Quote:
Originally Posted by socalsfinest
Honestly, what is the starting pay for someone who has never worked in the oil industry before? I'm going to be 27 and in good physical shape...I'm single with no strings attached looking to work long hard hours for the sake of saving for the future. I'm willing to drive from So Cal to the Bakken. What do you think?
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I'm looking basically to do the same thing. I found an ad on craigslist with a recruiter but he basically just vets for the companies upfront and passes on the resume if he likes what he hears in the phone interview. The job itself (pump operator) is entry level starting at $19 an hour (after safety training). I looked on the web at the company and it all seems on the up and up.
But after talking with the recruiter I'm not sure I would take it anyway since its 4 days on and 3 days off. Plus when I asked about the hours it seems like they lean towards 12 hours shifts. This might sound crazy but that is not enough hours, LOL. I'm looking for 7/16's and something like 3 weeks on and one week off. The first job I found on craigslist was 16 days on (at 16 hours) and 4 days off. Now that is more to my liking.
I used to put in 96 hour weeks during the construction boom/bubble and that effort took me from a low paid laborer all the way to onsite project manager. Even at my lower wages I was out earning nearly everyone on the site by sheer virtue of the hours I put in.
My biggest concern BY FAR is the housing. If summer was approaching I wouldn't care and just take my chances. But having lived through a Russian winter and growing up in Michigan, cold winters are nothing to play around with without adequate shelter. My former boss has some friends who went to North Dakota and I have an email in to him inquiring as to what they did regarding housing.
In the meantime my research suggests man camps are
expensive. Not only do I want to maximize my earnings but I want to maximize my savings as well. So being familiar with how indigenous tribes handled extreme cold conditions I decided that would be an inexpensive way to go. Complex snow structures won't work since, despite all the media hype, Minot and Williston are warmer at the moment than my own home town on the west coast where I barely need a light jacket. But tipis will work. They are excellent in extreme cold, bigger (if desired) than the typical man camp room, cost less than a month's rental at a man camp, and there is a company which specializes in making them.
I figure it will be easier and certainly cheaper to find a campground than to locate housing immediately. Since the one I am looking to buy can comfortably house 4-6 permanently, I may even rent out a "space" or two if I go that route.
By the way, if you might be interested in making that drive with a partner and looking for work together, let me know.
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