Forget College, Working For UPS is Where It's At!

[97guns]

i inow what moving packages is like, my last job was driving a tractor trailor for budweiser and that thing held a lot more product than a rinky dink ups truck. try humping 50 kegs at 100# a pop into liquer stores and bars, a case of beer wieghs 30 pounds and i would go out with over 1500 cases every day

we had whiners there too and i got so sick and tired of hearing them every day, its makes their day and my day crappy. they signed up for the job and know whats involved, if its that bad go better yourself sonewhere else!! my ups driver is exactly what i used to work with

[FLA]

around here you can wait years to get full time hours

[Singuy]

Definitely not "where its at" as in the end all be all.

I can't lift 75 pound boxes and carry them to a front porch. And honestly, that job would bore me to tears.

I do have a friend whose husband works for UPS. He has worked there for over 25 years now. He is just now getting the higher pay.

And I have a friend whose husband drives UPS part time. He can't get on full time, too competitive.

So, SG, you are saying you wish you didn't make $400K per year and you wish you hadn't gone to college, so you could make less and drive, pick up boxes, drive, pick up boxes, drive, pick up boxes?????

Absolutely not..and I'm not really claiming UPS is the end all be all. It's just a topic starter to discuss alternative options instead of college..especially for almost half of the students who goes to college but can't finish(you know people who are just not good at schools). Why go into debt when you suck at taking tests?


And to those who thinks it's hard work..absolutely it's hard work! But with a sweet pension and 100% health coverage plus NO college required...things like this doesn't drop from the sky you know..you have to EARN IT!

[FLA]

it's such hard work, I wonder how many make it to retirement without becoming disabled first. Or if they offer desk jobs as people age out of lifting heavy things, I doubt this. When is the last time you saw an UPS employee in their late 50s, especially women.

[Singuy]

it's such hard work, I wonder how many make it to retirement without becoming disabled first. Or if they offer desk jobs as people age out of lifting heavy things, I doubt this. When is the last time you saw an UPS employee in their late 50s, especially women.

I can think of many other jobs in which people are required to work harder but at a much lower pay. Construction under the hot FL sun comes to mind...or working at a nursery lifting plants/trees under the hot sun. Working at a major retail store unloading trucks overnight is a lot hard work as well.

We are about to have some travertine pavers installed in our backyard. Each piece is around 30-40lbs..and we have 2k sqft worth. Installing this in 90+ degree weather is no joke...

But yeah..not a lot of females in the line of work of lifting heavy items. But as for males, people pay a pretty penny just to lift dead weight at a gym for 4 hours/day..
Money don't really grow on trees..got to suck it up if you want to reap the benefits.

We shouldn't focus on UPS too much because it's definitely not a gig for everyone..but feel free to discuss other occupation that doesn't require a college degree but makes 6 figures...

[Nutria]

When is the last time you saw an UPS employee in their late 50s, especially women.

Bogus argument, since when was the last time you saw any UPS employee besides the deliveryman? (FTIW, our deliveryman is a woman.)

Maybe at a UPS Store. How many, and what was the age range?

[Fishindude77]

If you think being a UPS delivery person is hard physical work, you've not been around much hard physical work.

Yes, they lift and handle lots of boxes up to 75 lbs, and get in and out of their trucks many times daily, but if they are smart they practice safe lifting techniques, utilize their hand carts on the heavy items, slow down to a reasonable speed where they aren't killing themselves, use caution on slippery surfaces, etc. I'm sure UPS trains them religiously on all of this stuff, as the last thing they want is an on the job injury.

[disneysteve]

i am as anti college as there is, i think its the biggest scam of our time, start your carreer with $200k in debt

Average student loan debt is $37,000. That's a far cry from 200K.

If someone borrows stupid amounts to go to school, that's by choice. Don't blame "college" for that. We were just having that discussion at my office the other day. There are plenty of places to get a college degree without taking out crazy amounts of loans.

[Nutria]

Average student loan debt is $37,000. That's a far cry from 200K.

Never let the facts get in the way of a great sounding delusion that reinforces your preconceived notions.

[97guns]

Average student loan debt is $37,000. That's a far cry from 200K.

If someone borrows stupid amounts to go to school, that's by choice. Don't blame "college" for that. We were just having that discussion at my office the other day. There are plenty of places to get a college degree without taking out crazy amounts of loans.

im not talking averages, never said that and govt provided numbers mean little to me. i know 2 individuals in real life that have student loans south out 175k, one of them just refinanced

[disneysteve]

im not talking averages, never said that and govt provided numbers mean little to me. i know 2 individuals in real life that have student loans south out 175k, one of them just refinanced

I also know people with 6-figure debt though from grad school, not from college. Big difference there.

A good friend graduated med school and is now in practice. In fact, she was responsible for me getting the new job I recently started. So yes, she owes a couple hundred thousand dollars however she is earning over $100/hour so she's making over 200K/year straight out of training.

Rule of thumb for student loans is to not borrow more than you expect to earn in your first year of employment. She's pretty much in line with that guideline. Plus her husband has a good job too. So they're making plenty of money and have a big shovel to dig their way out of that debt.

The real problem is the folks who borrow 100K and more to go into low-paying careers.

[Singuy]

I also know people with 6-figure debt though from grad school, not from college. Big difference there.

A good friend graduated med school and is now in practice. In fact, she was responsible for me getting the new job I recently started. So yes, she owes a couple hundred thousand dollars however she is earning over $100/hour so she's making over 200K/year straight out of training.

Rule of thumb for student loans is to not borrow more than you expect to earn in your first year of employment. She's pretty much in line with that guideline. Plus her husband has a good job too. So they're making plenty of money and have a big shovel to dig their way out of that debt.

The real problem is the folks who borrow 100K and more to go into low-paying careers.

I agree

However, in order to make 6 figures like this UPS driving job, one will most likely will need grad school and accumulate 100-200k worth of student loan debt. Most of my students have 6 figure loan debt and will make no more than this UPS driver..and will not get his sweet pension as well. But hey at least it's a desk job.

[rennigade]

im not talking averages, never said that and govt provided numbers mean little to me. i know 2 individuals in real life that have student loans south out 175k, one of them just refinanced

as opposed to the imaginary numbers you pull out of your head? you know 2 people with $175k student loan debt...im gonna go out on a limb and say more than 2 people have gone to college since they have. should we just assume everyone has $175k+ in debt though?

also...i think you meant to say north. north would mean they owe more than $175k...south means they owe less.

[rennigade]

I agree

However, in order to make 6 figures like this UPS driving job, one will most likely will need grad school and accumulate 100-200k worth of student loan debt. Most of my students have 6 figure loan debt and will make no more than this UPS driver..and will not get his sweet pension as well. But hey at least it's a desk job.

Exactly...a desk job. Its not for everyone but being in a climate controlled environment and not lifting heavy items and ruining your body is also a major perk. Of course millions of us will be blind by the time we're 60 due to staring at a computer screen all day...that kinda sucks.

[Fishindude77]

You don't have to accumulate debt to get a college degree.

Just because a job involves a little physical work, doesn't mean it will break down your body. In reality, many such jobs are better for you than camping out indoors at a desk day in, day out.

There are lots of good, high paying jobs out there that require zero college education.