What's the Big Picture... What is the life of an oil field worker actually like...??? (new house, to buy)
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This is what happened. I quit my job as a heavy recovery operator in phoenix and took a job operating a water tanker in the oil patch. I left Arizona november 2010. I brought as much of my life with me as I could. My girlfriend and three dogs plus two cats. We loaded a large portion of our belongings into a thirty foot fifth wheel and set out for Newtown North Dakota where I had a job already waiting.
I lost everything that I brought with me. Our first night one of the dogs was lost and another was wounded with a large gash acrossed her head. It was work 24/7. My poor girlfriend was alone in the camper most of the time. I felt pretty bad for her. She stayed a year and then left and never returned. We were together for seven years.
A little over a year later my camper burned to the ground. Industrial grade idiot caught his place on fire and it spread to others in our makeshift campground at our yard. I was left with only the clothes I was wearing.
I made quite a bit of money in my time there. I would give every penny back to have my old life again. It wasn't worth it.
I am sorry that happened to you. However there are things more important than money, though you know that now. You should of left with your girlfriend once your girlfriend wanted to leave or was very serious about leaving.
The dogs should of been in a fenced in area, leaving them on a leash or run outside is not really acceptable around here, there are more animals, we have raccoons, foxes, coyotes, feral cats, and other animals that can harm dogs especially if you are in a rural area.
...They become LIFERS. They're chained to the patch. The chain is long enough to let you believe you can leave at anytime, but it whips you right back over. You ain't going no where boy! Yeah, go buy your brand new truck, get that new expensive habit, buy a house for your wife that you wont ever see, give her a credit card that you wont ever use, have you a couple of girlfriends that sit at home and spend your time. YOUR TIME. Because, that's what you should be working for out here is time, not money. When you're here you have no time, no life. You are married to the field. You better save every dime you earn if you ever want to see that glorious thing called time again.
....If you have an education behind you with somewhat of a level head stay away. Stay as far away as you can. Do not be tempted by the dollar signs. Because if you come out here thinking you're going to "pay off some debt", think again.
I really like your post. I agree and disagree. I've barely put a dent in my $25,000 credit card debt having been out here a year.... but that's because I've been stuffing as much as possible into my 401k, HSA, Roth IRA, and DSPP. So although I still have my debt as of the New Year my net worth finally went from negative to positive (~ -$45K to the present ~ +$25k).
I like your post for four reasons: your writing style, it's honest, it shows what happens when people think the "good times" will last forever and don't save and/or live outside their means, and my favorite part, time. I agree completely that you are trading in your life for money for a short while so that you can have the life you want later.
I work for a wireline company and am an equipment operator... cased hole operator. There's a few titles that mean the same thing at our company. A typical shop day you'll so up at 08:00 and work usually until 17:00. Sometimes if we were getting ready to go out and were in a pinch we'd go as late as 19:00. Sometimes later. Shop work is generally truck and equipment maintenance and cleaning.
A typical day in the field we'd wake up at 04:30 - 05:30 depending how far the well was. Be there for 06:30 and work until 18:30. After the drive back to man camp, dinner and a shower the time could be anywhere from 19:30 to 20:30 sometimes later. Then you'd have a few hours for a movie, calling someone, Facebook, etc. If the well we were on was further away sometimes this meant taking time out of sleep to do these things.
Everyday I spend time with the same people. When I'm out in the field that's really it for social life. So it's very important you're able to get along with everyone you work with or can at least quickly handle any issues that might come up. We use to be able to drive the company trucks around. So we'd hit up some local establishment up for a bit (leave by 23:00) once a week. But not anymore. Our foreigner manager is a pain in the tootie and has slowly been taking away one perk after another. So we can no longer use the company trucks for anything aside from work related tasks.... and they really frown on bringing personal vehicles to man camp. So in the field it has literally become work/sleep/work/sleep 'til the job is done.
