I hear there is a lot of great paying work out there - anybody know anything about it?
'Black Gold Boom' Brings New Life To North Dakota : NPR
Printable View
I hear there is a lot of great paying work out there - anybody know anything about it?
'Black Gold Boom' Brings New Life To North Dakota : NPR
You're a year or more late to the party
But yes there is lots of work out there. Lots of people and the infrastructure is not made to handle it.
That's been going on for years Scrapette. I had people trying to get me to go up there 7 or 8 years ago. I see stories on the news occasionally now about it, that pretty much describe what Landmine said
Yeah, if I was 25 years old, I would have already been up there.
Go in the spring, take a vehicle big enough to sleep in. Maybe by cold weather you'll either have found/made a place good enough to stay for the winter, or have enough to get back home ; )Quote:
Originally Posted by happyscraper
Baer i like the way you think.
I got time maybe i should go?
Lots of people probly have that same idea ; ) You ever worked on a drilling rig? It's a dangerous job, magnified by the number of "worms" (oilfield for newby/greenhorn)on the crew, and a wormie driller is the baddest news of all, most especially if you, too, have been rushed in to a derrick job. You might opt for an "other than drill crew" job, but even service crews would have definite pitfalls if they're in-experienced, and driving jobs might be highly competitive.Quote:
Originally Posted by landmine
I've also seen stories of others who went for cooking or construction jobs, and I think they have pretty much the same problems in finding suitable work, and living quarters. You can likely make it, if you're lucky, and stay on your toes for about ten years, but I'd venture to say it's probably not for the feint hearted
I'd recommend teaming up with somebody you can trust with your life if you decide to go there
Bear, it's not the winters, although I'm sure it gets pretty cold up there, but at 61 with bad feet I don't think I would make it. on an oil rig. But mayby there is other work to be had.
I agree. In comparison, we have a booming construction industry around here where people have been coming from all over the country. The downside is that the field offices are understaffed and overworked so it can take as long as a month to get hired unless you have the time to stand around 8 hours every day until they can find time to interview you. Plus your paperwork can get lost, there aren't a whole lot of places to rest or use the bathroom, etc.
So I can imagine that the logistic issues up there have to be 100 times worse. As Bear suggested, dress warm, be prepared to camp out for a couple of weeks, and keep enough money to get home.
I'm sorry happy, i was talking to a 25 year old "kid" there wasn't i, at least that would have been my guess ; )
Hek, you might get creative and come up with anything on that one. Pull a BBQ pit behind the car, and set up at a roadside park :D
If there's enough coals left at night, you could sleep in it too! haha. Just run a cable to the emergency brake in case your car goes for a "joy ride" in middle the night haha
I would not work on oil rig, just live off the large influx of cash in the area.
The oil rig workers end up with more money than they know what to do with. I will be glad to work for them to build houses, clear land lots etc...
Lots more jobs created than just rig stuff in my eyes.
A little while back on the news was an article where Menard's was hiring people, training them, then shipping them out to N.D. cause they cannot hire enough employees. Same with McDonalds. They said that Menards was paying $15 per hour and MickyD's was paying around $12. per and still could not get good employees. Menards hiring local workers to commute weekly to North Dakota store
In the 70's into the 80's the gulf was booming as well as Houston. As young man and certified welder i enjoyed a very good living. But i was single and had money in my pocket when i went down there. Traveled all over this country following the work. It's a great life! This country's got alot to see. Met good people all over many that became life long friends. But what i saw also was alot of people not prepared for the wait and the expense that it took to survive just a couple weeks only find themselves on the street. My point is if your gonna go go prepared. Like i said it's a great lifestyle. My life has been a blast. Good luck!
If anyone is really interested in working in an oil field, contact me. My son is Operations Manager, Appalachian Region for MBI Energy Services in Williamsport, PA. He does all hiring and overall managing. I just talked to him at Christmas and he is ALWAYS looking for truck drivers (company truck or contract), dispatchers and general labor. Be warned - it's NOT "just a job".
if you planning to work in the oil field, be prepared. get your WHIMIS, H2S Alive, First Aid, CPR, working the rigs requires that you have fall protection courses last a drivers licence and be drug free.
Class 1 and 3 drivers with air are always in demand.
Find the local coffee shop where the boys marshal together in the morning, no brad or long hair you may be picked for work right from your table.
I think I would rather work in the coffee shop. Do we have any scrappers from ND? I bet you could find alot of scrap up there.
Milk is $8 a gallon...absolutely nowhere to live....from what I here, they are really just looking for truck drivers...southeners go north during the summer to work...too cold for em during the winter...early fall is when I have heard to head up there...
I heard from a guy I know that his buddy made 1 million working like 400 days straight...dont know if I necessarililly believe that...but there definitely is $$$$ up there...
Just makes me wana quit my job..leave my family..n sleep in my car for a year or 2...make bank, then go back home..then again there is more to life than $$$...very tempting though for a 24 yr old...
