For the past few generations, the standard wisdom was that if you wanted a career that paid well you should to go to college and get a degree. However, there are and have always been well-paying careers in non-academic fields, from the trades to starting a business to driving a delivery truck for UPS .
When a UPS driver shared his weekly paycheck on social media in 2023, people were surprised to learn how lucrative a gig it can be—$44/hour kind of lucrative, in his case. Drivers were already known for being paid well, but a union win in the summer of 2023 bumped up pay even more. Working 40 hours a week at $44/hr would earn you over $90K a year, and according to folks who work for the company, it's not unusual for UPS drivers to top out in comfortable, six-figure salaries.
But even with that pay, is being a UPS driver worth it? Here's what experienced drivers have to say.
A UPS employee who'd been working as a package handler for a couple of years was considering applying for a driver position and posted a list of questions for UPS drivers on Reddit . The following answers are pulled from that Reddit post and others:
How much can a UPS driver expect to make?
"Depends on where you are but generally $40 [per hour] after 4 years." – Shasfowd
"We have a guy that never graduated high school. He made $120k last year." – MrOddYazz
"Believe it, I took over thirty unpaid days off last year and still breezed past a 100." – _aIIan_
"127k last year. On track for 130k this year. 👀" – chavo2021
What are UPS driver hours like?
"You’ll make a good amount of money, but you won’t have a ton of time to yourself and with your family." – WassabiReindeer
"About 50-60 hours a week." – Shasfowd
"This job has one of the worst work/life balances and I worked In a hospital before this and have had many jobs. This one will have you making stacks of money with great benefits but who knows how far that goes. If I didn't have a huge medical problem I would've left years ago but like many others I am trapped. If this was a regular 40 hr a week job I'd tell everyone I have one of the best jobs In the world. However, that is not the case." – AnimatedAnixa
"Expect to work a butt load of overtime." – Joe12van
"Between 50-60 hours a week. Basically for the first couple years, don't make plans in the evening time." – KCD_OG-78
How difficult is it to become a UPS driver?
"Pretty difficult. Classes will be around 10-20 drivers, and by the time training is finished there will be about 5 of you. By the time you're done with probation there will be 3 of you and within a few years at most you'll be the only person from your training." – Shasfowd
"The first two years will be the toughest. I'd say if you can make it through that, it gets easier.....well mentally, not necessarily physically." – KCD_OG-78
"Qualifying to be a driver is one of the most stressful things I have ever done based on my life at the time I went to qualify." – Financial_Skirt4251
"It’s all by seniority, so you have to do your time loading trucks and wait. Loading isn’t easy and is only a part time job. Usually loading 3-4 trucks yourself on a morning shift or loading a whole tractor trailer front to back floor to ceiling by yourself at night. There are other part time shifts. You can wait years to get enough seniority to bid a chance at driving, but it depends on the location you work.
If you made it this far, you’ll get taken out on a road test by a supervisor. If you can drive ok, they’ll send you to get a D.O.T. health physical by one of their approved doctors.
After that, you get sent to ups boot camp and have to pass tests on all the basics and knowledge to drive. Don’t be late, have your uniform ironed and clean, and memorize the 5’s and 10’s.
Then the hard part begins. It’s a 30 working day torture test to see if you can hit the company’s extremely unreasonable production numbers while driving, learning a route, working safely, figuring out how to manage customer relations in a way where you can keep moving, all while under extreme time management.
If you make it, you’ll then be bounced around on dozens of routes covering them and learning all of these things over on each one until you have been a driver long enough to bid a permanent route assignment.
You better believe every driver you see out there has earned their place as a driver." – Hitsthebrakesnows_
What else should people know about being a UPS driver?
"I worked as a computer programmer freelance 2 years before UPS. And I would pick UPS again and again. Even though we get treated like sh*t and most days are a nightmare. Trust me. Without the $100k+, and benefits. I would not be here." – AdProfessional9809
"I like it, but it's not for everyone. I know a lot of preloaders that have given it a shot only to decide they don't like it." – Shasfowd
"If you top out and kill the over time you can probably make 80-120k a year. But this is a hourly position and you work for your money. Whenever a driver brags to me how much they made last year. I cringe and sauté because I know how many hard hours they work. Not a easy job not a easy start. But once you get seniority and master the craft. Seems to be rewarding." – sprucetre3
"Have an exit plan if you decide to become a driver. Being good at manual labor and driving a truck can only carry you so far. Especially because the company will demand most of your time.. your life around work can easily deteriorate. Be prepared to be tired a lot…if my son were 19 and he wanted to be a UPS driver..knowing what I know and having dealt with what I’ve dealt with I would try and steer him into a different career BUT to each their own." – BEAR_STORM
" I wouldn't recommend this as the first career choice for my child. I always said it's a horrible plan A but great plan B." – gunstarheroesblue
"Been driving for a year and a half now. Benefits are phenomenal. I've always done labor, decided it won't be for me. I start college in January. Thinking of going part timer here and UPS helps to pay for college." – DCostalot
The general consensus seems to be that the early years are tough but it gets better if you stick it out, the job is demanding with long hours and you will work long hours at Christmastime, but the pay and benefits are phenomenal. Some people love it, some don't. Like all jobs, being a UPS driver has its positives and negatives, and whether it's worth it is an individual judgment call.
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