November 11, 2020

By: FORREST TYLUTKI
TALENT ACQUISITION MANAGER

Happy Veterans Day (and Remembrance Day for our Canadian friends)!

As a veteran myself, I know first and foremost how personal, challenging, complex, and rewarding the transition process can be for vets navigating through life after completing their service. And I’m not the only one. With 17.4 million veterans living in the U.S. and over 639,000 living in Canada, a vet likely doesn’t have to travel far to find someone who understands their post-service journey.

Through my experience working in the trucking and transportation industry, I have come to find that trucking can be an avenue of liberation for many vets looking for another fulfilling career path in the next chapter of their lives. Here are three reasons why:

Reason #1: Trucking can lead to healing

The armed service experience is unique to each person and takes an exceedingly emotional toll on many. 20% of the vets who have returned home from Iraq or Afghanistan suffer from major depression or post-traumatic stress disorder, and this level of trauma amongst veterans is not limited to these two wars. Available mental health support remains a foremost priority for vets.

While this support is essential, day-to-day life also plays a critical role in many veterans’ overall wellbeing. Our jobs are where we spend a lot of our time. They play a crucial role in our overall happiness.

Truckers often spend many hours in solitude and travel thousands of miles between trips. If you’re a vet looking for a new, fulfilling career path, the right commercial driving job can equip you with a passport to travel and much-needed time alone to process through and begin healing the wounds that remain unseen. If alone time sounds less than ideal, you can also seek out a more social role, like working as a dispatcher or as a partner truck driver.

Reason #2: The job has meaning

From all across society, veterans provide valuable services and serve as a source of inspiration. However, as they transition into civilian life, many find themselves feeling lost and stagnant — as if they have no purpose.

Commercial drivers have often been hailed as road heroes for a good reason. Like vets, our country relies on truck drivers, as they deliver essential goods to grocery stores and hospitals. From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, they have worked tirelessly to provide vital aid and supplies across the U.S. and Canada. Without them, hundreds of millions of Americans and Canadians would be left without the everyday necessities they need. If there is any group of people who can respect and appreciate their sense of duty, it’s veterans.

Reason #3: Skills overlap

Albeit under vastly different circumstances, truckers, just like vets, must be comfortable with high-pressure situations and must also bring to the job a dedicated work ethic. Time in the armed forces helps vets develop that unique work ethic and other highly valuable skills, including problem-solving, project management, leadership, technology, and communication skills.

If you’re a vet, you can leverage your exceptional skills for a competitive salary in an industry with an increasing driver shortage problem and a need for committed and capable drivers. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has special programs for service members and veterans that can help you get the ball rolling. Many fleet transportation companies, like U.S. Xpress, also have specific career opportunities for veterans.

We’d like to wish veterans in the U.S. and Canada a happy Veteran’s Day and Remembrance Day! Read how Omnitracs has dedicated the holidays to caring for veterans and their families with Wreaths Across America