Switch From FedEx Express to UPS? What would YOU do?

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

I would stay where you are and buy a motorcycle. UPS appears to be quite friend'ed up now days. I think it had something to do with them losing me years ago. The place went to hell.

Okay Dave...

 

[MassWineGuy]

Stay where you are at least for now. If you feel capable of driving a semi, get CDL training, drive those for awhile, then go somewhere else that pays more.

I know that many UPS locations need drivers badly, and obviously FedEx experience would be a plus. But because of some of the more stupid, arcane union rules, you’d have terrible routes for years.

As tempting as it is, I think that you are too old to start at UPS.

I don’t know anything about what it’s like to work there, but DHL is also a unionized company.

 

[59 Dano]

My base yearly salary is $55k a year ($26.19 per hour on a 40 hour week).

I try and sign up all the time to work my day off (Friday) and usually will get around $12k-$15k of overtime per year.

The work you do at UPS will be noticeably harder, the pay will be significantly lower for a few years, and you lose a ton of PTO when you have kids at home. If you have your finances and other business in order, there's no way that leaving and going to UPS is going to be that much better in the long run.

 

[btrlov]

Go express management

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

The work you do at UPS will be noticeably harder, the pay will be significantly lower for a few years, and you lose a ton of PTO when you have kids at home. If you have your finances and other business in order, there's no way that leaving and going to UPS is going to be that much better in the long run.

But we got new cool uniforms...

 

[59 Dano]

Go express management

He'd start out at or below what he's making now and with more stress; ops managers are the last to get raises and the first to take pay cuts. If he wants to take on a position of leadership and advance in the company, sure, but it'd be a terrible idea if his main concern is money.

 

[McFeely]

Go express management

I cannot imagine a world where I would ever be interested in being an ops manager for Express. Insanity.

 

[fdxsux]

I’d stick with Express and do the least amount of work possible. You’ve probably already worked too hard for a company that treats you like crap.

 

[Methods Man]

Here’s the thing they also don’t tell you. Yeah it could be years before you win a driving bid, but that’s not the light at the end of the tunnel. Chances are you’ll still get laid off multiple days out of the week even after your a ft driver. Took me two years AFTER I became a driver to get 40hrs a week outside of peak and was still occasionally bumped by drivers after that. UPS is a major grind, great career, but hard to manage once you have kids. Wish you all the best!

 

[SmithBarney]

Here’s the thing they also don’t tell you. Yeah it could be years before you win a driving bid, but that’s not the light at the end of the tunnel. Chances are you’ll still get laid off multiple days out of the week even after your a ft driver. Took me two years AFTER I became a driver to get 40hrs a week outside of peak and was still occasionally bumped by drivers after that. UPS is a major grind, great career, but hard to manage once you have kids. Wish you all the best!

Yes but working 3 days a week at UPS you'll still make more than working 50hrs at Fedex...

 

[cosis]

Yes but working 3 days a week at UPS you'll still make more than working 50hrs at Fedex...

As I walk by the UPS driver with my envelope, he is breaking his back loading a hand cart with 50 packages. UPS driver still delivering Amazon packages to my front door as I roll in at 6PM.

 

[zeev]

Those envelope days are numbered.

 

[cosis]

Those envelope days are numbered.

Someone said the same thing 10 years ago

 

[MAKAVELI]

As I walk by the UPS driver with my envelope, he is breaking his back loading a hand cart with 50 packages

Everything will be done online eventually. It's only a matter of time. If you don't realize this reality, I feel sorry for you.

 

[cosis]

Everything will be done online eventually. It's only a matter of time. If you don't realize this reality, I feel sorry for you.

Everything has been done online the past 5 years, yet I still deliver more envelopes each year than the previous one

 

[MAKAVELI]

Everything has been done online the past 5 years, yet I still deliver more envelopes each year than the previous one

That probably has more to do with the economy than anything else.

 

[zeev]

Revenue from 50 packages compared to 1 envelope I wonder why they didn’t do it sooner but it’s over now.

 

[yadadamean116]

As I walk by the UPS driver with my envelope, he is breaking his back loading a hand cart with 50 packages. UPS driver still delivering Amazon packages to my front door as I roll in at 6PM.

And why my take home is 3x what it used to be at FedEx

 

[zeev]

FedEx to UPS the decision is easier now full time going away.

 

[MattKeller]

You would need a minimum of 5 years to vest in the pension. If you got hired on this year, you would not be eligible for retirement until you were 62 with 18 years in. That might get a you a decent monthly pension check, but it probably won't be enough to do more than survive off.

There would be no guarantee that you would get into driving any time in the near future if you started inside part time. It would take you so long to get back to what you are making now, that you would have to work a long time at 40/hr to make up the difference.

My advice, if you really want to take that path, is to apply to any outside hire driving position posted by UPS. That will be your best hope this late in life to get reasonable outcome to making that leap.

The next best thing would be to shop around for another decent paying day job, then apply for inside part time. That way you are still fairly well covered for both income and benefits. You can still bid into driving if you want, but it'll get harder and harder trying to qualify the older you get.

I don't know, I would probably stay where you are, or look elsewhere (besides UPS) if you really need to make a change.

Any outside hire driving position? Like the temporary package delivery driver position? I’ve seen several not long ago where you drive your own vehicle and others driving company trucks.