Being Clairvoyant

I've always thought it'd be cool to be clairvoyant. I've heard some stories that were astounding--things that people just knew. Like my friend Melinda who struggled to have her first baby and was sure she'd not have another. A coworker named Tom was in his office and as she passed by, he called her name and she backpedaled to stick her head in the door. Tom asked her if she planned to have any more children. She told him she'd love to but didn't think it was in the cards for her due to medical reasons. He just smiled and nodded. The following day she discovered she was pregnant again. When she asked him about it, he told her that as she passed by his door that day, he simply got a sense that she was with child.

Months later, the day prior to her midterm sonogram that would reveal a due date and the baby's gender, Tom told her the due date would be May 16th, that she was having a boy and that there was something extra he could sense, perhaps a twin. The following day, the doctor confirmed the due date of May 16th, told Melinda that she was carrying a son and that he also found a cyst on her ovaries that needed to be tended to. Later in the pregnancy, Tom told her that the baby would actually be born near the 16th but not on the 16th. Connor arrived--on his own terms, not induced--on the 17th of May.

Uncanny. I wish I had that sense. But I do know this: in my job field, it didn't take clairvoyance to know during the lowest of recession days, the trucking industry would eventually flourish once more. Only, we'd be in for a rude awakening because as economic bliss returned and demand for goods grew, the available pool of drivers to haul such freight wouldn't come close to what we need. After all, trucking has never had enough drivers to satisfy demand. Then during the rough times when there was little freight and trucks sat parked along carrier fences, many of the drivers we did have turned to other occupations, stepping away from the wheel.

The economy picked up steam so quickly that many companies were caught off guard. For so long, they didn't need drivers and then suddenly they needed 20, 50 or more. Like, yesterday.

So we find ourselves once more in the midst of a driver shortage--nothing new for trucking--but it's worse than it ever was. This spells good things for drivers and potential drivers as benefits increase and encompass new perks perhaps not seen before. And you can also expect to see avenues opening up to welcome men and women who would like to hit the road and get paid to see the country as professional drivers.

If you have friends and family in need of work, trucking is the answer. The unemployment rate in this country is still ridiculous. If we can connect folks needing work with a great industry needing workers, we can make a real dent in an area needing attention in the U.S. Check out trucking schools offering excellent training (there are nearly 300 around the country) and also keep your eyes open for carriers who are again ramping up their own student training--often the best way to get into the industry because recent graduates have an instant job upon completing their training. Plus, the cost of the training is usually deducted from the newly earned paycheck.

If you're already a driver who'd love to drive as a team, thought of bringing your spouse along to see the U.S. with you, want to help your brother, uncle, cousin or aunt find work, steer them to the industry now looking for all the help it can get.

Trucking keeps America functioning--drivers are needed now more than ever and the perks that come with being in demand are often second to none.