, never successfully. Our night shift at a hub was mainly unloading 26' or 40' trailers so they could be sorted to other 26' or 40' trailers that would then move off to other hubs or centers. Pretty mundane, easy work after the first three weeks where you will think your back is broken because it is so sore!! After those first three weeks you will wonder why you even worried. There was a small sort too. I am sure there are plenty of people in the cafe with more recent work on a night shift that can enlighten you. 18 years old, eh? Good for you! Welcome aboard and don't get too discouraged. A good (but hard) career if you don't plan on going to college. Otherwise, a good PT job. Good luck and report back on your experiences the first couple of weeks. Everyone would like to hear what your opinion is and we can tell you if it is accurate or if you need some of our "expert" advice. Good luck!!! Report back. Take plenty of water and good shoes.
 

Backlasher

Stronger, Faster, Browner
Hello all, i was just hired recently and will be starting tomorrow from 11PM to 3AM...Sun-Thur....I will be starting with 3 others.

I am 18 and this is perfect to go to school and work. I worked for UPS last Christmas in the Driver Helper Position and really enjoyed it.

But my questions are:

What should i expect compared to all the running i did during Christmas? what do people that work from 11pm to 3am usually do? (because i was not told what i would be doing) so what is the most common job at those hours?

Thank you all...


Welcome to the Brown. They let you jump last yr? was you 18 when you jumped? I didn't know you could at that age?

I envy your starting at 18. It's great cause you are just starting your life and despite the hardship you are about to go throw, believe me. It's worth it. At your prime age you will be full time well before my age.
I've made alot of mistakes at your age putting my faith and hard work into many other companies that used me without any rewards or stability and many lay offs and a few companies closed shop due to bankruptcy, corp. issues or compatition or they were low wage even in long term.

You might feel used after a few yrs. at brown but you'll feel that way in any company so don't find out the hard way. There is a solid, secure, and rewarding future with ups. It gives a great sence of accomplishment and a lot of pride.

I'm part time air driver at ups in the northeastern continent, lol. I'm age 32 with family and jugle other jobs to make ends meet for my family but if I had started at your age I'd be full time and owning my own home and supporting my family with confidence.
My suggestion is tough it out. ignore the small part-time checks and stress you are about to be in and aim for the future at ups. Take advantage of their programs. Go to college and move up with full ambition. You will live a full and rewarding life.

If you don't have the aptitude for college then still take on a 2nd job and stick with it brother cause once your full time your set for life. You know the full time drivers pay out more in tax then I make in a week. Same will go with any other blue callor job you might be tempted on taken.

Stay focused on your goals keeping ups in mind and don't let management or negative co-workers discorage you. Learn your way in whatever job tasks you might have and learn your way around the people. They're just like any other job having good and bad co-workers and good and bad in management but always remember your future can be bright at UPS if you keep an eye on the big picture and not so much on all the little things that might come your way. Do as instructed and learn all the methodes they teach you and practice them as well as you can. Even if they seem a bit corny. They have there place.

They're are so many different paths to take here but make each step you take have purpose. Believe me, Your friends and family will envy you in the years to come. I know I'd be alot better off know if I had started with brown at your age instead of 30yrs.

Think of us as the the army. We don't take applicants, only commitments.:thumbup1:
 

Backlasher

Stronger, Faster, Browner
true dat, true dat! But the previous poster is right on about learning the methods and using them ALL the time. It will save your body some pain.


At 18 you'll think those over 70yrs are nothing. but in little time you'll other wise.

Never use your back. Use your nee's, toes slightly pointing outward, keep natural arch in back, strength in abs will take pressure off back.
Powerzone is between chest and waist keeping parcel's close to body. steady fluid movements while:
Never, ever twisting.
This is key.
Keep shoulders, waist, and feet aligned as much as possable.
This will make or break even the strongest man's lower back and hips.

Be fully aware of your surroundings above below and around you. It will save you many pains and brusses. It's not hard once you practice. In time it becomes such a habit that it becomes 2nd nature. Don't get to overwhelmed with the work cause if you loose your mental focus and get caught up in the rat race you will wonder the next day what did I do to myself. Been there before a few times. It only takes one slip up to end a career so absorb all those annoying PCM's and video's because they are of the best intentions whether we men admit it or not.:thumbup1:
 

tritese

tritese
I work on the night shift in Jax. :bored: We have load, unload positions for the most part. There are other jobs such as sorter, pick-off, irregular drivers, small sort positions but, for the most part those jobs are bid jobs. I started on the night sort 18 years ago at 17 years old. :w00t: It will seem like hard work but you will get use to it. I am full time now and still work half of my shift in the hub. :mad:
 

