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Old 04-30-2012, 12:49 AM
 
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Anyone know anybody from NJ who has moved to ND hoping to land oil field job? Do they have any stories to share with us back home?

I will be asking same question in the New York Forum.
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Old 04-30-2012, 09:26 AM
 
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Check out the ND board there are tons of stories from people there. One thing I will say is that on the ND board it seems like most of the people who are heading out to the oil fields are coming from MUCH lower COL states. To people in the midwest $100K a year for freezing your butt off and living in your car or a crowded man camp may seem like a kings randsom but even if you save every single paycheck once you come back to NJ or NYC that 100K isn't going to get you too far, plus I hear those 100k jobs are not so easy to come by anymore.
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Old 04-30-2012, 10:06 AM
 
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I know a couple of younger people (that work for the same parent company as the company I work for) who have made the move. Folks who had in demand skills, but didn't have a family to worry about. One had a Class-A CDL license and the other was a mechanic/experienced welder. Both have landed the "$100k+ jobs". I've only briefly heard about their experience from people who know them personally, but they mainly say that housing is impossible to come by and the one driver is basically living in his truck while the mechanic is living in the shop. They also said that the cost of everything out there has gone through the roof so even though they are making great money for them, they aren't banking as much as they planned on. Both guys are planning to ride it out as long as they can take it and live as cheaply as possible while putting as much money away as they can.

My company also works on the fleet maintenance end with many companies that are in the patch and they say that for the most part, the non-skilled people are the ones really flooding in and the ones most often disappointed as the low-skill jobs are pretty much taken and what's available doesn't pay much. So, if you don't have something in demand like mechanical/welding ability or a Class-A license, don't expect to head out there and make a $100k+ a year.
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Old 04-30-2012, 11:12 AM
 
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Can the trucker really stay in his truck during dakota winters?

I always imagined the low skilled rustabout jobs would always have higher turnovers and therefore be in demand. I figured for the skill positions, the corps out there would just bring in their own people or at least already have hired the ones they need before spiking the ground.
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Old 04-30-2012, 11:30 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NJ Brazen_3133 View Post
Can the trucker really stay in his truck during dakota winters?

I always imagined the low skilled rustabout jobs would always have higher turnovers and therefore be in demand. I figured for the skill positions, the corps out there would just bring in their own people or at least already have hired the ones they need before spiking the ground.
They can absolutely stay in their trucks, drivers do it all over the country in all kinds of weather everyday. They are designed for it. All they need to do is idle the engine, plug into 'shore power' with something like an IdleAir system or use an APU (Auxilliary Power Unit) which are becoming more common.

The thing with the skill jobs is that they tend to be in demand everywhere. As a driver you can walk into any trucking company and get a job. Same thing with skilled mechanics, especially diesel guys and welders. You may make less then what they are going to pay you up there, but then you don't have the trade-offs of being away from everyone you know and sleeping in a barracks at best. Would you rather make say $75k here in NJ as a good diesel tech; work normal hours, go home to your house everynight and hang out with your friends, or make $100k-$120k working in North Dakota?

When you are talking about the low skill jobs, these guys are going from minimum wage or unemployment to $50k-$75k a year, easily doubling their salaries or more, they find it worth the trade off. While the skilled guys make more, it isn't double and hence why it only appeals to people who have no ties and want a little adventure.

As far as the companies bringing in their own people, well they only have so many of the skilled guys to go around. Eventually you need to hire for everything as the operations expand and in an area like that, there isn't much of a skilled base to draw workers from. With your own people you also have the issue that while many of them may be willing to go for 6 months to a year for elevated pay, most of those guys have families and homes in the normal operational areas they want to get back to and you still need those guys at your other operations.
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Old 05-01-2012, 04:14 PM
 
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I would like your opinion on something. Do you think it would be worth checking out the area, and the state of the population boom to see if there are any good small scale investments not directly involved in drilling oil, like housing, retail, food and beverage? Of, course for someone who does not plan on actually living there long term, but who would like to invest and allow others to handle day to day business. Or is the only real money to be had working the fields, and if you are not already an oil baron, than it means your either his rustabout, or skilled tradesman?
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Old 05-02-2012, 09:38 AM
 
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From what I gather the restaurants in the area are so overwhelmed that its takes very long to get your food and it's always crowded. So sure the places are making lots of money BUT I also hear they have an impossible time finding people actually willing to work there as nobody who is moving out to ND now a days is looking to be a server at Applebees so they have staffing shortages That would be something you'd have to deal with if you opened an eatery.

Home building, if you have the money to invest I'm certain you could make some great money building out there since the biggest problem is housing shortages. Most places are being sold well before construction is complete and they are fetching prices that make NJ home prices look like chump change

But the judmental side of me is going to go ahead and say that based on the nature of your questions AND the fact that you are asking them on this forum, you don't actually have the capital for that kind of venture.

I also hear the strippers are making money hand over fist, maybe you can give that a shot.
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Old 05-02-2012, 09:47 AM
 
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There are opportunities all over the place, but the problem is that costs are also soaring out of control. The McDonalds out there are paying people something like $20-$25 an hour to flip burgers because they can't get anyone to work otherwise. The local Wal*Mart is flying employees in from other areas and paying them up to triple their normal salaries to work there. So, while there is a lot of money for an individual to make and certain opportunity for a small business owner to invest, it would take a lot of capital to do it.

The three main areas that are stretched are housing, dining and entertainment. However, there is no infrastructure there (no vacant storefront you can just open up shop in) so everything has to be built. The building is expensive because of the remoteness, but also the fact that you have to compete with oil field wages to get anyone to actually work.

Basically, I agree with icibiu, there is plenty of opportunity, but unless you are heading out there yourself, you are going to need a lot of capital to invest and see a return.
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Old 05-03-2012, 11:24 AM
 
17,877 posts, read 15,723,446 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by icibiu View Post
From what I gather the restaurants in the area are so overwhelmed that its takes very long to get your food and it's always crowded. So sure the places are making lots of money BUT I also hear they have an impossible time finding people actually willing to work there as nobody who is moving out to ND now a days is looking to be a server at Applebees so they have staffing shortages That would be something you'd have to deal with if you opened an eatery.

Home building, if you have the money to invest I'm certain you could make some great money building out there since the biggest problem is housing shortages. Most places are being sold well before construction is complete and they are fetching prices that make NJ home prices look like chump change

But the judmental side of me is going to go ahead and say that based on the nature of your questions AND the fact that you are asking them on this forum, you don't actually have the capital for that kind of venture.

I also hear the strippers are making money hand over fist, maybe you can give that a shot.
By myself I dont, but I am not alone.
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Old 05-03-2012, 11:32 AM
 
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Both of you, thanks for letting me pick your brain.

I understand the infrastructure out in the patch is none existent.

I am also thinking though that whever a natural resource is exploited, there's always a major city to develop somewhere around as a staging ground. Like how Calgary, and Edmonton evolved from the Athabasca Shale, or San Francisco came out of the Gold Rush, Pittsburgh being between West Virginia, and East PA Coal. Would Minot nor Bismarck be in this very same position?
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