why does everyone hate the specialist

TungFang

Active Member
What could be so bad about this job ? I desperatly want to be one, just not sure how to go about it. I asked my sup and he said our hub doesnt have one, Does that mean I could get it easily ? i need the money!!!!
 

wyobill

Well-Known Member
What could be so bad about this job ? I desperatly want to be one, just not sure how to go about it. I asked my sup and he said our hub doesnt have one, Does that mean I could get it easily ? i need the money!!!!
Just what do you want to be?
 

TungFang

Active Member
i was going to try and move to a full time specialist, wait it out from there untill i can bid on a feeder spot. i was just wondering why alot of peeps seem to think that job is so horrible, is it because all the paperwork
 

brownrodster

Well-Known Member
i was going to try and move to a full time specialist, wait it out from there untill i can bid on a feeder spot. i was just wondering why alot of peeps seem to think that job is so horrible, is it because all the paperwork

First of all, specialists are non union. You cannot bid a driving spot from a full time specialist position. You can apply for one of the 6/1 off the street hire spots (but that doesn't mean you'll get it).

Become fulltime specialist (what type of specialist are you talking about???) isn't something that happens very often. We have one full time OMS in our building and she's had that spot for over 20 years.
 

brownrodster

Well-Known Member
If you want a "specialist" position (which freakin specialist position are you talking about) then you should have or be completing a 4 year degree from a university before they'll even consider you.


UPS isn't going to create new positions to satisfy you or anyone else. They are business out to make money. They will create positions when they need them.
 

TungFang

Active Member
Well any specialist spot I could get, part or full time.I asked one of my sups about it and he said some advice he recieved when he 1st started at UPS was never become a speclialist. He didnt say why thought thats why I was aking on here, because I was contemplating becoming one or atleast trying.
 
S

Specialist4Lyf

Guest
You become one.....you stay one....until you quit.....whether you want to or not.
 

tritese

tritese
most of the specialists in our building were part time sups first.........there are one or two who were clerks.......can not bid on union jobs......
 

alister

Well-Known Member
Well any specialist spot I could get, part or full time.I asked one of my sups about it and he said some advice he recieved when he 1st started at UPS was never become a speclialist. He didnt say why thought thats why I was aking on here, because I was contemplating becoming one or atleast trying.

Most Specialist jobs are non union jobs in IE and a few in HR and feeders working in the dispatch area. you can not bid on any union work. its suppose to be a pseudo management position but it seems that most of them just run reports for sups and managers for them to review or some other redundant paper pushing tasks. I don't think OMS are considered specialists. I think OMS fall into the AOT pay scale according to HR. The specialists position is just below a full time supervisor and the AOT are below them on pay scale. I do know know of any part time specialists. being a specialist not a dead end job and i have known some that have later been promoted. It does seem that a lot of people who become specialist do not want to become supervisors so this may be why it seems to be a dead in job.
 

bit

Member
Speaking as a former specialist. I was a specialist before they clamped down and made specialists log there hours. Back then the position sucked - you were basically salaried non-management, so every hour past 40 was a freebie to UPS. You'd get emails from the "opt-in to management" pools and they would cc everyone in the pool, so you could see who else you were competing against for positions that came up. Back then the specialist job was a pretty bad deal...

Now that they're paying OT, it's probably not a bad deal.

I'll have to agree with Specialist4Lyf - "You become one.....you stay one....until you quit.....whether you want to or not. " I had to learn some really specific skills, and then twist some arms (figuratively) to become a supe.

