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Learn something like pipeline welding and you will have your choice of jobs. The programs are short and won't cost that much. I talked to one of the instructors at TSTC recently and he said they get many more calls for pipeline welders from prospective employers than they have students. I'm no expert in oilfield work but from everything I know you are much better off developing a marketable skill first rather than showing up and looking for an unskilled laborer position.
I heartily second TSTC. They have excellent programs and have a good track record of placing students into high-needs industries. It's not unheard of for new graduates to earn in the $50,000-$60,000 range right out of the gate since its now more common for tertiary education to involve less marketable academic majors than skilled trades.
I heartily second TSTC. They have excellent programs and have a good track record of placing students into high-needs industries. It's not unheard of for new graduates to earn in the $50,000-$60,000 range right out of the gate since its now more common for tertiary education to involve less marketable academic majors than skilled trades.
Motion passed! TSTC has a great reputation.
OP, try your best NOT to start out completely unskilled. Try to get a few certifications under your belt first. Once you start working entry level in the oilfield, it's a WHOLE LOT HARDER to go back to school or take any courses because so much of your time will be spent working, and the rest of it will be spent recovering!
And take good care of that knee. Wear a brace if necessary. No one will see it under your clothes anyway.
Well it sounds like TSTC is a great route to go. But, is there really alot of room for moving up in the long run? I would like to one become a consultant(my long term goal), like your husband kathryn. Would TSTC start me on my track to that, or will i only be able to get a variety of jobs in that field. Been looking at schools on "roughnecking" and all i've came up with so far is WSC TrainND well control-drilling/workover training. I've also looked at meritime drilling lmd. school, but seen some bad reviews on it. theres also Atlantic petroleum drilling school, but can't find much info on it besides the website (no reviews). Would really like to take a head on approach to this career, but if i need to enter the field though another job field type(welding, etc.) than i will. And i have been taking care of my knee, i tore it last football season and was cleared justa couple months ago. Got a great brace for it! Just kind of bulky though lol.
Typo,
This is just my $0.02, but it comes from someone who been there and currently doing it.... If you want to progress in a career in oil/gas, and especially if you want to be a consultant, then you need to have a track record of success in several fields, along with a go-getter type of attitude, and tons of perseverance. That is if you want to be considered knowledgeable and trustworthy, which is required of a successful consultant. Sounds like you have the temperament and desire already, and that is a lot of the battle. Some of us don't get there until a few years later in life.
If you decide to go into the labor pool unskilled, you will get the crap jobs. Nothing wrong with that, especially if you understand that on the way in. If you learn the job, while finding out what the next step up requires, you are likely to get that chance to step up. You can work your way up over the course of years to a kicking great job if you do exactly that. That means maybe getting a CDL, or a welder's cert, or maybe an associates degree, or even a bachelor's. All those things are *incredibly* difficult to do if you are working the entry level job with really long hours. Can't say impossible, but it will be much more difficult than if you were to start that entry level job with some sort of certs or degree in hand. In the long run you are absolutely gonna have to possess some certs and/or degrees. The more, the merrier.
As for a job... If an 18 yr old fresh out of school walked in looking for, say an instrumentation job, and the hiring mgr had the choice of him, a 22 yr old with an associate degree, or a 25 yr old roustabout with a fresh associate degree he earned on the side? You can guess who is more likely to get the job.
What I am trying to say is plan plan plan to make yourself as marketable as possible, and choose a path to whatever you define as success. Understand that path is NOT going to be linear, and the most successful people have followed a very torturous path to get to where they define success. It will be a wild ride, but make it fun and take every chance to better yourself and pick up certs and/or degrees when you can. It will be hard work, but if you find a way to enjoy most of it, you might find your definition of success to be exactly where you are at.
Most of all, understand that you will get plenty of flak from folks who don't think the same way you do. Let them judge, while you keep doing everything you can to get another step ahead. If you are enjoying yourself while you do that, you will be successful. Take that from me, nearly 50 yrs old and *STILL* feeling the same excitement you do right now. 30 years of doing what I have said in this post, and I have been successful the entire time. For me, life is best when making new plans to replace those that have failed or succeeded, and in the meantime enjoying the wild ride that has gotten me to the place I am making new plans.
Enjoy that wild ride in life, it's really all you have.
Well it sounds like TSTC is a great route to go. But, is there really alot of room for moving up in the long run? I would like to one become a consultant(my long term goal), like your husband kathryn. Would TSTC start me on my track to that, or will i only be able to get a variety of jobs in that field. Been looking at schools on "roughnecking" and all i've came up with so far is WSC TrainND well control-drilling/workover training. I've also looked at meritime drilling lmd. school, but seen some bad reviews on it. theres also Atlantic petroleum drilling school, but can't find much info on it besides the website (no reviews). Would really like to take a head on approach to this career, but if i need to enter the field though another job field type(welding, etc.) than i will. And i have been taking care of my knee, i tore it last football season and was cleared justa couple months ago. Got a great brace for it! Just kind of bulky though lol.
Here's my advice and it worked for my husband:
Work in the oilfield during the summer in entry level jobs. Go to school full time in the fall and get at least an associate's degree in oilfield technology. When you turn 21 get your HazMat and CDL and continue working in the oilfield in the summer. When you graduate you will be sitting pretty and will have a lot of opportunities.
If you absolutely cannot see going to school full time for a couple of years, then you should at least rack up as many certifications as you can, keeping in mind that once you start working full time in the oilfield you will not have much time for school.
