- In the spirit of pay transparency, a UPS driver shared how much he earns in a week.
- UPS drivers reached a deal this year to raise their total compensation package to $170,000, including benefits.
- The driver's viral post shocked thousands who were unaware of delivery drivers' pay.
Thousands of people are saying they might've chosen the wrong profession after seeing how much a UPS driver makes in a week.
Skyler Stutzman, an Oregon-based UPS delivery driver who posts to TikTok, has gotten over 11.9 million views on a video he posted in October.
In the clip, Stutzman showed a recent pay stub with his pre-tax earnings of $2,004 total for one week of work. After all the taxes and deductions, Skyler took home about $1,300 for 42 hours of work. At a pay rate of $44.26 per hour, many in the video's comments were shocked to learn that they earn less than a UPS driver.
@skylerleestutzman UPS Driver Paystub Breakdown… #upspay #upswages #teamsters #ups
"Not me realizing that a UPS driver makes more than I do. 20 years in my field with a degree," one commenter wrote.
Another added, "I'm disappointed with the way health care pays. I make only $14.55 an hour to work in a nursing home. I love my job, but the pay is so bad."
The 10,000 other comments, many of which echoed the same sentiment, are similar to a previous online debate sparked by a Reddit post from another UPS driver. In the now-deleted post, the driver's pay stub showed he took home about $2,400 before taxes for 49 hours of work that week.
The Teamsters union reached an agreement with UPS that secured a total compensation package of $170,000 for UPS drivers, including the value of benefits, by the end of their five-year contract.
The raise triggered jealousy and admiration from tech workers, but Stutzman said he shared his earnings in the spirit of pay transparency.
"I don't want to mention (the paystub) in ill-mannered way. I simply love when I come across content creators who share their paystubs in different working fields and their transparency of how their wages are broken down," he said in the video.
His transparency earned his video over 770,000 likes and slew of people saying they plan to apply for a job at UPS — and use Stutzman as a reference.
But, Stutzman said it took him 10 years to become a "full-time full-scale" UPS delivery driver. In a follow up video, he said he started at the company in 2008 and worked in the warehouse for nearly six years before he was offered a driver job.
He also said it can take four years for a driver's wage to progress to the top rate. Some commenters pointed out that the 10-year timeline is nearly the same as the time it takes to become a medical doctor.
Although it varies depending on location, Stutzman said that you'll have to start off working in the warehouse if you want to become a UPS driver one day. For some, the process takes years.