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Old 08-29-2012, 07:30 PM
 
385 posts, read 356,647 times
Reputation: 218

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The plan is just to drive around and apply at any oil rigs I see. Maybe I'll do a bit more research and find some guaranteed places to apply. I don't have any experience but I am young and fit. Do you guys think I have a shot?

I will only take a job if it pays fairly well (20+ an hour), otherwise I may as well stay at home and find a job here. (Wisconsin)

If you guys think I have no chance then I may not go, but otherwise I am planning on making the trip. Its only about a 12 hour drive so not too insane. Seems worth the gas money and time invested to try and find a good paying job.

My last two years I've done roofing work, before that I worked at Walmart, a farm, and a restaraunt. That is the extent of my work history.

Thanks for any info and advice.
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Old 08-30-2012, 03:25 AM
 
Location: Minneapolis,MN
159 posts, read 350,040 times
Reputation: 57
Well dont forget to try the Staffing Agencies while up there. If there is a desperate need for help the staffing agencies can point u in that direction. Bakken staffing, SOS staffing. After 1 week from today I will be free to start my hunt. Flipping the coin on ND & TX. Work in the north always pays better. Buttt...
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Old 08-30-2012, 09:06 AM
 
Location: Western Nebraskansas
2,707 posts, read 6,206,495 times
Reputation: 2454
Buttt...winter is coming.
And unlike last year's, a true ND winter is not to be taken lightly!
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Old 09-16-2012, 10:27 AM
 
Location: Houston/Hill Country
8 posts, read 11,475 times
Reputation: 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jefferyz View Post
Well dont forget to try the Staffing Agencies while up there. If there is a desperate need for help the staffing agencies can point u in that direction. Bakken staffing, SOS staffing. After 1 week from today I will be free to start my hunt. Flipping the coin on ND & TX. Work in the north always pays better. Buttt...

Texas has a low cost of living (I've heard ND does, but I can't vouch) and good pay. Lots of jobs. I love it here- (from small town outside of Houston, lived in Austin, back in Houston city limits; my family is in Houston but originally from Missouri). Love- that family is here, love with the exception of a lack of parks and outdoor activities, the summer heat that begins in early April and lasts until October -I say heat meaning 80s and up to heat index of 120 (humidity)- and 'Htown' really living up to its reputation of being a working, eating, sleeping city. It's all restaurants, bars, traffic, and cement. I live in the Clear Lake/Bay Area, and my zip code is 5mi.² and has 27k people in it. Urban sprawl is the definition of this area. Sardines. You have your beauties here and there, and the brown beaches, but it's just not for me. So, in ND terms, it's a huge culture difference by being such a large, industrial, working city, the heat/humidity, having a beach, and being very flat. My parents moved here from Missouri and Pennsylvania, and I suppose their ability to deal with the heat is due to their hatred of northern winters. I'm considering moving to the Midwest because I love cold, forests, snow, mountains, anything to do with the outdoors (I developed this when I lived in Austin), and small towns. Also, I'm very partial to my paternal side of the family, their Midwest personalities. Money and jobs are something, but they're not everything; you have to take into consideration your surroundings. Personally, Houston/Texas is not for me. Texas is just too hot. I wish you all the best the people are wonderful here, that's for sure!

*Though, there are oil companies and chemical plants out the wazoo here. I know Houston's known for that. It's very easy to find a plant job, and they pay very well. But it is physical labor (unless you've got an engineering degree and seek that) and somewhat dangerous/dirty. Unhealthy. My hometown has the largest Dow planet in the nation; our cancer rates are very high. I want some clean air lol.
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Old 09-18-2012, 12:16 AM
 
Location: Fargo, ND
45 posts, read 160,219 times
Reputation: 121
Default Advice from Fargo

Quote:
Originally Posted by 16trillionandcounting View Post
The plan is just to drive around and apply at any oil rigs I see. Maybe I'll do a bit more research and find some guaranteed places to apply. I don't have any experience but I am young and fit. Do you guys think I have a shot?