magoo57

Well-Known Member
ca86, I was/am a p/t supervisor on the "noonday". It is the BEST shift for sleeping. studying , and having a life. It is the WORST shift for weekends. You will NOT have Easter Sunday off. You will be lucky to see the first quarter of the Super Bowl if you work on the East Coast. Sure, you get Fridays off, but it sucks to come in on Sunday. I suggest Sunday Evening services, if you are observant on that.
Please listen to all the other posters about lifting correctly. Do NOT be a hero for $8.50 an hour. At eighteen you believe down in your soul that only Kryptonite can stop you. Repeat after me "Nothing turns a young man into an old man faster than a bad back." At sometime in the future you will want to lift your brand-new bride over the threshold on your honeymoon. You want to play 'airplane' with your firstborn child. And you do NOT want to lie in bed in pain every night. Learn how to do your job right, not fast. And remember these warning when the boss forgets.
And suck up all of those benes as much as you can! Let UPS pay for your college or even a trade school! Get your physicals decades prior to anyone else your age! Get your vision and dental taken care of ( and give your parents a price break! ) Go on UPSers.com whenever you have a large purchase and see if the employee discounts can help.
One last word of warning: Stop drinking at midnight on Saturdays! i know your buddies are just getting started at midnight, but noontime Sunday will come far too early. If you make the committment, be true to your work and get to work clean. This is NOT ajob to do hungover.
Ask me how I know.
 

magoo57

Well-Known Member
My apology, ca. i see that you start on Sunday evenings and not at noon.. At least your saturday nights won't be effected. You still will not have easter and Super Bowl Sundays off ( you will need to be sober during the big game)
again, good luck and let us know how it goes.
 

bitter to the bone

Well-Known Member
The things I can tell you that haven't been mentioned yet is "Hand to Surface" (always remember NEVER to throw the packages-it could result in someone being hurt or the package and its contents being broken for which UPS will need to pay a claim on) and "keep your eyes ahead of your work"-Make sure you are aware of your surroundings at all times, watch your footing to prevent sprains and slips/trips. Make sure you know where your co-workers are in relation to you moving a package,keeping yourself and them safe are important.

Most of all, I cannot over emphasize, do the job the way UPS trains you to do and follow all rules. If you do, you won't have any problems and your job will be that more enjoyable.

Take care of your back,use proper lifting methods above all else. Once you injure your back,it is never quite the same again.

Be safe,take pride in your job and welcome to the "Army of Brown"
 

mathematics

Well-Known Member
I'm a p/t supervisor at the Island City 1119 HUb in NYC. You are working the night sort, I see (same as I). You will likely be unloading trailers or loading trailers. In a rare case, you might be sent to the sort aisle, or to small sort. Unloading is a no-brainer. You take packages out of the trailer and place them label up on a conveyor belt until all the packages are off. If you load trailers then you are on the tail end of those conveyor belts loading packages onto empty trailers going to other buildings. What happens is this: the shift before night sort (Twilight) processes packages that come in from customers that are going all over the country. these packages are loaded onto trailers that go to other building's night sorts. the night sort then processes these packages to go to the surrounding local areas to go out for deliveries on the shift after the night sort (Preload shift). For instance, in my hub in NYC, we get trailers from twilight sorts around the country. We then sort out all the mixed work for the area that is going to manhattan, the bronx, brooklyn, staten island, and long island. we then send this work out on trailers to preload sorts in manhattan buildings, long island buildings, the brooklyn building, etc. the preload sort is the sort that loads the packages onto the brown package cars we all know and love, stopping at our homes with the latest toys we order online HAHA. hope this clears up what goes on at the night sort. bring something that will hold a LOT of water. it gets very hot inside of the building and even hotter inside the trailers.
 

PassYouBy

Unknown Acrobat
Welcome to the Brown. They let you jump last yr? was you 18 when you jumped? I didn't know you could at that age?

I envy your starting at 18. It's great cause you are just starting your life and despite the hardship you are about to go throw, believe me. It's worth it. At your prime age you will be full time well before my age.
I've made alot of mistakes at your age putting my faith and hard work into many other companies that used me without any rewards or stability and many lay offs and a few companies closed shop due to bankruptcy, corp. issues or compatition or they were low wage even in long term.

You might feel used after a few yrs. at brown but you'll feel that way in any company so don't find out the hard way. There is a solid, secure, and rewarding future with ups. It gives a great sence of accomplishment and a lot of pride.

I'm part time air driver at ups in the northeastern continent, lol. I'm age 32 with family and jugle other jobs to make ends meet for my family but if I had started at your age I'd be full time and owning my own home and supporting my family with confidence.
My suggestion is tough it out. ignore the small part-time checks and stress you are about to be in and aim for the future at ups. Take advantage of their programs. Go to college and move up with full ambition. You will live a full and rewarding life.

If you don't have the aptitude for college then still take on a 2nd job and stick with it brother cause once your full time your set for life. You know the full time drivers pay out more in tax then I make in a week. Same will go with any other blue callor job you might be tempted on taken.

