It has been broadcast all over the news in my area that UPS is hiring, and that the average UPS driver makes around $76,000 annually! That just totally makes me feel devalued as a nurse. I am not sure what the national averages for nurse salaries are right now, but I am pretty sure it is not that much. I mean, seriously, these people deliver packages (not to devalue them, I have known a few and they work exceptionally hard), but we nurses deliver babies, we keep people alive, we take care of children and the elderly. We are highly educated, knowledgeable, and the responsibility we hold is immense. If the UPS guy screws up, someone might not get their package delivered on time. If a nurse screws up, someone could die. I just cannot reconcile this in my head!!!!
When I first saw this my initial thought was "screw nursing, I'm going to drive the brown truck!" My next thought was, how sad that we are so seriously devalued. What will it take before people realize our value to society? Am I overreacting to this? What are your thoughts?
Again, I want to add that I do not want to sound like I am putting down UPS drivers or similar careers. They work hard and do a great job. It is just that in comparison to the responsibility that we nurses hold, it does not seem that the pay is in line. Not that they deserve less, it is that we deserve at least as much or more for the work that we do!!!
The ad is likely for over the road tractor trailer drivers and they are union. I drove tractor trailers for 15 years and while there are different responsibilities, that job is just as difficult and complex as nursing. It takes skill to handle a 70 foot long 80,000lb. vehicle without killing someone. Especially in winter, in the mountains. You are away from friends and family most of your life. You miss birthdays, weddings, graduations, holidays. The expense of living on the road is high as well. It is also one of the most dangerous occupations in the country. Blow a steer tire and life gets hairy in an instant.
If the ad is for route drivers, I know a few guys that do that. It is a slave driven, high stress job. And one little mishap and you are gone. Some of those guys make 200+ stops a day, in a non-air conditioned truck. I wouldn't do it for $ 100,000.
Have you ever been a UPS driver? Because I really think that if you haven't done the job you don't have a right to say anything about it. I would've loved to been a nurse if I could've had enough money to go to school I would've loved it. I understand that being a nurse is extremely difficult both emotionally and physically and I think you must have to love it to do it every day. I think that is the kind of nurse I would've been when i love my job enough that the paycheck would've been a nice perk. I used to run a daycare in my home, if you want to talk about an underpaid profession I didn't do it for the money because I charged people very little and I took very good care of those kids I also got only with the state would pay me for the family of special needs foster children I took care of. I know what it's like to be a mom and I had to send your kid to daycare and it means everything to be able to still have money after you pay them and have someone that you can trust. You are fortunate that you were able to go to school for that. I don't think you should compare what you make two other people it makes it look like you think ,you're more important than they are. Just do your job don't worry about what other people are doing.
Have you ever been a UPS driver? Because I really think that if you haven't done the job you don't have a right to say anything about it. I would've loved to been a nurse if I could've had enough money to go to school I would've loved it. I understand that being a nurse is extremely difficult both emotionally and physically and I think you must have to love it to do it every day. I think that is the kind of nurse I would've been when i love my job enough that the paycheck would've been a nice perk. I used to run a daycare in my home, if you want to talk about an underpaid profession I didn't do it for the money because I charged people very little and I took very good care of those kids I also got only with the state would pay me for the family of special needs foster children I took care of. I know what it's like to be a mom and I had to send your kid to daycare and it means everything to be able to still have money after you pay them and have someone that you can trust. You are fortunate that you were able to go to school for that. I don't think you should compare what you make two other people it makes it look like you think ,you're more important than they are. Just do your job don't worry about what other people are doing.
The OP created this thread over six years ago and hasn't been active on this site for about a year.
