I currently play games hah, and on the side I do like web development freelance when I feel that I need money. (No real active job)
So today I get an email regarding a job that involves lifting packages aka UPS Package Handler.
Has anyone actually done this type of work - UPS Package Handling. I'm strong, but I'm not the most fit person in the world (If you think Marn from EG I'm around that size give or take - don't hate ^^) and wondering if I'm fucked from the start?
On June 29 2010 14:27 Djzapz wrote: I have a friend who packs stuff for UPS and he's a total nerd like me! Says it's kind of physical but not too bad.
Also, stop destroying my packages D:
xD, well I applied and its like a part time job (I need time for SC2 ftw) - Apparently the job pays about 8.50-9.50/hour saying I can make from 110 -> 150 a week on a 3-5 hour part time job which isn't bad.
Thanks for the response
@AcrossFive - competition and lack of not knowing everything that people need done - I also haven't went to school for it yet, just taught myself a lot since about 06/07 and most of the requirements for like big fulltime jobs require insane shit that I can't wrap my head around yet.
On June 29 2010 14:28 Merikh wrote: I also haven't went to school for it yet, just taught myself a lot since about 06/07 and most of the requirements for like big fulltime jobs require insane shit that I can't wrap my head around yet.
Just work at any job you can until school begins again. Once school starts, you should seriously consider starting as soon as you can. Every year that goes by is a huge loss of income that could be made at a higher paying job you really enjoy.
On June 29 2010 14:28 Merikh wrote: I also haven't went to school for it yet, just taught myself a lot since about 06/07 and most of the requirements for like big fulltime jobs require insane shit that I can't wrap my head around yet.
Just work at any job you can until school begins again. Once school starts, you should seriously consider starting as soon as you can. Every year that goes by is a huge loss of income that could be made at a higher paying job you really enjoy.
Yeah, I plan on going to school around August (currently 19 right now)
hey i'm ups package handler. i'm in vancouver (canada) and we start at 9.50$ an hour and every 6 months you get a raise of 50 cents, until you make $11 an hour. then it's an entire friggin year at 11 bucks an hour but after that you make the top rate which is right now $17.66. don't know what kinda shifts you have but for us after 5 hours you start to get overtime which is kinda cool. the job is a little physical at first but you get used to it. i consider it a cardio workout even. for me i like this job because i can take classes during the day and do this at night, and my boss is very flexible with hours.
I currently work as an unloader for UPS, probably close to what you will be doing. It sucks pretty hard, it's a decently physically demanding job. It requires a lot of bending and lifting at a steady pace of packages from 0-150 lbs. You will probably be really sore and tired for the first few weeks until your body gets used to the work. They also have a college tuition reimbursement program you should look into, as well as great benefits.
A job is still a job, I say go for it. You can always look for another job while doing this one or if you're content with UPS you could work your way up the corporate ladder. Either way job is better than no job .
Seems easier than it seems which was was relief off my shoulders!
heh, well it IS a commercial from UPS. of course they make it look easy =)
True, lol but I mean based on looking at that video it looks less complex than I imagined. (When I first thought about this job I was thinking about when I had to move these piles of logs across the field and load them on this truck) This seems way better.
On June 29 2010 14:56 foxyboxing wrote: hey i'm ups package handler. i'm in vancouver (canada) and we start at 9.50$ an hour and every 6 months you get a raise of 50 cents, until you make $11 an hour. then it's an entire friggin year at 11 bucks an hour but after that you make the top rate which is right now $17.66. don't know what kinda shifts you have but for us after 5 hours you start to get overtime which is kinda cool. the job is a little physical at first but you get used to it. i consider it a cardio workout even. for me i like this job because i can take classes during the day and do this at night, and my boss is very flexible with hours.
not bad for 2.5 years + benefits, not bad at all... hmmm
My dad works as a driver for UPS. They have great benefits but as Carthac said, they work everybody hard. You are not generally rewarded for doing your job well - they just give you more work since they assume you can handle it. I say do it, get the job experience, see how you like it. If nothing else while you're waiting to go back to school you have some income. 5 hour shifts sound pretty nice, even if they are physically demanding.
As long as you decide to make it it shouldn't be a problem. I gained "some" weight after quitting school and injuring my knee which made me stop playing football (soccer). After 1½ years I started as a scaffolder and everyone kept saying there was no way in hell I could do it since I was so overweight.
I just put my mind into it and did it for a year and a half before going back to school. Sure the first time on the job was really hard, and I think its gonna be the same for you, but once your body gets used to it its really not a big problem! Take the job, atleast until you find another one.
As someone who orders lots of guitars online.. UPS really blows. I would say about 50% of packages from UPS get damaged, the handlers they have just dont care about packages and throw them around like they are nothing, even if it says "FRAGILE" or anything written on it.
I have no respect for anyone who works as a UPS handler. maybe theres a few who are careful but 90% of them just dont care about other people and smash boxes around all day.