The downside is - the promotion philosophy is that "you should be performing work like the next level" so that they can see that you're ready for the next level. How do you show them that you're willing to do routine overtime when you're out the door at 40 hours?
 

alister

Well-Known Member
That's funny since the S in OMS stands for specialist.
yes it does stand for that. its just a job title though. just like a pt sup is a title. it doesnt mean anything at all though. all the OMSs that i know of are grade 10 or lower. part time sups tend to be grade 5 or 6. specialist are grade 11. full time sups start at grade 12 and go up. the original poster may have been referring to the OMS position but there is a difference. I think there is at least $3,000 difference between grade 10 and 11. there is also the fact that an OMS is truly the most dead in position at ups. I know people that have been one for almost ten years now. I only know one oms that has been promoted. personally i think she was only promoted because she was sleeping with the division manager. later the division manger picked another oms and got caught and got fired. the one that got promoted quickly filed a sexual harassment suit probably to protect her own job.
 

alister

Well-Known Member
Speaking as a former specialist. I was a specialist before they clamped down and made specialists log there hours. Back then the position sucked - you were basically salaried non-management, so every hour past 40 was a freebie to UPS. You'd get emails from the "opt-in to management" pools and they would cc everyone in the pool, so you could see who else you were competing against for positions that came up. Back then the specialist job was a pretty bad deal...

Now that they're paying OT, it's probably not a bad deal.

I'll have to agree with Specialist4Lyf - "You become one.....you stay one....until you quit.....whether you want to or not. " I had to learn some really specific skills, and then twist some arms (figuratively) to become a supe.

The downside is - the promotion philosophy is that "you should be performing work like the next level" so that they can see that you're ready for the next level. How do you show them that you're willing to do routine overtime when you're out the door at 40 hours?

I agree that it is harder to get promoted but so is being a full time sup.it seems it takes them years as in 5 to 10 years to be promoted to be a manager and most never get the chance. this may change in the future. there are a lot of baby boomer's that are nearing their retirement and this should open up the ranks.
 
N

New Employee

Guest
I'm just a new stafff in UPS-SCS as admin assistant, got a 4-year degree and some master's units... how long can i apply for specialist position?
 

toonertoo

Most Awesome Dog
Staff member
I Love our OMS people. What I hate is they are /were off the street which is fine, and then they, FT MGMT, put them in charge of on road decisions so they can go home at night. OUrs had to learn the hard way, hands on and they do a fine job. But I dont think they get credit for what they do, probably even less than pt sups, and they seem to not get much chance for advancement. My former loader is a college professor, who speaks 4 languages fluently, went to an OMS job, thinking it would help her get into ft, within the international dept, somewhere where she would truly be an asset, and she is losing time sitting there answering phones waiting for her big break. I hope she gets it, but it seems to me, since she is efficient, she just makes it easier for the center team to run off when needed. But thats just my humble little opinion. You totally overqualified people waste your degree, and yrs waiting for the ship that most likely wont come in from PT positions. :w00t:
 

alister

Well-Known Member
I'm just a new stafff in UPS-SCS as admin assistant, got a 4-year degree and some master's units... how long can i apply for specialist position?

im not sure about UPS-SCS but you could have started at UPS as a specialist or management trainee. depending on the degree. its amazing that a degree in basket weaving still helps at UPS.
 

alister

Well-Known Member
I Love our OMS people. What I hate is they are /were off the street which is fine, and then they, FT MGMT, put them in charge of on road decisions so they can go home at night. OUrs had to learn the hard way, hands on and they do a fine job. But I dont think they get credit for what they do, probably even less than pt sups, and they seem to not get much chance for advancement. My former loader is a college professor, who speaks 4 languages fluently, went to an OMS job, thinking it would help her get into ft, within the international dept, somewhere where she would truly be an asset, and she is losing time sitting there answering phones waiting for her big break. I hope she gets it, but it seems to me, since she is efficient, she just makes it easier for the center team to run off when needed. But thats just my humble little opinion. You totally overqualified people waste your degree, and yrs waiting for the ship that most likely wont come in from PT positions. :w00t:

i totally agree. your just wasting your time if you have a degree and you want to be more than a OMS or an admin assistant. you will see people pass you by with the same degree or less go right past you. coming straight off the street or pt hourly right past you to the job you wanted (as long as job is full time supervisor or below). sit still till the job you want opens up especially if you work at ups already. make sure you sell your self and let every "friendly" full time sup and manager know what you have to offer. ups love to hire from within.
 
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