(10-11-2012 07:09 AM)BrownBear Wrote:  How is the job market in the FSU and how are the salaries compared to that of Petroleum Engineers in USA/Canada? I'm just stuck on where to receive my degree, Russia/Canada/USA..

I am pretty sure that unless you are an expat in the FSU, wages should be higher in Canada and USA. That's what I get from talking to my Russian roommate.

Personally, I would say go to the US if you are taking an engineering degree. But be prepared to pay a lot more in tuition than if you were to take it in Canada.

Another good thing to get into is driving the mining trucks (heavy haul truck) at the various oil sands mines north of Fort Mac and Kearl Lake etc. You dont need a class 1 or class 3 license. I am trying to get on doing this as it would be pretty interesting driving the biggest truck in the world. My brothers friend does it for Suncor, its 6 days on 6 days off (3 days, 3 nights). The only shit thing is that Suncor wants you to live in Fort Mac so you would have to find a place to rent. Though you can also do what my bros friend does and take other peoples shifts and just work straight for a few months at a time. He raked in around 150K gross last year. Pretty nuts for not needing a trade. Other big projects includethe Syncrude, & the Kearl Lake area. Companies like Imperial Oil, KMC mining, Keiwit and other contractors do the hiring for that. Imperial Oil seems to have a sweet set up. 10 days on 10 days off, camp included and flights from the site to Calgary/Edmonton. Around $3500++ gross bi-weekly unless you choose to do more overtime. Another good thing about this job is that there is also a demand for it in B.C... as well as in Australia! (Better weather, only 9 hour flight from Thailand ) There is a program for this at the local Keyano College in Fort Mac. Its about 6k for a month but there is apparently a job placement program afterwards. Not sure of the waiting list situation though. As you can see I have done my research and hopefully will be doing this in the near future.

(10-11-2012 06:54 PM)Kdog Wrote:  Another good thing to get into is driving the mining trucks (heavy haul truck) at the various oil sands mines north of Fort Mac and Kearl Lake etc.

Shit is it all shift work? I have an interview lined up with Keyano for that haul truck course later this year as my jumping off point into Ft Mac. It looks like a pretty sweet gig, I am just not sure how flexible they are with time off.

What else have you heard about haul truck operator positions (maybe Scotian can comment too)? Do they have the same opportunities for time off that the other trades enjoy?

(10-11-2012 11:51 AM)catalyst Wrote:  

(10-11-2012 07:09 AM)BrownBear Wrote:  How is the job market in the FSU and how are the salaries compared to that of Petroleum Engineers in USA/Canada? I'm just stuck on where to receive my degree, Russia/Canada/USA..

I am pretty sure that unless you are an expat in the FSU, wages should be higher in Canada and USA. That's what I get from talking to my Russian roommate.

Personally, I would say go to the US if you are taking an engineering degree. But be prepared to pay a lot more in tuition than if you were to take it in Canada.

Anyone else have any info on this?

(10-11-2012 09:11 PM)BrownBear Wrote:  

(10-11-2012 11:51 AM)catalyst Wrote:  

(10-11-2012 07:09 AM)BrownBear Wrote:  How is the job market in the FSU and how are the salaries compared to that of Petroleum Engineers in USA/Canada? I'm just stuck on where to receive my degree, Russia/Canada/USA..

I am pretty sure that unless you are an expat in the FSU, wages should be higher in Canada and USA. That's what I get from talking to my Russian roommate.

Personally, I would say go to the US if you are taking an engineering degree. But be prepared to pay a lot more in tuition than if you were to take it in Canada.

Anyone else have any info on this?

Why not study in Alberta?
Once you are done I am sure you will get a job and the industry is hot right now.
As a foreign student you will pay alot of more money, for sure it will be cheaper than studying in the US.

(10-11-2012 08:00 PM)Ferro Wrote:  

(10-11-2012 06:54 PM)Kdog Wrote:  

Shit is it all shift work? I have an interview lined up with Keyano for that haul truck course later this year as my jumping off point into Ft Mac. It looks like a pretty sweet gig, I am just not sure how flexible they are with time off.

What else have you heard about haul truck operator positions (maybe Scotian can comment too)? Do they have the same opportunities for time off that the other trades enjoy?

I'm not sure about the time off but I'm thinking maybe with the 10 day on 10 day off schedule you could work out a 30 on 30 off.. It would sure cost them less in flights. Are you on a waiting list for the Keyano class? I would like to hear what they say about job prospects immediately following the completion of the course.

