Great pay. Lousy lifestyle. Kind of like the military.

UPS mgmt pilots are not managers in the traditional sense. Very few have any power to make any meaningful decisions. The real power lies with the Boxheads in Atlanta. The biggest decision most of these guys will make is to authorize some extra catering in unusual circumstances.

There's plenty of animosity between the line and mgmt pilots. Most IPA pilots have little respect for the manglers. Part of the reason is because they do not have the requisite experience for some of the positions they are filling (Instructor, Line Check Airman, etc).

Given the fact that UPS is proud to promote from within, you have to ask yourself these questions:

If it's such a great job, why don't IPA members jump at the opportunity? Why does the company continually have to hire people off the street to fill these positions?

In short, if you have a choice between a line and mgmt job, go with the line position. If a mgmt position is the only way to feed your family, take the job.

I'm sure GEOFFREY will chime in soon!