Role Based in Athens

Job Title: Student Package Handler (Gig/Contract) Employer: UPS (Hiring in Athens) Based in: Athens, GA (a key business district)

Compensation: $23-$25/Hour (approx. $29.3k/Year) Benefits: This role offers competitive pay. Set your own schedule.

Position Scope

Core objectives involve your professional skills in Package Logistics.

• This Athens-based role is an excellent opportunity for professionals skilled in relevant skills.
• Our UPS team in Athens, GA is growing.
• Benefit from working in Athens, a key hub for the Package Logistics industry.

About UPS & Our Culture

College is the most expensive investment most young adults make — and the UPS Earn & Learn program is the most powerful financial tool available to reduce that cost without borrowing. Our student package handler positions are structured around academic schedules, pay a Teamsters union wage that exceeds what most campus-adjacent part-time employers offer, and include tuition assistance that deposits up to $5,250 directly toward your institution's bursar account per calendar year — up to $25,000 total over the course of a degree program. If you are a student searching for package handler jobs for students that actually offset tuition rather than just covering weekend spending money, the UPS Student Package Handler program is the most financially impactful part-time job a college student in a UPS market area can hold.

What Our Team Says (Employee Reviews)

"I calculated what the UPS Earn & Learn program was worth to me at the end of my sophomore year. Over four years, $25,000 in direct tuition payments plus the Teamsters medical coverage that replaced my $280-a-month student health plan adds up to more than $35,000 in total financial benefit — from a part-time job that ends before 9:00 AM so I make every class. No campus employer, no restaurant shift, and no retail job comes close to what the UPS student package handler program delivers financially. I tell every first-year student I meet to apply before they find a different part-time job." - Current Student Package Handler, Columbia, SC.

Role Overview & Responsibilities

As a UPS Student Package Handler, you work the preload (4:00 AM to 8:30 AM) or twilight (5:00 PM to 10:00 PM) sort shift inside our package center — executing core loading and sorting functions during a 4-hour window that wraps around your class schedule without disrupting your academic obligations, study time, or campus social commitments.

• Academic-Schedule Shift Selection: Select the shift window that aligns with your semester schedule — preload for students with afternoon and evening classes, twilight for students with morning and daytime class commitments — building a consistent weekly attendance pattern that maintains your Teamsters seniority accumulation and your Earn & Learn tuition eligibility simultaneously throughout the academic year.
• Earn & Learn Enrollment & Management: Enroll in the UPS Earn & Learn tuition assistance program through the UPS HR portal within your first 60 days of employment — submitting your accredited institution's tuition billing statement each semester, confirming your enrollment status, and tracking your annual benefit balance against the $5,250 per calendar year cap to maximize your total tuition offset across your entire degree program timeline.
• Sort Floor Production: Execute preload loading or twilight sorting functions at the production rate standard for your assigned functional area — building the physical endurance, method automaticity, and sort floor spatial awareness that typically reaches full proficiency between day 30 and day 60 of consistent attendance, after which the shift becomes a manageable physical routine rather than an exhausting challenge.

Benefits & Perks

UPS Student Package Handlers receive the UPS Earn & Learn tuition assistance program depositing up to $5,250 per calendar year directly to their institution — the single most financially impactful student benefit available at any part-time employer in the logistics market. Full Teamsters medical, dental, and vision coverage, pension accrual, paid personal days, and weekly paychecks are also included. The shift schedule is built around academic calendars, and the Earn & Learn program continues uninterrupted through summer employment at UPS.