(10-12-2012 08:10 PM)Kdog Wrote:  I'm not sure about the time off but I'm thinking maybe with the 10 day on 10 day off schedule you could work out a 30 on 30 off.. It would sure cost them less in flights. Are you on a waiting list for the Keyano class? I would like to hear what they say about job prospects immediately following the completion of the course.

That is a good idea; I will see what I can get through negotiation. I just personally can't handle shift work, no matter how cushy it is, so hopefully other hauling companies use normal schedules. I have to take the interview and physical test first before I can be placed. My interview is scheduled in December and I am guessing that my earliest class placement could be April/May/June. It is a long waiting list, and I am really only using it as a backup in case I don't find the other trades as rewarding (which I will be pursuing in the mean time).

(10-11-2012 06:54 PM)Kdog Wrote:  Another good thing to get into is driving the mining trucks (heavy haul truck) at the various oil sands mines north of Fort Mac and Kearl Lake etc. You dont need a class 1 or class 3 license. I am trying to get on doing this as it would be pretty interesting driving the biggest truck in the world. My brothers friend does it for Suncor, its 6 days on 6 days off (3 days, 3 nights). The only shit thing is that Suncor wants you to live in Fort Mac so you would have to find a place to rent. Though you can also do what my bros friend does and take other peoples shifts and just work straight for a few months at a time. He raked in around 150K gross last year. Pretty nuts for not needing a trade. Other big projects includethe Syncrude, & the Kearl Lake area. Companies like Imperial Oil, KMC mining, Keiwit and other contractors do the hiring for that. Imperial Oil seems to have a sweet set up. 10 days on 10 days off, camp included and flights from the site to Calgary/Edmonton. Around $3500++ gross bi-weekly unless you choose to do more overtime. Another good thing about this job is that there is also a demand for it in B.C... as well as in Australia! (Better weather, only 9 hour flight from Thailand ) There is a program for this at the local Keyano College in Fort Mac. Its about 6k for a month but there is apparently a job placement program afterwards. Not sure of the waiting list situation though. As you can see I have done my research and hopefully will be doing this in the near future.

One of the bigger companies running those huge trucks you're writing about is North American Construction Group, I"m pretty sure the operators are members of the International Union of Operating Engineers, local 955 (http://www.oe955.com/). Last guy I spoke to who runs heavy equipment tried to join and there was a waiting list of over 1000 people.

As with any of these on-site, oil sands positions that pay big money for unskilled labour, they have long waiting lists to get into or are usually filled by relatives or "friends of friends". Better to take some kind of pre-employment program, but still apply to the unskilled positions, you may "luck out".

Has anyone majored in petroleum economics and management?

Some random thoughts after about a week here in Edmonton:

Yes it's all true that there is a TON of money to be made in this province. I've seen and heard some crazy things. My previous roommate is a truck driver and makes 10k every 3 weeks. The one staying with me now is a derrick guy and clears 180k/year and is 25. And on and on.

Scotian was dead right that there are some shady characters, guys with criminal records. The truck driver guy, albeit a cool guy, tld me he had 3 assault charges when he was younger and wilder. Met a guy last night, he is a metal worker, 25, from Ontario, was in jail for a while. Didn't press him much for details but that's a bit ensettling when you're working with a guy like that, let alone sharing a room with such a guy.

Speaking of Scotian, met him on Friday and he is definitely the real deal. Funny, cool and very helpful. Big thumbps up bro. I may join you in Asia partying in February.

So far, my job search has been going slow. I've been calling companies all accross Alberta and they're all telling me the same thing. They will start hiring when the weather gets colder. I never thought in my life I'd be hoping for the weather to get cold but it'st he case here and believe it or not, it's been relatively nice here since saturday, in the mid teens. That's warm for Alberta. LOL So so far, I've been told that hopefully by next week, when it gets colder, they will start hiring again. I've been sending my resume to a ton of places, leaving messages and talking to guys and girls in these companies.

I am thinking of going to Red Deer as that's where most of the companies in the area I'm looking to get in are located and while it's easy and cheap to get there, accommodation is not cheap there. 100 bucks a night minimum for a motel. Haven't decided yet whether I'm going to stay and look for an apartment or a room in Edmonton or go look in Red Deer or Grande Prairie. Will give it 1 more week in Edmonton before deciding.

Also noticed that pretty much everything is cheaper here compared to say Toronto (such as gas, cars, car insurance, way cheaper here than in Toronto, housing is ok) but food is more expensive here than in TO. Last night went for a shwarma in a Lebanese restaurant and it was 14 bucks for 1. In Toronto, you get 2 for 6 bucks.

