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Working in the Canadian oil sands: 6 figures in 6 months!

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Albertron 路 2013-01-14 19:30:00 路 #851
(01-05-2013 05:01 AM)scotian Wrote:  Living rent free in the Mac is a pretty sweet deal, especially if you manage to get LOA allowance (may be hard to get as unskilled), I would take it at least for a month or two to get settled and make some money. Hopefully the people are cool and don't drive you crazy, but if they help you get a job then that's great, hopefully you'll be so busy working that you're rarely home.

Scaffolding is a good trade and the guys are almost always busy, every site has scaffolders, they work during new construction, maintenance and shut downs, all year round. It is however one of the more labour intensive trades, you'll be wacking hammers a lot and carry and passing scaffolding pipe. Another thing, scaffolders are known to be some of the tougest and roughest of the tradesmen, just to let you know.

Thanks for the heads up. I kinda figured they'd be tough and rough considering the higher labour intensity but if that's what he can line up for me, I'm really not gonna complain.

This past Sunday I completed my H2S alive. So I've got that, my OSSA Fall protection, CSTS and First Aid. Good to go for certifications. The instructor I had for my H2S alive course worked on oil rigs for 30 years around North America before setting up his own business teaching H2S Alive around Canada. He says if I were to go into scaffolding, there are endless jobs in Fort Mac for that. He also said in terms of any type of trade work, minimum salary he's heard of is $70k.

One of his buddies who is now a drilling site manager (I think that's what the position is called, basically when a drilling site is set up, he simply overlooks the site to ensure safe and complete operation), worked on the rigs since he was 18 years old, now makes about $350k/year.

Charges $1.30 per km of travel per site, and apparently one time, he had to travel 20 hours from one site to another and back, got a $6k mileage cheque. Wtf

Also says that the man works so much, in 2 weeks he's seen pay stubs come up to $25k.

Jeez, now I'm considering doing some drilling now.

Anyway, February is around the corner. Last day at my job is Jan. 31. Still waiting on word from my cousin who's in Florida right now, but mid-Feb is the target time to leave. Just gotta sell my car.
twitty529 路 2013-01-14 23:17:00 路 #852
Only problem for some of us wanting up that way is most of the work is nonunion. CLAC is not International Union, its competition.
scotian 路 2013-01-15 04:12:00 路 #853
(01-14-2013 07:30 PM)Albertron Wrote:  
(01-05-2013 05:01 AM)scotian Wrote:  Living rent free in the Mac is a pretty sweet deal, especially if you manage to get LOA allowance (may be hard to get as unskilled), I would take it at least for a month or two to get settled and make some money. Hopefully the people are cool and don't drive you crazy, but if they help you get a job then that's great, hopefully you'll be so busy working that you're rarely home.

Scaffolding is a good trade and the guys are almost always busy, every site has scaffolders, they work during new construction, maintenance and shut downs, all year round. It is however one of the more labour intensive trades, you'll be wacking hammers a lot and carry and passing scaffolding pipe. Another thing, scaffolders are known to be some of the tougest and roughest of the tradesmen, just to let you know.

Thanks for the heads up. I kinda figured they'd be tough and rough considering the higher labour intensity but if that's what he can line up for me, I'm really not gonna complain.

This past Sunday I completed my H2S alive. So I've got that, my OSSA Fall protection, CSTS and First Aid. Good to go for certifications. The instructor I had for my H2S alive course worked on oil rigs for 30 years around North America before setting up his own business teaching H2S Alive around Canada. He says if I were to go into scaffolding, there are endless jobs in Fort Mac for that. He also said in terms of any type of trade work, minimum salary he's heard of is $70k.

One of his buddies who is now a drilling site manager (I think that's what the position is called, basically when a drilling site is set up, he simply overlooks the site to ensure safe and complete operation), worked on the rigs since he was 18 years old, now makes about $350k/year.

Charges $1.30 per km of travel per site, and apparently one time, he had to travel 20 hours from one site to another and back, got a $6k mileage cheque. Wtf

Also says that the man works so much, in 2 weeks he's seen pay stubs come up to $25k.