While you are in that bulky brace is a great time to take some welding or other technical classes! Don't put the cart before the horse. Without further education you are cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Typo,
This is just my $0.02, but it comes from someone who been there and currently doing it.... If you want to progress in a career in oil/gas, and especially if you want to be a consultant, then you need to have a track record of success in several fields, along with a go-getter type of attitude, and tons of perseverance. That is if you want to be considered knowledgeable and trustworthy, which is required of a successful consultant. Sounds like you have the temperament and desire already, and that is a lot of the battle. Some of us don't get there until a few years later in life.
If you decide to go into the labor pool unskilled, you will get the crap jobs. Nothing wrong with that, especially if you understand that on the way in. If you learn the job, while finding out what the next step up requires, you are likely to get that chance to step up. You can work your way up over the course of years to a kicking great job if you do exactly that. That means maybe getting a CDL, or a welder's cert, or maybe an associates degree, or even a bachelor's. All those things are *incredibly* difficult to do if you are working the entry level job with really long hours. Can't say impossible, but it will be much more difficult than if you were to start that entry level job with some sort of certs or degree in hand. In the long run you are absolutely gonna have to possess some certs and/or degrees. The more, the merrier.
As for a job... If an 18 yr old fresh out of school walked in looking for, say an instrumentation job, and the hiring mgr had the choice of him, a 22 yr old with an associate degree, or a 25 yr old roustabout with a fresh associate degree he earned on the side? You can guess who is more likely to get the job.
What I am trying to say is plan plan plan to make yourself as marketable as possible, and choose a path to whatever you define as success. Understand that path is NOT going to be linear, and the most successful people have followed a very torturous path to get to where they define success. It will be a wild ride, but make it fun and take every chance to better yourself and pick up certs and/or degrees when you can. It will be hard work, but if you find a way to enjoy most of it, you might find your definition of success to be exactly where you are at.
Most of all, understand that you will get plenty of flak from folks who don't think the same way you do. Let them judge, while you keep doing everything you can to get another step ahead. If you are enjoying yourself while you do that, you will be successful. Take that from me, nearly 50 yrs old and *STILL* feeling the same excitement you do right now. 30 years of doing what I have said in this post, and I have been successful the entire time. For me, life is best when making new plans to replace those that have failed or succeeded, and in the meantime enjoying the wild ride that has gotten me to the place I am making new plans.
Enjoy that wild ride in life, it's really all you have.
This is GREAT advice and dovetails nicely with what my husband preaches as well. He worked oilfield jobs every summer from age 18 on till he got his associates degree, CDL, Hazmat, etc. Then he did EVERY SINGLE UGLY JOB THAT NO ONE ELSE WANTED with a real go getter attitude - always always on time, always dependable, cheerful, hardworker, and always eager to learn new skills. And that is how he eventually moved into consulting. He's worked overseas, all over the country, on rigs, on frac jobs, on oil wells, gas wells, you name it. It's been a really wild, adventurous ride but it's definitely been worth every minute.
My son worked briefly on an oil rig when he first looked for a job. He said he noticed the men had all lost either one finger or two after working on a rig five years or less and he wanted to quit because of his musical interests and the need for all his fingers.
But. a close family friend started on a rig as a roughneck and when he retired he still had not lost any appendages. He moved up rather quickly, but I don't know how soon it happened that he was a driller, then whatever is after that. He worked 7 days a week, 12 hours a day and made good money. This was in West Texas several years ago.
Wow....this is some great advise! Thank ya'll so much! I've been looking as TSTC's available classes and thinking about the pipe welding class.(that's if im not able to get on a rig sooner than that) If i was to get on a rig, i figured i would just try and get certs. Seen alot of 2 week classes and 3 week classes that give safety certs and new skill certs. Looked at Penn State world wide and they have an online college that i might be able to do if i get a job on a work over rig maybe?...(the online college doesn't have deadlines, so i don't have to be on it everyday)
My son worked briefly on an oil rig when he first looked for a job. He said he noticed the men had all lost either one finger or two after working on a rig five years or less and he wanted to quit because of his musical interests and the need for all his fingers.
But. a close family friend started on a rig as a roughneck and when he retired he still had not lost any appendages. He moved up rather quickly, but I don't know how soon it happened that he was a driller, then whatever is after that. He worked 7 days a week, 12 hours a day and made good money. This was in West Texas several years ago.
Put a couple applications in west texas, going to put some more out soon. Hope fully i can get a call...
My son worked briefly on an oil rig when he first looked for a job. He said he noticed the men had all lost either one finger or two after working on a rig five years or less and he wanted to quit because of his musical interests and the need for all his fingers.
But. a close family friend started on a rig as a roughneck and when he retired he still had not lost any appendages. He moved up rather quickly, but I don't know how soon it happened that he was a driller, then whatever is after that. He worked 7 days a week, 12 hours a day and made good money. This was in West Texas several years ago.
LOL you gotta be careful on any work site where heavy things are moving quickly!
That being said, my husband has worked in just about every sort of capacity on rigs, well sites, offshore, onshore, the Middle East, the North Sea, South America, you name it, for 35 years - and he still has all his fingers and toes! (Well, all of his body parts except his wisdom teeth and appendix - and I can't blame the oilfield for either of those!)
Also, yes, you can work 7 days a week for 12 hours a day - but what they often don't tell you is how much time off they get between those time frames (not saying it's easy but that does make a difference). For example, my husband currently works 12 hours a day for two to three weeks straight - straight. But then he gets two weeks off - I mean completely off - in between. He doesn't have to answer his phone, check his email, nothing, if he doesn't want to, during that time off. All he has to do is log onto the bank account and make sure he gets paid. So far so good!
Prior to this job, he was working 17 days on and 17 days off. He is about to move to 14 days on and 14 days off. That's 6 months off a year, folks. PRETTY SWEET!
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