People are very nice and friendly here. I'd say a lot nicer than in TO. One thing I noticed is that it's tough to be here without a car a to get to all the companies and specially if you venture into the smaller cities. I never had a need for a car while living in Toronto, but now I'm seriously considering getting one and as mentioned above, they are cheaper here (saw some crazy deals in the papers) and insurance is a fraction of what it would be in Toronto.

There you have some random thoughts about Edmonton after about a week 10 days here. I'm going to get something good and right now, I'm hoping for the weather to get cold so that companies start hiring again. Will keep you guys posted on how things go.
Oe

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

100 bucks per night is a lot of money to be spent,i think irishman had a cheaper place, you should ask him how he got it.

I know things are going to work out for you, i should join you guys next year.

Wanted to thank Scotian for this great thread, I'm getting really close to choosing my university where I'm going to major in petroleum engineering.

Here are the two universities that I'm going to choose between.

Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas (Moscow)-5 years to get my degree, beautiful women, uh and.. beautiful women, that's about it
**Shout out to P Dog for the info on Sydney** UNSW (Sydney Australia) -4 years to get my degree, great weather, awesome beaches,

Man I've been in Regina, Saskatchewan for three weeks now. No jobs yet so far.

I think I might have to move to Alberta all the way lol..

(10-17-2012 11:28 PM)23Billion Wrote:  Man I've been in Regina, Saskatchewan for three weeks now. No jobs yet so far.

I think I might have to move to Alberta all the way lol..

Try places like Estevan and Weyburn SK. Those areas are all booming as well.

(10-17-2012 07:51 AM)BrownBear Wrote:  Wanted to thank Scotian for this great thread, I'm getting really close to choosing my university where I'm going to major in petroleum engineering.

Here are the two universities that I'm going to choose between.

Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas (Moscow)-5 years to get my degree, beautiful women, uh and.. beautiful women, that's about it
**Shout out to P Dog for the info on Sydney** UNSW (Sydney Australia) -4 years to get my degree, great weather, awesome beaches,

Good links which I am sure you have seen.

http://www.nait.ca/program_home_77300.htm

http://www.civil.engineering.ualberta.ca...oleum.aspx

Saw this link on Business Insider about working in the oil sands and what it entails. Theres a slideshow going through the process step by step. Those looking to make the move should definitely check this out for more insight.

Quote:These Pictures May Give You Nightmares About The Canada Oil Sands

Canada's economic boom depends on tearing up 54,000 square-mile of pristine Alberta wilderness.
Development of the world's third largest oil supply is proceeding rapidly. It already represents a $3.5 billion annual paycheck to the Canadian government and 75,000 immediate jobs.
But many are aghast at the project, which is also the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas in Canada.
When you see the pictures, you may feel the same. We're not saying the project is good or bad. We're just saying the scale and severity of what's happening in Alberta will make your spine tingle.
Business Insider sent me to Alberta in early May, when there was still ice on the ground and a bite in the air. I took these shots, trying to stay warm, from about 1,000 feet up, out of the window of a small plane.
The following pictures show oil mining, where the sand is dug from the ground and the oil's separated through a lengthy and messy process. There are drilling sites in the oil sands, and those are highlighted in the photo essay at the end of this one.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/photos-de...ds-2012-10

(10-18-2012 02:57 PM)rudebwoy Wrote:  

(10-17-2012 07:51 AM)BrownBear Wrote:  Wanted to thank Scotian for this great thread, I'm getting really close to choosing my university where I'm going to major in petroleum engineering.

Here are the two universities that I'm going to choose between.

Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas (Moscow)-5 years to get my degree, beautiful women, uh and.. beautiful women, that's about it
**Shout out to P Dog for the info on Sydney** UNSW (Sydney Australia) -4 years to get my degree, great weather, awesome beaches,

Good links which I am sure you have seen.

http://www.nait.ca/program_home_77300.htm

http://www.civil.engineering.ualberta.ca...oleum.aspx

I'm not sure if the NAIT 2 year diploma will benefit me as much as a 4 year degree, what do you think?

Brown Bear - no you are always better off with a degree! Just trying to help

Oh ok, just making sure ! I've crossed off russia from my list, so it looks like I'm heading to Australia in july! I'm actually starting to doubt if I should go into petroleum engineering though, my dad is starting up some great companies/ owns patents. Maybe business school wouldn't be a bad idea in my case?

