Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Well I've been in ND for two weeks now. I'm still in Minot. I spent the first 7 days in a motel and then went to a campground about 5 miles from the center of the town (RoughRIder). I was the only one there in a tent. The first 2 days were okay but the third night was extremely cold. The Temps have been up and down the last couple of days.
The camp ground is nice but there is no electricity or water at the tent sites. They do have 24 hour/day heated bathrooms and showers ($1 for 5 minutes ) and laundry facilities. They charge $20/night for tents, so its not all that cheap. RoughRider is the only campground I've found that allows tents and is open. They charge about $700/month for rv's. The managers there are very nice.
After the third night, one of our City-data subscribers, DYNGRL, made contact with me and offered me a room to rent in her house. Also at an unbelievable price. A deal I couldn't refuse. She picked me up at the campground, bought me breakfast and showed me around town. I couldn't believe her kind heartedness and generosity. We'd been talking through the forum for the last year or so, and were both from Florida. She totally hooked me up. I can't express how thankfull I am to her. She explainined to me that other people had helped her out a lot when she first got to town and she wanted to pay it forward. All she asked of me was that I do the same one day. A request I'll be happy to honor.
Well that's all for now, have to go to sleep. My next post will fill you in on some employment info.
I always planned on doing day labor when I arrived here until I found the type of job I wanted and got hired. I assumed that they're would be plenty of work at Bakken Staffing (Minot Bakken Staffing) due to the boom. I was partially wrong. Out of the 7 days I went to Bakken Staffing, I only received work on 3 days ($13/hr). I always arrived at 5:30am and waited till about 2pm just in case some work popped up . They haven't had much work to give out, and most of the work they have they give to they're regulars. They're reputation depends on providing quality labor so they always use the people they know are dependable first, and believe it or not there are locals who who use day labor for a full time job or to pick up extra hours all year long. It seems that real work season doesn't begin until the spring thaw starts happening. It actually snowed 4 inches yesterday! I've been told(by locals and fellow day laborers) that things are slowly ramping up and they're will be more work than available workers in about 3 weeks. So if your coming up here, keep that in mind. It seems the big day labor job, once the thaw arrives, is flagging(the guys who direct traffic at road construction sites). Apparently there's so much road work that needs to be done that you can work 60-70 hours a week at $16-18. If you have a specific skill you will probably have better luck at day labor. I'd call first to see how much your skill is in demand. Keep in mind that they will make it sound rosier than it is, it's to they're advantage to have skilled people ready to go, It doesn't cost them anything to keep you waiting.
As far as other work goes, there seems to be plenty of available jobs. However, everyone I've talked to says it still takes a couple of weeks to get hired. Normal, non-skilled jobs seem to pay about $14/hr, some have overtime some don't.
As for me, my time in Minot is coming to a close. I leave for Williston Friday morning on Amtrak. The job I moved up here for hired me. I will be provided basic housing and a vehicle. Time to find out if Willsiton lives up to its reputation (both good and bad!).
entventure, thank you for the very useful day labor status. And updating us on your progress.
There have been a few Williston job fairs in the last month or so but none since & I thought that 'spring' hiring might have already been completed. Good to know that there will be more hiring.
Regarding road work, research erionite. It's a naturally occurring fibrous mineral that was (is?) used as road gravel. Think asbestos but 20 to 80 times worse depending on exposure & genetics. Googling "erionite" will show a link to the ND Dept of Health in the first few results. It's a good place as any to start & has a map that shows formations in ND where erionite is most likely to occur. Pay of $16-$18/hr & 60-70 hr/wk is kinda of hard to resist though.
FWIW, I think there are more & better paying day labor jobs in Williston. At least based on what I've read in the last month or so. And at least 3 staffing agencies that I know of.
Good luck in your new job in Williston! And please keep us posted!
If you know how to run an excavator or track hoe there are opening at Northern Improvement. They work all over the state building highways and putting in rural water, etc. Most of the guys that work for them usually have their own campers, but a few stay in motels when they are working.
Well, I’ve been here in Williston for almost 2 weeks. I've been staying at employee housing. Nothing fancy, just basic housing. I haven’t worked much because my employer just opened the Williston operation and wasn't really ready for my arrival.
Williston is like another planet, completely different from Minot. The area is extremely busy. Semis are everywhere. Oil equipment can be seen everywhere. The flames of natural gas can be seen burning in fields just about everywhere. Lots of man camps. There is no doubt this is an oil town. There is construction going on everywhere.
I've done day labor (Bakken Staffing) once to make some extra cash. The ladies in the Williston are very nice, and seem to care more about their workers than the office in Minot does. I told them about the problems I had with the Minot office, and they assured me things were different at their office. They told me they make an effort to send out the new people right away, and in fact, I was sent out on a job (at $15/hr) the same day. However, they are still slow. They send out about 50 people a day, about 1/3 of the people who show up for work. They said their still waiting for the spring thaw (about another 2 weeks). Once the thaw arrives, they should have more work available than people.
As far as employment, there seems to be plenty of available jobs, hiring signs are everywhere. Having a CDL still seems to be the best way to get an oil job. Lots of construction jobs available. The Shopper (a free advertising paper) seems to be the default place to look for jobs and other classifieds. Bismanonline.com is also very popular. I applied at Walmart today, as backup. We’ll see how quickly they respond to me application.
Housing is very expensive, no new news there!. There are lots of brand new apartments available to rent. I’ve seen several RV campgrounds with available space ($700-$800/mo.) I haven’t seen any tent campgrounds. It’s so windy here that tents don’t seem like a viable option.
That’s all for now!
Good luck w everything buddy.
I'm a floridian myself and I've been thinking in attending that job
Fair on 09/24 and 25th. Oil jobs on the 24th and the rest of jobs on the 25th. I've been doing my research for couple of months now. Heard also that oil companies want to see you in person instead of been calling from out of state. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Work / Employment info