I am a fulltime Ups driver and we make 36.50 hr with ot after 8. We average 50 hours a week and get free medical, dental and pension. The majority of us with ot make 100,000+ per yr and earn every penny. I guarantee the majority on here bashing couldnt cart a 150 pound irreg up to the 3rd floor apartment, much less pass the driver history portion of the employment process. Typical day is delivering 15 nda by 10:30 a.m. more commits at 3p.m. 20 pickup stops and 150 more deliveries that i have to get off in between across a 100 mile route. It os far from easy work.
We impact more lives during our shifts than you could imagine given I complete 20 to 50 critical healthcare deliveries per day along with keeping police stations, fire departments and hospitals supplied.
I think nurses should make more but don't hate on us because we make what we do. All i can tell you is to organize.
The comment made about weight comparisons, that of your average UPS driver and nurse was rude. It ticked me off, I'll admit. Then I got to thinking, I have NEVER seen an out of shape or even slightly overweight UPS gay/gal.
While the majority of my colleagues have at least a few extra pounds they could lose to be healthier, including myself (nurse practitioner). Yet we rarely do, because let's face it, our job is not as physically demanding as the one carried out by those clad in brown.
As nurses and healthcare professionals we get to see with our own eyes what obesity has in store for us. An untimely and miserable death. Yet most of us do not and will not change our lifestyle. I think we tend to trick ourselves into thinking that walking a few miles a day in an air conditioned hospital is hard work. Sure we have to move heavy patients on a daily basis, but I'm not going to lie to myself about that, no one ever lifts a 300+ pounder alone.
Anyway, yes I'm fat (and happy). Most of my coworkers are fat too. I'm in no way going to delude myself into thinking my job is physically tougher than the UPS guy's. That would be insulting them, IMO.
If that UPS driver is making $75,000 he must be doing it for a very long time maybe over 30 years. I know nurses making that much after 3 years of experience just by working one extra shift every two weeks.
That is not the norm, though, and I know you know that, right?
At any rate, plenty of jobs pay a lot of money that doesn't seem justifiable (pro athletes and actors, anyone?) and I don't really think about it. It's not something I can change, that's for sure. So much of healthcare wages are how much profit a facility can bring in, and when many (most? I don't know) hospitals, like mine, are not-for-profit, and when they can't turn people away (EMTALA), they lose money. Can't get blood from a stone. It is what it is.
I agree it’s not the norm country wide. However, I think acute care nurses in California has a lot to do with perception that nurses are making 100k+ a year. In CA, it is def. the norm.
My brother drives for UPS in Alaska and earns every penny of his salary. He's been with UPS for probably 30 years by now. No special truck in winter either.
Though we csnt believe everything we hear one thing for sure is that there are alot of jobs, that require less schooling that pays the same if not more. So I would say go into nursing if you love it, because yes there are other jobs that require certifications only, less schooling that pay more.
That just totally makes me feel devalued as a nurse. I am not sure what the national averages for nurse salaries are right now, but I am pretty sure it is not that much. I mean, seriously, these people deliver packages (not to devalue them, I have known a few and they work exceptionally hard), but we nurses deliver babies, we keep people alive, we take care of children and the elderly. We are highly educated, knowledgeable, and the responsibility we hold is immense. If the UPS guy screws up, someone might not get their package delivered on time. If a nurse screws up, someone could die. I just cannot reconcile this in my head!!!!
canes41
2 Posts
The ad is likely for over the road tractor trailer drivers and they are union. I drove tractor trailers for 15 years and while there are different responsibilities, that job is just as difficult and complex as nursing. It takes skill to handle a 70 foot long 80,000lb. vehicle without killing someone. Especially in winter, in the mountains. You are away from friends and family most of your life. You miss birthdays, weddings, graduations, holidays. The expense of living on the road is high as well. It is also one of the most dangerous occupations in the country. Blow a steer tire and life gets hairy in an instant.
If the ad is for route drivers, I know a few guys that do that. It is a slave driven, high stress job. And one little mishap and you are gone. Some of those guys make 200+ stops a day, in a non-air conditioned truck. I wouldn't do it for $ 100,000.