The cell I'm on is very busy. We're on a 3/1 week schedule. I worked 80 days before taking my first week off. It was only because I wanted to meet someone I started chatting with from these forums on FB. Well didn't quite work out. I had no other reason to take another week so another 77 days went by. During this stretch initially there were 0 shop days. Towards the end we'd have 1 - 3 after 10-14 days of field work. Our company hired a bunch of people so essentially we have too many and we have to take our weeks off. So since the New Year I've been on a 3/1.
The one week off sounds nice until travel is factored in. In a typical 9-5 / M-F job a week off would give you 9 days. In the oilfield 7 days is 7 days. Travel... a day on each end, 5 days. I drove a few times so I had 3 days at my destination. My last week off I jokingly stated, "Now that I'm back at work I can relax!" If I stay in Minot for my week off I have to essentially turn off my phone so work can't call me in for "free" labor. Although now we have so many peeps it's not really an issue.
So the life of an oilfield worker isn't all roses. I met one person I really liked and wanted to date. Well after 7 months we finally went out. But "date" more as an appointment in time, not in the romantic sense. At this point we're more friends than anything else. That's how long it took for our schedules to work out. I am trading my time now for time later as BCHTX said. I'm going for 4 years unless I hit some financial windfall.
So I'm back in the oil patch after two months of time off in Phoenix. I did a lot of soul searching and decided to come back. Work every day hauling production water. No days off work as much as I want. No life. No fun. Just cold hard cash. Figure I already lost everything else so I have nothing else to lose. Takes a tremendous amount of strength to just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Six months is about good for me. Too boring and mindless feel like I'm losing my mind. I put more money into my savings in the last two and a half years than I did in the previous thirty years. Is it worth it?
My husband has worked in the oilfield for over thirty years. He started at the bottom and has worked his way up, and is now a consultant, aka a company man.
He works two weeks on and two weeks off. He flies back and forth from Texas to the job (currently he's working in West Virginia). WE LOVE THIS SCHEDULE. After he did this for a year, I quit my job as a bank manager so that we could spend the two weeks off each month together.
Yes, the early years were hard, and the hours were gruesome at times. The work is hard and dangerous and demanding. It's not for those who prefer not to get dirty.
If a man wants to pursue a career in oil and gas, I'd say choose your wife carefully. Pick someone who is trustworthy and who is self sufficient and fine with being alone and holding down the fort while you're working. And then YOU be trustworthy as well.
The money is awesome, and once you've worked your way up, you have a lot more say about the hours you put in. I love our lifestyle - we get to travel a lot together, which is really cool. And while my husband works very hard for two weeks straight out of every month, he's also completely OFF for two weeks out of every month too. SWEET!
I also love that we can aggressively save for retirement.
My advice would be to find your niche, become an expert in that area, and aim for eventually moving into consulting as an independent contractor.
the oil field , as what
BCHTX says, 100 percent true
I started in the patch thinking of working one year to give my wife a nice wedding and a home to live, now 3 years and still here. i got married and have a home now within a year of working, and still i get up 5 am every morning and return at 9 every night . Money eats your soul and makes you forget the best things in life are free. oil patch has put strain on my marriage and now i don't even have a hobby, except work. join the patch and you lose the sight of happiness from little things like family and friends, and nice little gestors like home cooked cake and a nice deed from someone. it don't matter cause im in the patch and that's all i know now . i know i can leave anytime so please don't reply about free will. greed is a powerful thing
I too work in the field. I agree witg BCHTX. His statement is very accurate. I think the wives of this forum were meant to give their oppinion on their home life and impact on their relationships and family. Not to bash oilfield workers that are in the field. Ladies dont speak for your husbands. He may not be as happy as you think. Most of us men do what we have to for our wives and families. Not what we want to.
I work for a service company and we are on call 24/7. while it may sound absurd I dream of normalcy 8 hrs of sleep, time to eat a good meal, do my three S's, watch tv, workout, etc. but when your at work you better sleep when your not working cause another job could call at anytime. It is not unusual to go days off 2-4 hrs of sleep. Personally I have gone 4 days with only 1 hr of sleep a day. Sometimes you dont sleep at all for a few days. We are required to work 8 hrs on the yard maintaining our equipment, while waiting for call outs. Many times you put in a full day and have to drive cdl trucks 2-4 hrs away on a job that lasts 12+ hrs well into the next day. Then after the job is done we may have to go to another job up to 4 hrs away driving on little to no sleep. In the middle of all this if your truck needs work you are required to fix it at all costs before the next job. When you are done fixing it hours later by that time a job is calling out again.