I will only take a job if it pays fairly well (20+ an hour), otherwise I may as well stay at home and find a job here. (Wisconsin)

If you guys think I have no chance then I may not go, but otherwise I am planning on making the trip. Its only about a 12 hour drive so not too insane. Seems worth the gas money and time invested to try and find a good paying job.

My last two years I've done roofing work, before that I worked at Walmart, a farm, and a restaraunt. That is the extent of my work history.

Thanks for any info and advice.
Well I checked your Forum profile here, but you give no age or gender. But let's assume by your work history that you are a youngish, adult male. Roofing work means that you have some energy and muscle. That's all good and in your favor for the ND oil patch, including your relatively nearby Wisconsin home base. You might land a job by just showing up cold out there in the oil patch, but I would advise against that at this time of year unless money is no problem for you.

Tonight frost and freeze warnings are posted all over ND. Where would you wind up sleeping out in the oil patch? Where do you think you can live, even on a short term basis, without having lots of ready cash for that? I suppose if you really push this and can deal with all those problems you will know more about the oil patch first hand, and that might lead you into some kind of job out there.

But remember that you have no really transferable skills sets suitable for rig work. You have no rig experience. That will put you far down the hiring preference list for an oil rig job. However, you might be able use your skills and experience out in the oil patch to snag a construction, roofing, driving or some other type of service job out there because they do need workers, and workers of all types.

What will make or break employment out there for you will be housing and the generally high cost of living. Many, many have made it out there, found a job and had to leave because they could not afford to live there even with the relatively high pay offered. The oil companies and some others do offer man camp style housing with meals and other benefitsfor their own workers. While man camp accommodation does take care of some of those important issues I mentioned, it also raises others, like going stir crazy over time in a cubicle of that bleak, regimented environment.

My advice: Stay away from the oil patch and plan to go back to school for a very good credential in a field of your interest. Go see a community college admissions counselor. There are community colleges all over Wisconsin and the USA (and NOT online) that will help you train for a very good, well paying job with a future. The chances are quite high that the oil patch could hand you a lot of grief. But since I don't know you personally, I'm not sure that I'v given you the appropriate advice for your situation.

Best of good fortune to you!
*
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Old 09-18-2012, 08:24 AM
 
746 posts, read 1,722,778 times
Reputation: 507
Consider attending Williston State for oil field traing. You can stay in dorms and also work evenings and weekends for decent money. (Part time jobs can be had for +$14lhr). Willliston State is a Jr College with vocational programs. ND also has tuition reciprocity with Wisconsin. Housing would be your biggest need.
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Old 09-19-2012, 09:27 AM
 
Location: Somewhere out there...
3,663 posts, read 8,633,084 times
Reputation: 3750
You're not going to make $20+ an hr, the companies are not paying that. Base pay is $11- $13 an hr. Paying 24 hrs while on the pad, time and half over 40 hrs. There is a need for frac support, no experience required, there is a huge turnover, you're on pad for 2 week intervals.
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Old 09-19-2012, 10:30 AM
 
2,609 posts, read 4,344,208 times
Reputation: 1887
Quote:
Originally Posted by fourwinds View Post
Consider attending Williston State for oil field traing. You can stay in dorms and also work evenings and weekends for decent money. (Part time jobs can be had for +$14lhr). Willliston State is a Jr College with vocational programs. ND also has tuition reciprocity with Wisconsin. Housing would be your biggest need.
There was a sign in front of WalMart when I went there the other day saying they've raised their pay to $17/hr. I agree with fourwinds though, go to school during the day and work at WalMart at night.
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Old 09-19-2012, 09:21 PM
 
Location: Somewhere out there...
3,663 posts, read 8,633,084 times
Reputation: 3750
Quote:
Originally Posted by lisan23 View Post
There was a sign in front of WalMart when I went there the other day saying they've raised their pay to $17/hr. I agree with fourwinds though, go to school during the day and work at WalMart at night.
$17 part time, no benefits.
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Old 09-20-2012, 01:57 PM
 
2,609 posts, read 4,344,208 times
Reputation: 1887
Quote:
Originally Posted by asitshouldbe View Post
$17 part time, no benefits.
Yes, and if you're going to school full time that would be perfect.
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