Pros
I really like working for FedEx Express. I've been here nearly 20 years now. You can expect to work hard, but the pay is good and the benefits are very good. You won't need your gym membership. It's common to lose weight the first few months, just because you are in constant motion. In my experience, FedEx hires everything. Short. Tall. Skinny. Fat. English is their first language. English is not their first language. Old. Young. Every possible color and race. FedEx will give you a fair shot. FedEx has a tuition reimbursement program. They paid for my Master's degree (MBA), no questions asked. I paid for my books and 1 class that I withdrew from. That's it! Their grievance process is fair. I objected to an issue once, and went through the procedure. It was resolved in my favor. Although FedEx Express is non-union (except for the pilots), this works to our advantage because FedEx gives us all of the benefits that unions have, with no dues, so we have no incentive to unionize. The pay is decent. FedEx makes a genuine effort to keep us paid fairly. Some years are more expensive than others. Lately, health care and buying out an international company to keep us competitive internationally have taken large chunks out of the corporate wallet, but they are still doing their best to keep everyone happy (and reasonably remunerated). I really like how you can transfer to another station and keep your seniority. I understand that this isn't available at UPS. When couriers get old, they can transfer to Hawaii or Florida (which one of our employees recently did here). Part-timers get pensions too. Not a lot! But still - it's better than nothing. Company match on your 401K deposits, up to your first 6%. Their matching policy does change periodically, but there is usually some sort of match going on all the time.
Cons
The cons of working at FedEx are not extraordinary. They are the cons of working any delivery job: If you don't like working outside, you won't like it here. You will work in all kinds of weather. We take pride in our ability to deliver, no matter what, which might mean walking that extra mile, extra dog treats, reattempting medicine to someone at their work if they are not home, asking for directions or help if finding an address is difficult. You will never get time off around Christmas. The two weeks before Christmas, including Christmas Eve, belong to FedEx. You may not be able to get a week of vacation time in the summer right away. Vacation time is bid. It seems to be pretty common not to be able to get a week off of vacation in the summer for the first 5 years. If you need the week of vacation between Christmas and New Year's off, that may be tough. At our station, one person really wanted that week. She retired with over 20 years of service, and only got that week off her very last year at FedEx (because someone had retired a few months earlier). Your hours of work are affected by the weather. If our hubs get bad weather, you may be delivering freight later than you expect. You do need to be able to lift heavy boxes. You can always ask for help, if you need it. Oh - LIFT heavy boxes. NOT THROW heavy boxes. That will get you fired. Treat every box like it's from your grandma who is sending you cookies. You should know that, as a driver, you are taking your life into your hands. Truck-driving in general is one of the top 10 most fatal professions. People are crazy. And they drive. If you are an aggressive or angry person, please do not drive for a living.