I would not drag a family up with the winter coming on, but if you are single or if you can wait until spring, I think it's an amazing adventure.
Not too many opportunities like this left in the world today. It would not be easy, nor could you expect to get up there, land a job right away and be set for life financially. There is a chance you could fail. But at the end of your life, isn't it a drag to say, "I didn't try because I might have failed." At least you could have attempted it, and even if you didn't achieve what you had hoped, you'd still have had a great adventure.
Housing is really, REALLY hard to come by. It's expensive and the people who live in the area are paying the price for the influx of workers. Even simple travel trailers are going upwards of 1000 dollars a month.
You can get housing out in the man camps though. Peripheral workers can get rooms there as well. Some are kind of cramped - sort of like very tiny dorm rooms, but the food is outstanding! The best ones I've seen are
Bakken Residence Suites down by Watford City. They are studio apartments and are pretty much on par with the going rents.
Boy, if you are going in the winter --- get thee some warm undies!!! North Dakotans sure know how to survive the tough climate. Lots and lots of layers!