The Guide to Courier Driver Jobs
There are many different types of courier services that provide delivery services to business customers and private individuals across the United States and around the world. If you believe you would like to work as a delivery person or a courier, you should have a good understanding of the working conditions and expectations of the type of delivery service you may be applying to.
In the United States, it is not uncommon for courier delivery agents to be independent contractors. They are paid a commission on the delivery of each package, so the harder they work and the more packages they deliver in a day, the more they are paid. The downside of this arrangement is that independent contractors do not receive benefits like health insurance, paid vacation days or sick time.
In late 2007, the federal government began challenging the classification of independent contractors as non-employees, since these workers work in all aspects as if they are actual employees. As a result, courier companies have begun reevaluating the independent contractor arrangement.
In large cities like New York and London, motorcycle and bicycle couriers are extremely common. In order to be a motorcycle or bicycle courier, you need to not only have very good riding skills in order to zip quickly through city streets and avoid sudden unexpected actions like a pedestrian stepping out in front of you or a car door opening in your way, but you also need to have an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the city streets and major buildings.
Delivery personnel for large courier services that utilize delivery trucks or vans are usually assigned a delivery territory and a schedule of expected delivery and pick-up times for known customers. Many delivery persons begin work at very early hours – usually 7 a.m. or earlier – and often work late into the afternoon or evening, particularly during heavy delivery periods like end of the year holidays.
Couriers who perform international delivery courier services may, in some cases, be assigned personal hand-delivery service detail that includes hand-carrying a package via airline. This type of assignment is highly specialized and often is incurred with extremely sensitive packages or documents.
The largest expectation of courier companies is that the delivery person will deliver the package on time, in the shortest amount of time. In courier companies that have a high volume of package deliveries, delivery personnel are expected to be able to pick-up or carry somewhat heavy packages – heavy or numerous packages to/from a single building or customer are placed on a hand-carry cart.
Couriers need to be in good physical condition because of the need to constantly pick-up packages and walk in and out of buildings making deliveries and picking up packages.
Drivers are also expected to have and maintain good driving records. Also, if the delivery person is driving a vehicle, they will subject to Department of Transportation mandated random drug testing.
It is relatively universal that potential courier service workers will be required to pass a pre-employment physical that also includes a drug screening.