Pros
My particular location actually provides plenty of hours, almost too many (averaging at least four hours a night as a loader with no breaks) for a part-timer. Very relaxed/casual dress code. It's a bit of a workout.
Cons
I feel like it's important to mention that I've read a large amount of reviews concerning various package handler experiences and, while I've found some instances that were fairly similar to my own, it does appear that each facility is at least slightly different. I found a lot of people complaining about not getting enough hours but that most definitely has not been my experience at the FedEx Ground facility in Rensselaer, NY. I've been averaging about 4.5 hours a night and on a few occasions, I was sure that they were going to try to press me for 6 if that was what it really took to get the job done (after management's poor decision making). The ad that they consistently post online, etc states that package handlers start at $13+ an hour. This information is false -- you only start at $13+/hr if you are on a specific sort (OTP) and the competition for this shift is apparently fierce although from what I've heard it is also the most stressful sort and is shorter in duration (meaning less hours worked). The hiring ad that is constantly posted online also says that shifts are normally "3-4 hours" in duration, which sounds great if you're trying to work another job or go to school but it's not even peak season yet (it's currently July) and I'm getting in a quite rigorous almost five hours solid every night (except for weekends) with absolutely no breaks. The shift that you're hired for -- in my case, 5-10PM, is apparently a very loose guideline because today, Monday, I was asked to come in for 4:30PM (and I'm sure that the very earliest that I would have gotten out would have been 9:30PM). Even further than that, last Friday, the supervisors went around recruiting us for a "mini-sort" that started at 2:30PM and ended at 4:30PM. I attempted to politely decline, and was successful, but really, the supervisor that spoke with me acted like he could have made it mandatory for some of us to come in that early if he had to. This job isn't four to five hours of just standing around, it is extremely fast-paced and high-stress manual labor and that wouldn't be so bad but if you're a good enough worker, you'll start to notice that they want to keep you around way later than you ever wanted to be while they send the slower/poorer quality workers home early to save on labor costs. Last Monday it slowly became very apparent to me that, besides the fact that a bunch of people had called in, they were still sending people home early until it got to the point where they were indirectly asking me to finish loading 10+ trailers by myself which meant staying past 10PM -- the time that I was initially told that my shift ended. So I made a point of speaking to a manager and I told him that I couldn't stay past 10PM. Of course, he acted "surprised". And what it really turned into, at that point, was a bunch of supervisory roles having to do some actual package handling because they made a wrong assumption about my willingness to stay late for this "part-time" job -- they really shouldn't have sent so many of those people home early to begin with. As it is, I called in today, the following Monday, because I was having car trouble and although I resolved that trouble early enough to make it in for work, I really did not want to be around for another Monday shift like that. The worst that they can do is fire me and that wouldn't necessarily be so bad because the physical and mental commitment that they expect of part-time employees is really a bit too much for anybody that sincerely wants to work a "part-time job". From my understanding of the matter, it could also turn into mandatory six-day weeks when peak season comes along although this kind of shift is something that apparently runs all year long at this particular facility in Rensselaer and they definitely try to push people into taking it. Most of the workers, whether they care to admit to it or not, cannot handle the stress of these shifts and that is why there is such a high turnover rate. A legitimate 15 minute break is something that should be mandatory for anybody that is loading or unloading trucks at this job, especially in this facility, where we never seem to do anything less than four hours a night -- to not give the workers a real break is simply barbaric even though it is permitted by law. Last Friday, I could hear a guy openly screaming/freaking out although I couldn't stop my work long enough to find out the specifics of that situation. If you're actually looking for a "part-time job", especially while working another job or going to school, etc, I would heavily recommend looking elsewhere unless you really need benefits badly. Otherwise, you're going to be in a very heavy part-time "limbo" that will ultimately make the thought of working most full-time jobs seem a lot easier.