Bloomberg story on driver shortage

Thank you kindly.

That's scary to me. Thinking about it.

Did you get a load of the "New math" that common core is teaching the young ones? Pushing numbers around on half a page forwards and backwards to solve a simple math problem like... 212 minus 144... comes out to what? 68? This is off the top of my head more or less.

Common core demands the poor ones box in numbers apply symbols that are meaningless to me and move the whole thing around in different ways until it comes up with the same result. Such waste of time.

 

I haven't dealt with New Math much personally, but when I tried the college thing myself, my teacher ranted about it.

I think people have been playing with and tweaking how to teach Math / Algebra for decades though with people having little real comprehension of what they're trying to achieve.

 

I sort of relate to them having tried the College system and felt it was just leading me to debt.

I went for Cyber Security which is another field often in the news where people say it's a hot job with high demand that not enough people are going for. I got into it as far as a 2 year degree, but backed off from it as the field started to look like it had no entry level path at all. Also, they wanted at least a Bachelors if not a Masters degree, plus expensive Certifications, and also Experience. It also seemed to me they only wanted people who were already experienced System Administrators or Database Admins or Programmers switching to the Security field.

Again industry whines constantly to the media that College are not turning out qualified people they need, but then Grads are told they don't qualify and should go work Help Desk.

I feel like I'm going into a tangent, but to get the point, any Millennial researching many fields on Google will encounter horror stories that are really discouraging. In the case of trucking, it doesn't help that there are many shady schools, terrible trainers, or weird lease purchase schemes, as well as the regulations and ongoing parking shortage that isn't really being addressed.

 

Trigonometry and calculus are Greek to me but my boy does equations on his sleeve on the job. Here upgrades in a nuclear reactor. Various trades require you understand the applications of these mathematical fields and put them into practice.

 

My nephews have that in their school, I looked at one of the math problems on their homework after my sister requested I look at it... I could only shake my had and ask.... this is supposed to be math? Back when I was that age the rule was "keep it simple stupid". Seems to me the idiot professors who came with that crap forgot about starting off simple, THEN add more difficulty as skills are learned. Not force the kids into becoming "genius" all at once.

 

Another thing I feel is happening in companies, industry veterans, or apparently schools have no patience for novices. Its like nobody is allowed to enter any field as a beginner.

You have to know it or you are at least shown how to Take It Till You Make It. Almost like a Copy / Paste substitute for real skill proficiency.

 

It would have made sense to charge more for fresh fruit when a shortage of fruit pickers occurred way back when. If you raise the prices of fruit, you could pay the fruit pickers a higher wage. But, it turns out, people are only willing to pay a certain amount for fresh fruit. The price goes too high, and they'll just decide not to eat it. So, ultimately, people from other countries came here to do this job at a wage that made it possible to still sell fruit.

There are a lot of products, shipped by truck, that people will simply do without if the price goes too high. So, in effect, truck drivers can only make what the market will allow. If products become too expensive for people to afford, ultimately, immigrants will be brought in to do the job who will do it for less. Truck drivers like fruit pickers, are labeled as "unskilled" workers, and that has something to do with it also. But the same thing is happening other jobs as mentioned. The market is supreme and will do what it has to survive. If that means hiring immigrants, it will ultimately happen. The goal of the market, as it is currently structured, is to become global. Products and laborers will be available to all people and companies across the world.

I don't agree with this, and there are many variables not mentioned, but don't expect drivers pay on average to go up much. Yet I will continue to say like others, you want more drivers?, pay them more, just to piss them off.

Elasticity

 

One advantage in being a truck driver is you get to see businesses your HS guidance councilor probably never knew existed.

And if you go to smaller firms sometimes you run into very enthusiastic CEOs more than willing to share information about their firm.

Two memorable ones immediately come to mind: the firm that takes iron oxide powder (rust) and makes fridge magnets, and the guy who buys and refurbishes plastic highway barricades.

I've seen more used office furniture firms than I'd care to admit. A small firm that makes plastic furniture. Metal work shops that make stainless steel kitchen fixtures.

Contrary to what Jazz1 says, being a truck driver is a great opportunity to see what kind of businesses are out there. Maybe even make contacts willing to hire you if you decide to stop driving?

 

Bloomberg has another article today, we are out of drivers. I'd agree with that, by I tell you there are still plenty of steering wheel holders out here.

Sky is falling.

 

Well, I've been doing double duty, and sometimes TRIPLE duty at my place, because we have 3 tractors sitting.

And of the other drivers we have? One had become a professional incompetent. He does the minimum of work not to get fired. As such he gets ALL the easy loads. While I, being the go to guy, get all the problem jobs.

I told my boss flat out, if I'm going above and beyond, you have to pay me as such. If I can make the same money somewhere else for less effort? Don't be surprised if I'm suddenly gone.