Jeez, now I'm considering doing some drilling now.

Anyway, February is around the corner. Last day at my job is Jan. 31. Still waiting on word from my cousin who's in Florida right now, but mid-Feb is the target time to leave. Just gotta sell my car.

That's a decision you'll have to make for yourself, I've always been pro-trades and oil sands work but as we've seen by Irishman's recent success, drilling is an excellent option as well and opportunities abound in both sectors.

I would say that the main advantages of a skilled trade is that you can work with your ticket in a lot of different places: offshore oil rigs, oil sands, cities, etc. I especially like the fact that you can work as a tradesman in a city because trust me, after busting your ass and making lots of cash in a work camp environment for a few years, you'll have the option of living a "normal" life in a city. Scaffolder is one such trade that can be done pretty much everywhere.

As for drilling, although there are some rigs close to cities in Alberta such as Lloydminster, Grande Prairie, etc. most are located in shit hole towns like Fox Creek, Hinton, etc.

One advantage of drilling is that if you want to see the world, there are lots of international opportunities in drilling, especially the advanced stuff like MWD. If you want to read more about the international drilling lifestyle, I highly recommend the following books by Paul Carter, both great reads:

-Don't Tell Mum I Work On The Rigs, She Thinks I'm A Piano Player In A Whorehouse

-This Is Not A Drill: Just Another Glorious Day In The Oilfield
twitty529 路 2013-01-15 08:28:00 路 #854
Although I am experienced and trained in the skilled trades dept, how tough would it be to get into the drilling side of the environment? I have spoken with the trade Union rep up there but it will probably be months away before any opportunity is available.
scotian 路 2013-01-15 08:42:00 路 #855
(01-15-2013 08:28 AM)twitty529 Wrote:  Although I am experienced and trained in the skilled trades dept, how tough would it be to get into the drilling side of the environment? I have spoken with the trade Union rep up there but it will probably be months away before any opportunity is available.

Unless you're Canadian, the hardest part will be obtaining the paperwork and visas to work in Canada, getting a job on the rigs in Alberta is a fairly simple process and of course it depends on how busy it is. Its been busy the past couple of years.
twitty529 路 2013-01-15 09:33:00 路 #856
Well, I'm not Canadian, but I have already gotten my passport & had an FBI background check completed. Everything is good 2 go on that standpoint. Scotian, I appreciate all of your info on this site, you my man are a God to all of us. What should I do next?
scotian 路 2013-01-15 10:05:00 路 #857
(01-15-2013 09:33 AM)twitty529 Wrote:  Well, I'm not Canadian, but I have already gotten my passport & had an FBI background check completed. Everything is good 2 go on that standpoint. Scotian, I appreciate all of your info on this site, you my man are a God to all of us. What should I do next?

Since you're trained and skilled in a trade then you could be eligible for the Temporary Foreign Worker program or the Alberta Provincial Nominee program, I've posted links to both throughout this thread.
twitty529 路 2013-01-15 14:22:00 路 #858
Thanks bro
Cleear 路 2013-01-15 22:06:00 路 #859
Is there any way that I could get in on this? I am from the Philippines and I have no idea where to start, honestly my life has been going downhill ever since we started losing money, and I want to save money for college. I'm 19 and I am willing to do this.
Albertron 路 2013-01-16 00:05:00 路 #860
(01-15-2013 04:12 AM)scotian Wrote:  That's a decision you'll have to make for yourself, I've always been pro-trades and oil sands work but as we've seen by Irishman's recent success, drilling is an excellent option as well and opportunities abound in both sectors.

I would say that the main advantages of a skilled trade is that you can work with your ticket in a lot of different places: offshore oil rigs, oil sands, cities, etc. I especially like the fact that you can work as a tradesman in a city because trust me, after busting your ass and making lots of cash in a work camp environment for a few years, you'll have the option of living a "normal" life in a city. Scaffolder is one such trade that can be done pretty much everywhere.

As for drilling, although there are some rigs close to cities in Alberta such as Lloydminster, Grande Prairie, etc. most are located in shit hole towns like Fox Creek, Hinton, etc.