I use USPS now only, and I have never had an issue yet. Over 100+ items and no errors, yet under 5 with UPS and issues? Thats bad quality control for a company that charges 3 times what USPS does.
I'm into airsoft, and the stuff we order is sometimes pricey (not like guitars or anything, but i've spent well over 2k/year on it), and at times fragile // semi-fragile. Whenever its been shipped UPS the packages come in good condition and seem to be shipped faster. OTOH, when the retailer ships using USPS, the packages have been banged up a little bit.
I think it depends on local handling and stuff. My UPS loaders and unloaders in the area are probably better then the USPS handlers in the area, while the opposite is true for yours.
On June 29 2010 15:58 FastEddieV wrote: My dad works as a driver for UPS. They have great benefits but as Carthac said, they work everybody hard. You are not generally rewarded for doing your job well - they just give you more work since they assume you can handle it. I say do it, get the job experience, see how you like it. If nothing else while you're waiting to go back to school you have some income. 5 hour shifts sound pretty nice, even if they are physically demanding.
they have this "you've been caught" award thing... they give you a lame card and a gift certificate to somewhere. i don't know how often they do this i think it's kinda random i've gotten 2 so far
After doing community service at a shop that basically delivers furniture and stuff like dishwashers, I knew I could never do that for more than a day or two. It's just exhausting! Maybe it's different with UPS where you can just deliver it to their door, and not have to carry it through the house.
I was a loader for 1 year at the UPS hub in Des Moines, IA.
Now i've been a part time supervisor for two.
The job is hard. I guess i got it right out of highschool as a part time college job and I had never really worked HARD before but..... most of the people we hire don't last more than a month or two. The turnover rate is huge
That being said if you put time and effort and become a badass, it's rewarding and it's like you are paid to exercise for 3 1/2 hours or so.
Work it if you need the benefits or tuition reimbursement ( only offered for supervisors or midnight loaders here ) otherwise you can probably find a much easier less stressful job somewhere else.
Again, if you take this job, you better be ready to work extremely hard.
edit: you will either start out as an unloader or loader.... an unloader is ultimate physical stress, while a loader is not quite as much, but is more mentally taxing and you are held responsible for a lot more as a loader.
If you have the choice and are willing to work very very hard, I would recommend unloading. However, at my hub, unloaders are usually either new very fit guys, or guys that have become really fast loaders and want to transfer.
edit #57
That video is a joke, at least for here. Unloaders are expected to unload at 1250 packages an hour, and the good ones go way faster.
On June 29 2010 19:16 OverTheUnder wrote: I was a loader for 1 year at the UPS hub in Des Moines, IA.
Now i've been a part time supervisor for two.
The job is hard. I guess i got it right out of highschool as a part time college job and I had never really worked HARD before but..... most of the people we hire don't last more than a month or two. The turnover rate is huge
That being said if you put time and effort and become a badass, it's rewarding and it's like you are paid to exercise for 3 1/2 hours or so.
Work it if you need the benefits or tuition reimbursement ( only offered for supervisors or midnight loaders here ) otherwise you can probably find a much easier less stressful job somewhere else.
Again, if you take this job, you better be ready to work extremely hard.
edit: you will either start out as an unloader or loader.... an unloader is ultimate physical stress, while a loader is not quite as much, but is more mentally taxing and you are held responsible for a lot more as a loader.
If you have the choice and are willing to work very very hard, I would recommend unloading. However, at my hub, unloaders are usually either new very fit guys, or guys that have become really fast loaders and want to transfer.
edit #57
That video is a joke, at least for here. Unloaders are expected to unload at 1250 packages an hour, and the good ones go way faster.
I'm really freaked out by the prospect having having to do manual labor for a living. T_T I think I would die in a second as a Scaffold Construction Specialist, and within a week as a Parcel Transportation Engineer. Now being a Keyboard Buttonpressing Professional for a living sounds like a seriously awesome job!
1250 packages an hour? That's 1 package every 3 seconds. How the hell is that humanly possible unless that beltway is moving way faster in reality as in the advertising?
I'd say try the job out, it gives you good experience for a future job, working as a team, working under pressure, and managing your time very well. Also a career at UPS is also an option if you like it. Drivers for delivery companies like UPS make a lot of money right off the bat. 8.50 - 9.50 an hour is a decent starting wage, my first job was $7.00 an hour, now mininum wage where I live is $9.25 or something now.
Its a opportunity, hard to get decent employment nowadays... And since you're still a student, why not go for the experience? Better than working at McDonalds or something.
Since its also part time, its not gonna kill you to put a couple hours in, I would take this job in blink of an eye.
On June 29 2010 23:27 Golden Ghost wrote: 1250 packages an hour? That's 1 package every 3 seconds. How the hell is that humanly possible unless that beltway is moving way faster in reality as in the advertising?
it moves about as fast as the movie. But the unloaded moves a lot faster, with minimal space between packages. (they don't look at the belt, they keep facing the wall and go to town)