Pros
Despite being a "mature" company, UPS is growing into other areas of the transportation and logistics industry and there are exciting opportunities for those who can take advantage of them. The operations divisions are high-intensity, high energy places. This can be physically and mentally draining with the long hours and the higher and more numerous standards the management is judged by, but it also creates a special kind of camaraderie as well. Although the company became public in 1997, there's still a culture of "partnership" between management at the supervisor level and above which is held over from the days when the company was privately held, and management were the only one who held stock in UPS. UPS is also a very stable company with excellent cash flow. This typically means if you're the type who wants to work for one company their entire career and not jump around a lot you can still do that here. The variable labor cost model typically means that UPS doesn't have to resort to layoffs during mild economic downturns. If you're single or married to a non-working spouse and don't plan to have a family, there are numerous opportunities to advance by relocating to other parts of the company every 4-5 years throughout your career. This is a male-dominated company for reasons typically related to the work environment. UPS does not discriminate against women in any way, but most women simply find that the warehouse environment doesn't suit them. If you're a woman in entry level management and don't mind a warehouse environment, you will be given every opportunity to succeed and advance as UPS is actively trying to bring more women into its management ranks and retain them. You'll have to be competent, but frankly, in the current environment here, if you're up against a man with the same qualifications for a promotion, in my opinion, you'll get it. You'll be encouraged to get on a career track to move ahead quickly unless you explicitly make it known you don't want to do so.
Cons
Driving and inside operations jobs are physically grueling compared with typical jobs. While your average Marine or construction worker would think it was easy, the majority of the population find it to be one of the toughest things they've ever done, and many can't do it well. This "truck driver" mentality still extends into management, and though the company has multiple work life balance initiatives, it is difficult to do many operations management jobs properly and work less than 55-60 hours per week. For the engineers, in can sometimes be difficult to implement operating plans with operations people who work 10-15 hours per week more you do. The operations management team will feel the engineering team doesn't understand the challenges they face. Another significant downside for some people is that in order to advance into middle management or beyond you have to be willing to relocate to another area at a moment's notice. This may have been fine in the Ozzie & Harriet days of one income earner. Today, it excludes a majority of people who find themselves in two income families where the spouse cannot relocate, or divorced parents who don't want to move their children far from their other parents.