If you graduated last May and you’re still struggling to find a job, you’re not alone. The economy in terms of hiring took a very weird twist in 2023, and suddenly qualified candidates in all types of fields are sending out hundreds of resumes with maybe a handful of answers back in rejections. Even recruiters are noting 2023 is probably the weirdest year they have ever dealt with, seeing lots of jobs being posted but few people actually being hired.
Where Regular Jobs are Shrinking, Freight is Booming
However, there’s one area that needs help on a regular basis, and it could be the ideal career launch for a fresh graduate who is also a self-starter, organized, and willing to engage proactively with people. The freight industry is a collection of business clients who need to ship on a regular basis, and a portfolio of regional providers to service the transport of those goods. While a company could call a shipper directly, frequently the given shipper can’t handle the capacity, is already booked on the schedule needed, or doesn’t handle the goods needing to be shipped. This mismatch is instead solved by freight agents and the freight brokers they work for.
To become a freight agent you have to be willing to hustle, work with people, follow up on information, track relationships, and solve problems proactively. Freight agents regularly work a network of clients who need shipping to happen on a date certain, and they find the right shipper who can handle the load with the right schedule of availability. In return, guided by a freight broker, agents realize income setting up and following through on the negotiated matches they provide for both. With a reasonable network and good discipline, the average freight agent compensation in the U.S. is in the range of $60,000 annually, definitely a comfortable level for a college graduate. The field comes with positions with both in-person positions and remote work as well, it just depends on which operation one gets started in.
Success is Linked far More to Performance
Unlike the typical employment path for college graduates, which is currently impacted as seen by the fact that few companies are hiring and many are now laying current employees off, being a freight agent means working as an independent contractor. That means employment is based far more on performance, and an agent works as their own employer. Granted, they report to and work under a freight broker, but as long as the agent is successful in securing matches between clients and shippers, the broker is generally motivated to continue the relationship. This is a far more outcome-oriented form of employment for new workers, and it has plenty of room for growth. In fact, many agents build up their experience and eventually become freight brokers themselves as well.
Being an Agent Opens Up Other Doors As Well
Experience developed as an agent also looks good in terms of migrating into full-time agents or logistics officers for client companies who have their freight brokering operate in-house versus hiring a third party. Additionally, agents can lateral into planning and coordination positions, and with added skills can move into advanced logistics planner positions as well. In short, being a freight agent literally becomes a jumping pad to multiple career paths.
Being fresh out of college and trying to get into a career job stopped being easy after the 1980s. Since that time, at least three generations have struggled in what is now a very crowded job market. Given the number of people graduating each year now, and the low number of people leaving the workforce, the compaction is going to continue. For those about to jump into the job-hunting market or looking for something different in terms of a new career, being a freight agent in 2023 just makes a lot of sense.