What Scrappy said above. Money is good but land to park an rv, or renting a place anywhere near the work is hard to find and if your able..very expensive. I got a couple friends doing this work, as they travel full time in rvs, and they say its nuts. They love the money tho.
I've thought about it, but I'm not crazy enough to trade my hurricane swept beaches for blizzard swept plains..( or whatever you people call all that flat land..:P ) at lest not anymore. Lol.
Sirscrapalot - No shoes, no shirt, no problems.
That's like it was years ago when the pipeline went in, big money to be made if you could handle it,Quote:
Originally Posted by scrappy888
It's north Dakota, there's a reason they are paying big money to work there, because it costs big money to live there. Besides that it's north Dakota
how much can you realistically make out there? do they hire people with no experience at all? i feel like it would be pretty cool doing something like that, but very hard also
with out being there no one can really give you a definitive answer, that said, I lived most of my adult life in Oklahoma, and, have seen qat least 3 "Booms" and the busts that followed. each boom is smaller then the last and shorter in duration. the fracking situation has caused ND to be in the early stages of "the first real boom" there.
in OKl. when the booms hit, secretary who were making $125 a week were making $25 per hr. waitresses were making so much in tips the government decided to tax them by the dollar amount of the food they served. in the mid 7s my wife at the time. was a waitress in a steak house the prevailing wage was around 2.59 to 3.00 per hour $500 a week in tips was a bad week, $700 to $1000 was the norm.
are there people who will go and starve because they cant find a job ? yes, but, they re the same ones who will starve any where. the living situation will be worse then OK because the weather is much more severe, and my son in law who is Mandan and is part owner in the res land says they cant build cabins fast enough to keep up with demand.
PS the Dakotas are still pretty much Native country like Oklahoma, I'v never seen a good roustabout or roughneck kicked out of the patch for long hair or braids.
in the gold rushes it wasn't the miners who got rich but the businesses who catered to them. being a scrapper should mean you have all the quality s that would make a go of it. hard worker, common sense, adapting and improvising etc. I believe this boom will last at least another 5 years or more. think of all the services or products that must be provided to the patch and its workers. then all the services that must be provided to those who serve the patch.
if your tough enough there is a lot of money to be made there, if your not save your bus money. just my .02
This was mentioned on tonights PBS newshour, along with a short story they had on the program about things there
Rough Ride - The Oil Patch Tour
For those unable to drive the trucks or work the rigs, an what not..there is also work for gate guards. Or so I hear from friends who do the traveling rv thing. Some left Texas to head to ND for the same work as Texas gates fill up with snowbirds. Just another option for anyone looking into work in regards to oil/fracking/etc. I've herd from said friends who do gate guarding for the Oil guys, pay is about 125 to 150.00 a day. Plus they bring ya food fairly often from what i understand, supply water, generator, and some even supply gas for said gen!
If anyone is interested in such a gig, let me know and I'll be glad to PM you a link to tons of info on it, and what ya need to do to get work. May not pay as much as other oil jobs, but it also lacks all the risk you find in the rest of those jobs. Heh.
Not meaning to step on toes, but it does fit the topic, and thought I'd toss another option out for those who can't or don't want to do the other jobs.
Sirscrapalot - has found there is tons of work out there, for those whose houses have wheels.
Or their cooler,,,Quote:
Sirscrapalot - has found there is tons of work out there, for those whose houses have wheels.
Full article at Scrap Metal Forum: http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/off-t...#ixzz2Hd3ByVxO
Well, I generally hear about things long after everyone else, lol. If I were younger and didn't have as many pets, I might think about it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bear
I heard on the radio about a woman who took a food truck up there. Sounded like she was doing pretty well.
Just wondered if anyone on here was heading that way.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scrapette
There was the story in the newspaper about a 60 year old woman school bus driver who went up and got a job driving a bus hauling guy out to the field. Made over $100,000 the first year.
Does anyone on this forum have any experience working out there I'm leaning towards possibly making a trip out there myself in possibly may. The only thing that concerns me is if I can really get a job considering I have no trucking experience or working on an oil rig whatsoever. Would it be beneficial to get my cdl permit (can't afford getting the license due to the cost), but would it at least help me get my foot in the door per say? Thanks guys anything would be valuable info
I had asked my son about that very thing. He prefers two years experience. If you haven't, read my other posts.Quote:
Originally Posted by mascraps
Yea, I'd imagine a food truck, or honey wagon would be the way to go, if you were looking to provide a service. Honey wagon is what they call the trucks that come and clean out black/grey tanks on rvs. I know there is a buncha rvers up there. Heh.
Hell traveling mechanic, tool repairers, all kinda things you could do up there to make some money.
I wish much luck to anyone who heads up there whether oil rig work, trucking, or thinking outside the box and providing some kinda service.
Sirscrapalot - Always happy to see fellow scrappers make good, even if in another line of work.