So what's the state of UPS IT in general right now?

[drake0727]

Hey guys, I left UPS in 2010 with 5 years of service to pursue different pastures. I was a operational part time supervisor and got my degree in Computer Science. The problem was, I lived in Texas, and as far as IT is concerned at UPS in Texas, it was TSG, or Full time operation supervisor. Choice was easy to leave.

Now that I have relevant experience in the IT field, and now open to moving to the east coast if need be, is it even worth it to try to come back to UPS as an IT guy? I really liked the benefits, and if I do happen to come back as a FT position, I'm going to damn well get my 3 weeks off back

Any insight on how IT is at UPS currently would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Catatonic]

Hey guys, I left UPS in 2010 with 5 years of service to pursue different pastures. I was a operational part time supervisor and got my degree in Computer Science. The problem was, I lived in Texas, and as far as IT is concerned at UPS in Texas, it was TSG, or Full time operation supervisor. Choice was easy to leave.

Now that I have relevant experience in the IT field, and now open to moving to the east coast if need be, is it even worth it to try to come back to UPS as an IT guy? I really liked the benefits, and if I do happen to come back as a FT position, I'm going to damn well get my 3 weeks off back

Any insight on how IT is at UPS currently would be appreciated.

Thanks

​How do you feel about moving to India?

 

[drake0727]

​How do you feel about moving to India?

Wouldn't actually mind if the pay is good, and I have a budget to pay off the politicians.

Having worked with HP from Argentina and India, it doesn't sound too bad!

 

[ChickenLegs]

Practice your blank stares and work on breaking things that don't need fixing - a recruiter will find you

 

[Bamboozled]

Drake,
Since you left and came back I don't think there will be any pension for new employees, only a lame 401k match and horrible health benefits. In any other company a good IT person is treated with respect and treated like gold. Here a tech is a four letter word curse word that is treated with disrespect from Managers who don't know how to copy a file or navigate email.
If many of us didn't have so many years invested we would leave in a heartbeat. The expectations are through the roof, no overtime (yet they will change your hours to cover vacations) ,no stock, and lousy raises. If they dare do anything to the pension there will be a flood gate of people leaving.

IF I HAD STAYED IN THE UNION AS AN ARTICLE 22, I WOULD MAKE ABOUT HE SAME MONEY, HAVE A BETTER PENSION AND A BETTER HEALTH CARE PLAN.
ALAS I WAS PROMOTED AND IT WAS ALL TAKEN AWAY.

They expect you to fix SLAW, EDS systems and perform complicated integrations for external customers and still look down upon you when they are looking at a spreadsheet. No actual time studies were performed to support their time schedule yet you better kill yourself to get it done. Don't take your lunch and breaks because you are treated like management with out the stock.
Run away fast.
THEY ARE HIRING FEEDER DRIVERS. GET YOUR CDL AND GET BETTER MONEY, OVERTIME, PENSION, AND BENEFITS THAN THE PEOPLE THAT WERE PROMOTED TO SUPERVISE THEM.

 

[drake0727]

Drake,
Since you left and came back I don't think there will be any pension for new employees, only a lame 401k match and horrible health benefits. In any other company a good IT person is treated with respect and treated like gold. Here a tech is a four letter word curse word that is treated with disrespect from Managers who don't know how to copy a file or navigate email.
If many of us didn't have so many years invested we would leave in a heartbeat. The expectations are through the roof, no overtime (yet they will change your hours to cover vacations) ,no stock, and lousy raises. If they dare do anything to the pension there will be a flood gate of people leaving.

IF I HAD STAYED IN THE UNION AS AN ARTICLE 22, I WOULD MAKE ABOUT HE SAME MONEY, HAVE A BETTER PENSION AND A BETTER HEALTH CARE PLAN.
ALAS I WAS PROMOTED AND IT WAS ALL TAKEN AWAY.

They expect you to fix SLAW, EDS systems and perform complicated integrations for external customers and still look down upon you when they are looking at a spreadsheet. No actual time studies were performed to support their time schedule yet you better kill yourself to get it done. Don't take your lunch and breaks because you are treated like management with out the stock.
Run away fast.
THEY ARE HIRING FEEDER DRIVERS. GET YOUR CDL AND GET BETTER MONEY, OVERTIME, PENSION, AND BENEFITS THAN THE PEOPLE THAT WERE PROMOTED TO SUPERVISE THEM.

Interesting read. So are you saying that IS is more like vendor management and custom integration with systems in place?
Is there any actual development done?
Even DBA's get crapped on?

 

[Catatonic]

Interesting read. So are you saying that IS is more like vendor management and custom integration with systems in place?
Is there any actual development done?
Even DBA's get crapped on?

I think bamboozled is in Operations Field Support or TSG.