(10-20-2012 02:24 PM)BrownBear Wrote:  Oh ok, just making sure ! I've crossed off russia from my list, so it looks like I'm heading to Australia in july! I'm actually starting to doubt if I should go into petroleum engineering though, my dad is starting up some great companies/ owns patents. Maybe business school wouldn't be a bad idea in my case?

you don't learn jack shit in business school
I wasted 2 years of my life and was about to waste a third year, but thankfully I found this thread lol

I have a 2 year diploma in business management and had to do 2 more terms to get my bachelor's degree. I learned very little in those 2 years and that's the nature of the beast that is business school. Unless you major in something like accounting, you learn absofuckinglutely nothing and your degree will be no different than an arts degree. Even if you major in accounting or finance, you'll be wasting your first couple of years with useless courses that will just bore you to death and take out every ounce of motivation you once had.

If you're going to university, work towards medical or law school or learn something technical and usefull. Either do engineering, architecture or as I said, work towards medical/law school or DON'T bother. In Russia you guys don't pay for university tuition and books, am I correct (a Russian friend told me). In AUS you'll have to pay literally tens of thousands as an internation student. By the time you graduate, you'll have spent at least 50K and most likely you wouldn't have worked at all in those 4 years while going to university. You better get a degree in something that will get you employment in order to pay all your debts and make up for the lost time not being employed. A business degree won't get you anything but a 20K a year job at some shithole backwatter of an office. If you're lucky you might pull off a 30K dollar job right after graduation lol

Just get business out of your mind, don't even think about it. Useless degree, unless you're going into finance or accounting. But again, even if you go into accounting, you'll be taking shit courses like organizational behaviour for 2 fucking years and the only light at the end of the tunnel will be 300 and 400 lvl accounting courses and eventually a job as an accountant <<< just thinking about it makes me wanna end my life right here and now

The bachelors degree, no matter what it's in, will still open doors and allow for quicker advancement than without.

The trick is to get into the field of work while also obtaining education, even if it's non-technical (business mgt, construction mgt, etc.).

As you pointed out, too many idiots go into business or other bullshi bachelors and expect a decent paying job after school (all while sitting on >40k debt). This doesn't happen.

That being said, getting into construction at an entry level position (either manual or non-manual) and completing a bachelors degree while working your way up the ladder will pay in dividends later on. Experience + bachelors (whether engineering degree or not) will open a lot of doors.

Coming from a manual/tradesmen background, it allows easy transition from working with your hands into planner, field engineer, superintendent, etc positions.

Coming from a non-manual background, it allows easy transition from admin assist or document control up to work planners, assist field engineer, field engineer, superintendent, etc.

There are still ways to get up the ladder without a bachelors but it's becoming harder and harder. Unless you're going after a super technical position within engineering, any bachelors > no bachelors and will pay off huge.

(10-22-2012 03:58 AM)Nima Wrote:  

(10-20-2012 02:24 PM)BrownBear Wrote:  Oh ok, just making sure ! I've crossed off russia from my list, so it looks like I'm heading to Australia in july! I'm actually starting to doubt if I should go into petroleum engineering though, my dad is starting up some great companies/ owns patents. Maybe business school wouldn't be a bad idea in my case?

you don't learn jack shit in business school
I wasted 2 years of my life and was about to waste a third year, but thankfully I found this thread lol

I have a 2 year diploma in business management and had to do 2 more terms to get my bachelor's degree. I learned very little in those 2 years and that's the nature of the beast that is business school. Unless you major in something like accounting, you learn absofuckinglutely nothing and your degree will be no different than an arts degree. Even if you major in accounting or finance, you'll be wasting your first couple of years with useless courses that will just bore you to death and take out every ounce of motivation you once had.

If you're going to university, work towards medical or law school or learn something technical and usefull. Either do engineering, architecture or as I said, work towards medical/law school or DON'T bother. In Russia you guys don't pay for university tuition and books, am I correct (a Russian friend told me). In AUS you'll have to pay literally tens of thousands as an internation student. By the time you graduate, you'll have spent at least 50K and most likely you wouldn't have worked at all in those 4 years while going to university. You better get a degree in something that will get you employment in order to pay all your debts and make up for the lost time not being employed. A business degree won't get you anything but a 20K a year job at some shithole backwatter of an office. If you're lucky you might pull off a 30K dollar job right after graduation lol

Just get business out of your mind, don't even think about it. Useless degree, unless you're going into finance or accounting. But again, even if you go into accounting, you'll be taking shit courses like organizational behaviour for 2 fucking years and the only light at the end of the tunnel will be 300 and 400 lvl accounting courses and eventually a job as an accountant <<< just thinking about it makes me wanna end my life right here and now

I wonder how Irish is doing...

(10-22-2012 01:10 PM)BrownBear Wrote:  I wonder how Irish is doing...

Hey man can't post fully right now but Ill update tomorrow.

yeah irishman let us know when you have time, im also wondering how things are going with you.

Hey guys been super busy Ill post up real soon and answer those PMs too.