The oilfield owns your every breath, heartbeat, and bowel movement. They tell you what to eat and when, they tell you when to sleep and for how long, etc. It is a bunch of guys playing macho pushing people way beyond their limitations everday in order to put the job first. Equipment, and job before the people working at all times.
by that time a job i
The oilfield owns your every breath, heartbeat, and bowel movement. They tell you what to eat and when, they tell you when to sleep and for how long, etc. It is a bunch of guys playing macho pushing people way beyond their limitations everday in order to put the job first. Equipment, and job before the people working at all times.
true ^ it can be like this but not all companies are like this. I depends on what part of the country and what part of the industry you work in. Not to mention what level. There are options.
Unless the price of oil stays down. Then your option will be drawing unemployment..... while you hope business picks back up
I too work in the field. I agree witg BCHTX. His statement is very accurate. I think the wives of this forum were meant to give their oppinion on their home life and impact on their relationships and family. Not to bash oilfield workers that are in the field. Ladies dont speak for your husbands. He may not be as happy as you think. Most of us men do what we have to for our wives and families. Not what we want to.
I work for a service company and we are on call 24/7. while it may sound absurd I dream of normalcy 8 hrs of sleep, time to eat a good meal, do my three S's, watch tv, workout, etc. but when your at work you better sleep when your not working cause another job could call at anytime. It is not unusual to go days off 2-4 hrs of sleep. Personally I have gone 4 days with only 1 hr of sleep a day. Sometimes you dont sleep at all for a few days. We are required to work 8 hrs on the yard maintaining our equipment, while waiting for call outs. Many times you put in a full day and have to drive cdl trucks 2-4 hrs away on a job that lasts 12+ hrs well into the next day. Then after the job is done we may have to go to another job up to 4 hrs away driving on little to no sleep. In the middle of all this if your truck needs work you are required to fix it at all costs before the next job. When you are done fixing it hours later by that time a job is calling out again.
The oilfield owns your every breath, heartbeat, and bowel movement. They tell you what to eat and when, they tell you when to sleep and for how long, etc. It is a bunch of guys playing macho pushing people way beyond their limitations everday in order to put the job first. Equipment, and job before the people working at all times.
Its pretty simple, quit. You are not in prison, you are free to go anytime you want. Anybody, at any jib, can say they own you. Your not unique.
It seems a lot of folks seeking oil field jobs spend so much time on these threads focused on the pure excitement of the Boom they aren't getting a true sense of what they are getting into.....The how to get here, how to get into that "big money" and giving up in many cases decent jobs, homes etc. that the real trade offs aren't talked about.
We've discussed housing, we've discussed crime, the cost of living....What is your life really like day to day if you work in the Patch??
In essence... What is the reality of your life...especially working as some folks have posted, 120 hours a week???
Spouses, Chime in here too!!
What are the trade offs?? Are they worth it?? Would you suggest this type work to anyone?? What type person would be most successful, in your opinions?
I'd like the oil field job seekers to know what they are really getting into. I would hope folks would discuss the facts, that an oil field job is often dangerous, exhausting and you will have very little life after your shift.
Anyone on here that can give some words of wisdom to these job seekers?
Thanks....Folks might like a link.....I appreciate their are folks willing to share what their experiences are....Keep
I have to sympathize with the folks discussing the hamster wheel that oil field jobs can become...Like the old saying the more you make the more you spend. You sort of become trapped in mortgage and car payments etc....It becomes a viscous cycle....The best you can hope for is to be able to keep a semblance of normal family life....keep yourself grounded as much as possible....All the best to you all! Please keep posting.
Last edited by JanND; 01-07-2015 at 07:48 PM..
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