Stay focused on your goals keeping ups in mind and don't let management or negative co-workers discorage you. Learn your way in whatever job tasks you might have and learn your way around the people. They're just like any other job having good and bad co-workers and good and bad in management but always remember your future can be bright at UPS if you keep an eye on the big picture and not so much on all the little things that might come your way. Do as instructed and learn all the methodes they teach you and practice them as well as you can. Even if they seem a bit corny. They have there place.

They're are so many different paths to take here but make each step you take have purpose. Believe me, Your friends and family will envy you in the years to come. I know I'd be alot better off know if I had started with brown at your age instead of 30yrs.

Think of us as the the army. We don't take applicants, only commitments.:thumbup1:

WOW!! What can I say other than this is VERY VERY VERY good advice! There is alot of great advice given here on browncafe.com, but I do have to say that this is in the top 3, I could not have said it better myself.
 

oakcreekteamie

Well-Known Member
Welcome to the Brown. They let you jump last yr? was you 18 when you jumped? I didn't know you could at that age?

I envy your starting at 18. It's great cause you are just starting your life and despite the hardship you are about to go throw, believe me. It's worth it. At your prime age you will be full time well before my age.
I've made alot of mistakes at your age putting my faith and hard work into many other companies that used me without any rewards or stability and many lay offs and a few companies closed shop due to bankruptcy, corp. issues or compatition or they were low wage even in long term.

You might feel used after a few yrs. at brown but you'll feel that way in any company so don't find out the hard way. There is a solid, secure, and rewarding future with ups. It gives a great sence of accomplishment and a lot of pride.

I'm part time air driver at ups in the northeastern continent, lol. I'm age 32 with family and jugle other jobs to make ends meet for my family but if I had started at your age I'd be full time and owning my own home and supporting my family with confidence.
My suggestion is tough it out. ignore the small part-time checks and stress you are about to be in and aim for the future at ups. Take advantage of their programs. Go to college and move up with full ambition. You will live a full and rewarding life.

If you don't have the aptitude for college then still take on a 2nd job and stick with it brother cause once your full time your set for life. You know the full time drivers pay out more in tax then I make in a week. Same will go with any other blue callor job you might be tempted on taken.

Stay focused on your goals keeping ups in mind and don't let management or negative co-workers discorage you. Learn your way in whatever job tasks you might have and learn your way around the people. They're just like any other job having good and bad co-workers and good and bad in management but always remember your future can be bright at UPS if you keep an eye on the big picture and not so much on all the little things that might come your way. Do as instructed and learn all the methodes they teach you and practice them as well as you can. Even if they seem a bit corny. They have there place.

They're are so many different paths to take here but make each step you take have purpose. Believe me, Your friends and family will envy you in the years to come. I know I'd be alot better off know if I had started with brown at your age instead of 30yrs.

Think of us as the the army. We don't take applicants, only commitments.:thumbup1:

Amen.
 

helenofcalifornia

Well-Known Member
There should be a separate forum for newbies. This thread has a couple of outrageously intelligent, informative posts that should be "must reads" for the newcomer to UPS. Learn from others mistakes.
 

rootbeerman

Active Member
There should be a separate forum for newbies. This thread has a couple of outrageously intelligent, informative posts that should be "must reads" for the newcomer to UPS. Learn from others mistakes.
I agree with the separate forum or a subsection, I'm getting ready for my 3rd day of class training on midnight, i just found out that i would be a loader.
 

filthpig

Well-Known Member
Hello all, i was just hired recently and will be starting tomorrow from 11PM to 3AM...Sun-Thur P/T....I will be starting with 3 others.

I am 18 and this is perfect to go to school and work. I worked for UPS last Christmas in the Driver Helper Position and really enjoyed it.

But my questions are:

What should i expect compared to all the running i did during Christmas? what do people that work from 11pm to 3am usually do? (because i was not told what i would be doing) so what is the most common job at those hours?

Thank you all...
You will be sorting packages. Many will be heavy. You will work from 3 1/2 to 5 hours a day. Your check will be smaller than you expected. Taxes are a bitch aren't they? You will be hot in the summer and cold in the winter. You will receive full benefits after a year or so. You will meet many people, some of whom will sell you weed. Several attractive women will work there, but will not speak to you. After work, you will be too tired to study, but not too tired to drink beer and smoke weed (that you bought from a guy you will be working with). Enjoy.
 

filthpig

Well-Known Member
You will be sorting packages. Many will be heavy. You will work from 3 1/2 to 5 hours a day. Your check will be smaller than you expected. Taxes are a bitch aren't they? You will be hot in the summer and cold in the winter. You will receive full benefits after a year or so. You will meet many people, some of whom will sell you weed. Several attractive women will work there, but will not speak to you. After work, you will be too tired to study, but not too tired to drink beer and smoke weed (that you bought from a guy you will be working with). Enjoy.
When I said "Enjoy" I meant it. I liked my 7 years in the hub.
 
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