The regular IT groups in New Jersey, Maryland and Alpharetta, GA are treated somewhat better.
Core applications are developed in the US and the rest are normally outsourced overseas if possible.
Actually, half the people at desks in the US are contractors so outsourced everywhere.
​

 

[Rico]

After I left UPS, I got into the information security field. I was contacted by a recruiter a couple of years ago, who was recruiting for IS positions for UPS in New Jersery. She thought I would be a natural fit, since I had already worked for them in the past. She didn't understand why I wasn't interested in coming back.

 

[cynic]

So work part time at UPS, get the health benefits back, and work an IT job by day as a contractor - which pays you significantly more money per hour than being a full time IT employee. As an IT worker that has seen people get laid off who were doing great jobs, there is no such thing as a "permanent position" in corporate America. If you're in corporate America you really need to be loyal to yourself first, not to your employer. Sure, as a contractor you can be told it's your last day on a daily basis but when a better paying gig lands in your lap... on to the next show!

 

[TxRoadDawg]

the best part about contracting, you dont need an interpreter to understand your boss.

 

[larrywpa]

I really disagree with what I am hearing here. Overall, most of our application development teams are treated fairly. Yes we put in more time than 40 hours a week, but having worked for other software development companies, THIS IS NORMAL! I would recommend looking at ups.jobs.com in Paramus, Timonium, or Atlanta IT offices if that’s what you are interested in. Skills are important, and may drive which office you look at. I have recommended several people apply, and those that got hired are pretty satisfied with their choice. Is it perfect? No. Nothing is perfect. Is it a good career choice that depends on what you want, and are willing to do. Your call, good luck.

 

[drake0727]

I really disagree with what I am hearing here. Overall, most of our application development teams are treated fairly. Yes we put in more time than 40 hours a week, but having worked for other software development companies, THIS IS NORMAL! I would recommend looking at ups.jobs.com in Paramus, Timonium, or Atlanta IT offices if that’s what you are interested in. Skills are important, and may drive which office you look at. I have recommended several people apply, and those that got hired are pretty satisfied with their choice. Is it perfect? No. Nothing is perfect. Is it a good career choice that depends on what you want, and are willing to do. Your call, good luck.

Ooh, a different viewpoint. So it appears that you have a different view.

What is viewed as a success on the dev teams?
*Completion of iterations (if agile)?
*Your division manager not ripping you for an hour for not meeting expectations (happens all the time in operations in my experience)?

Is the end user involved in development or is it more like, "here it is, use it and get over it"?
*For example, whoever developed the damage Input system the operations use is complete garbage (when I used it 3-4 years ago). Design was unintuitive, and to fill out hazmat or other special exception type (theft, etc) was trash as well. It's like they developed it, and said "use it, get used to it, not changing".

UPSERS.com was done OK, but enhancements could be made, and I remember that the internal UPS intranet homepage was complete trash when I used it. The sharepoint site was crap as well, but at least they tried

I compare these to the systems I've seen at other companies since I've left (such as sharepoint), and other applications of a similar functional use was far superior at other companies. One of my goals when i obtained my CS degree while working there was to make those systems more user friendly, but alas it was not meant to be at that time period. One cool goal I was thinking about was revamping the flow control used in HUBS, that system is from the 70's.

 

[Notbrownenuff]

Drake,
Since you left and came back I don't think there will be any pension for new employees, only a lame 401k match and horrible health benefits. In any other company a good IT person is treated with respect and treated like gold. Here a tech is a four letter word curse word that is treated with disrespect from Managers who don't know how to copy a file or navigate email.
If many of us didn't have so many years invested we would leave in a heartbeat. The expectations are through the roof, no overtime (yet they will change your hours to cover vacations) ,no stock, and lousy raises. If they dare do anything to the pension there will be a flood gate of people leaving.

IF I HAD STAYED IN THE UNION AS AN ARTICLE 22, I WOULD MAKE ABOUT HE SAME MONEY, HAVE A BETTER PENSION AND A BETTER HEALTH CARE PLAN.
ALAS I WAS PROMOTED AND IT WAS ALL TAKEN AWAY.

They expect you to fix SLAW, EDS systems and perform complicated integrations for external customers and still look down upon you when they are looking at a spreadsheet. No actual time studies were performed to support their time schedule yet you better kill yourself to get it done. Don't take your lunch and breaks because you are treated like management with out the stock.
Run away fast.
THEY ARE HIRING FEEDER DRIVERS. GET YOUR CDL AND GET BETTER MONEY, OVERTIME, PENSION, AND BENEFITS THAN THE PEOPLE THAT WERE PROMOTED TO SUPERVISE THEM.

/QUOTE]

 

[Notbrownenuff]

Ha ha. I just read this and what drake0727 said is very true. RUN!

 

[Old Man Jingles]

Anyone in IS care to update us on the current UPS allocation of development of new systems/apps versus the Maintenance of non-core systems/apps?

 

[MrWonderful]

Anyone in IS care to update us on the current UPS allocation of development of new systems/apps versus the Maintenance of non-core systems/apps?

All the old systems are being updated mostly with web applications using agile method.