UPS is only paying experienced drivers (with experience at UPS) those rates, at the entry level it's more in the neighborhood of part time work 20 dollars an hour, which is a common entry level rate in warehousing and logistics these days.
Similarly, it's a long road to being a skilled laborer that can pull those large contracts, and even then the margins can be utterly ruthless to small operators.
Just seeking to be realistic - both can be great career paths for the right person.
UPS is paying $170K on average per driver this year per renegotiated contracts. True, like any job, you start off on the lower side, but unlike other companies, UPS pay begins going way up after just a year and that doesn't include the incredible amount of overtime available to even new drivers.
You don't need to pull in large contracts or even be the business owner of a skilled-trade to do well. Literally every tradesman I speak with is telling me the same thing: we're desperate for bodies; we're willing to hire kids out of high school, train them and pay them > $100K and we still can't fill the seats.
My overall (unpopular point) is that a lot of people are complaining that their high-paid cushy remote job isn't available anymore, while ignoring that there is a huge need for skilled labor in other areas of the economy. This strikes me as a huge opportunity for lots of people, and I don't see it changing anytime soon.
From my research, $170k is a headline number to make the unions and UPS sound like they're getting and giving a great deal.
The fine print [0] is more like $92k base plus pension, overtime, medical benefits, and other items that have value, but aren't exactly going into UPS driver pockets.
"front loaded costs" are generally 50-100% of salary. so a fully front loaded worker making $100k would have an extra $50k-$100k in bennies and associated costs on them. that number goes out the window for SWE6 / Director / Executives, but is generally a safe ballpark otherwise.
given that meterstick, the 170 / 92k number makes sense.
For context, keep in mind that the poverty line in San Fran for an individual is $104k
> San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin counties have each had low-income thresholds greater than $100,000 for a single person since 2021, when the limit for each county increased from $97,600 to $102,450. For the past two years, the number rose to $104,400.
Similarly, it's a long road to being a skilled laborer that can pull those large contracts, and even then the margins can be utterly ruthless to small operators.
Just seeking to be realistic - both can be great career paths for the right person.