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I was in Williston for 10+ days recently, and wanted to give everyone a report on the jobs situation at the moment. As I just arrived back home a few days ago, this is current information.
1) Housing is very hard to find. Affordable housing is impossible to find. Unless you find an oil job that gets you into a man camp, you are going to either be (1) effectively homeless (2) paying a very inflated rate for an RV/camper spot or (3) paying a ridiculous amount for actual housing.
2) Hiring at most or all of the large oil companies has slowed down significantly recently. While they are still hiring for some positions, these are very difficult to obtain without specialized skills or prior oilfield experience. Do not expect to ride into town and get a high paying oil job without a CDL, prior oilfield experience, etc.
3) Please do not listen to people who arrived in town months or even years ago. The situation, as it currently stands, has changed significantly since then. The oil companies are no longer hiring "anyone who can walk and talk."
4) There are lots of other jobs in town (Wal Mart, fast food, some construction etc.), but no one is moving to Williston to make $9.00 - 14.00 dollars an hour for 40 hours a week. You will not be able to afford housing making this amount. Some construction jobs pay more, but still (in most cases) not nearly enough for housing.
The housing has always been an issue you all should have known that and prepared accordingly... and I just wanted to point out that yes it takes longer to get hired with no experience. BUT...
My friend who started yesterday got hired at Nabors for a roustabout position in 4 days. ZERO experience. Right place right time.
2 Other friends got hired as Pipe Inspectors in 2 weeks..(company nameless as I am waiting for my call back.) All ZERO experience.
Where else in this country can you hope to even find a job in 4-6 weeks?
Coming here thinking you'll get hired in hours is not true. The longer you stay the better your chance and that is a challenge.
The housing has always been an issue you all should have known that and prepared accordingly... and I just wanted to point out that yes it takes longer to get hired with no experience. BUT...
My friend who started yesterday got hired at Nabors for a roustabout position in 4 days. ZERO experience. Right place right time.
2 Other friends got hired as Pipe Inspectors in 2 weeks..(company nameless as I am waiting for my call back.) All ZERO experience.
Where else in this country can you hope to even find a job in 4-6 weeks?
Coming here thinking you'll get hired in hours is not true. The longer you stay the better your chance and that is a challenge.
IMO
Everything you wrote is completely consistent with my comments. Yes, some people (like your three friends) are still getting jobs in oil, but the odds are very much against anyone showing up and getting a good job in the oil patch in anything like four days.
Also, I was in town to place a bid; I wasn't looking for permanent work in Williston. I did talk to many, many men in Williston about the situation though....both employers and those looking for work.
Housing has been impossible to find here for a few years now. And I think people have gotten spoiled with the work situation if they are coming here looking for work but unwilling to take a $9-14 dollar an hour job until something else comes along or they get more qualifications. To be fair, yes that won't pay for the price of rent here right now but what is the difference if your making 25-30 but paying 2k-3k a month for rent?
Williston's work force has increased tremendously in the past 3 years. Below is the link that shows how many people are working in Williston now compared to past months and years. If hiring has slowed down, (which is possible) it is probably because they have so many applications on file and these applicants are probably the next in line for the posistions that do open up. I also have personal friends from Minnesota who drove up to Williston recently, and got jobs at Schlumberger and Halliburton. So some are still hiring. I also read the Williston Herald on line, and every Sunday, the classifieds are filled with "now hiring" for our new Williston office. Every week, new service companies are opening up shops in Williston. They are forcasting another 40-50 rigs this year (250 total)...each rig employee's nearly 100 workers or more (drillers, rig movers, service companies,e tc...) so there will be more hiring if these rigs move in this summer. It is definately not over.
.... Do not expect to ride into town and get a high paying oil job without a CDL, prior oilfield experience, etc.
...The oil companies are no longer hiring "anyone who can walk and talk."
Right now it is seeming impossible for me to find a driving job with everything and more employer's want except experience. Someone at a delivery service is looking into whether or not I can be hired to deliver packages while having zero experience! A box truck vs. a tractor trailer!
Two temp agencies in Minot have 0 oilfield positions. Haven't checked recently with the third. Agency dealing with CDL positions (sand/water hauling) require experience.
I recently got feedback from a large company about an equipment/operator position. Applying to two others for the same position. See where it goes.
As for your last comment, in spite of what others have said I'm going to agree. The sentiment I'm getting (hell someone who works for this company just told me the company is on a hiring freeze) is that they are not desperate. You can find work with no experience but I think it'll depend greatly on what you did before. (i.e. I sat on a couch at night and in front of a computer all day vs. slept 3 hrs a night while fishing on the Bering Sea for 2 months.)
Things are looking rough right now up in ND for a recent CDL A grads like myself almost everything says 1 or 2 years experience. Really not looking forward to OTR even though it would probably be the best thing for me.
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