Vantaggi
This job comes with some of the best pay for this role in the industry in this area and has among the best protections for its drivers on account of them being members of a very large and strong union (NY is a closed shop state and as such all drivers are union members.) This does not apply to every union local, but for UPS employees in my area the health benefits go into effect for a worker immediately upon the completion of their 30 work day qualification period and those health benefits are literally the best of the best compared to health benefits available to any other blue collar worker and most white collar workers in the country (the state division of the Teamsters administers the health & hospital fund as well as the pension fund and also offers 401K options too.) There are strong safety requirements which we are expected to follow, not just stated and then ignored in practice. Driver training is very extensive and comprehensive, as such UPS drivers are among the best drivers in the country (especially so considering that CDLs are not required for package car drivers.)
Svantaggi
It is very taxing work, especially in the summer heat where the package cars turn into little ovens and routinely hit or exceed 120 degrees Fahrenheit behind the bulkhead door. The amount of effort required to finish the work during the worst of winter is quite large as well. Very good customer service skills are expected of customer-facing employees which can be challenging on very hot and very long days or with very irate customers, especially for drivers who may have little or no other customer service background. There is an expectation that you must work on certain days around holidays, severely limiting opportunities for travel to visit family out of town.