One advantage of drilling is that if you want to see the world, there are lots of international opportunities in drilling, especially the advanced stuff like MWD. If you want to read more about the international drilling lifestyle, I highly recommend the following books by Paul Carter, both great reads:

-Don't Tell Mum I Work On The Rigs, She Thinks I'm A Piano Player In A Whorehouse

-This Is Not A Drill: Just Another Glorious Day In The Oilfield

True, I'm sure with any trade, I'll have the opportunity to see the world, but you're right. My instructor, along with his oil rig/drilling buddies, have worked on rigs around the world based on what they can get and have had immense success with it. The H2S shit he's been teaching us is scary stuff. His motto was to 'treat this stuff with respect'. A big eye-opener in terms of what goes on there.

When I did my OSSA Fall Protection course, I was at the warehouse where they built the harnesses and all the safety gear to work at heights (DBI SALA, Protecta) and when I told them I may be moving up to Fort Mac, their responses were mostly negative, saying this from "Oh jeez, that's one place I wouldn't want to go" to "It's rough over there" and even "That's kind of a stupid decision". A couple of them have been there. Not that I'm letting it get me down, but considering most of their responses were of this nature, kind of makes you think a little.

Regardless of what's being said, beggars can't be choosers. If my cousin doesn't go through with his word then I'm still employing your blueprint to make it happen. It's pretty much a waiting game for me at this point, and I'm itching to go. Even though this is all a calculated risk that I'm taking, I'm scared as fuck.

But then I watch videos like this, and I remember why I'm doing this. Going through this thread every so often helps, too.
Atlantic 路 2013-01-16 03:36:00 路 #861
Hey guys haven't posted on here for a while so thought Id do a bit of an update. I have been pretty flat out over Christmas between work and play. Same goes for replying to PMs ( I will get back to ye very soon now that I have time) and also my cell number and skype have been changed for those who have been trying to get in touch with me. VP Ill Pm you my new details as I am guessing you have been trying to get in touch with me.

So anyways I'm on my third job as an MWD. I'm only about an hour from Edmonton this time which is nice. First job lasted around 10 days the second 12. Both paid around 4000-4500 on top of my 3000+ monthly allowance. One snag though is that I get paid the end of the following month after I worked. What this means is that I still have not actually received any of my day wages yet only my allowance. That is paid at the start of each month. Leaves me tight right now but means a very nice pay check is on the way.

Its been an educational few weeks as to what lies ahead in terms of the rig lifestyle. Even though (or maybe because of) my job involves no physical effort I am starting to feel pretty burnt out. The constant switching of my body clock to working nights is awful. It takes about 3 days for me to switch back when I am not working. It only takes about 1 night though the other way around though. Also anytime I have off back in town can be over at any moment. Both my second job and this job came at maybe 1-2 hours notice. Ring ring "Hi, we need you now, pack your gear"... This creates a little bit of stress and makes it hard to plan any time off trips. Although it is the busy winter season so it is to be expected.

Another problem is trying to keep any girl on the go. I text a girl and plan to meet up that night. An hour later I am driving out of town and am letting them know I wont be around again for 2 weeks. You have to push for same night lays and play aggressive game time wise. No room for just going for the number and playing it slow. Any girl I have been with I push it fast- either to success or failure. There is no other way really. I have had some good success but its hard to keep up that tight level of game when you have been talking about guns and quads for 2 weeks in the woods haha.

Health wise I have been feeling kinda sick lately too and my mood jumps around pretty bad. I put it down to working at nigths and the food on my last job was pretty bad. It was a camp job so not much choice except eat it.

Now does all this mean I am giving up or ungrateful for this opportunity? Not a chance!

Using the knowledge on this forum and other like it: ROK, danger and play, nexxtlevelup, etc. I have tried to break down any area which is holding me back or causing me trouble and troubleshoot. I think if you want to last up here long term you have to keep sharp and proactive. I have completely changed my diet around. Thank God this latest job isn't a camp job so I can choose my own food. Today I bought the finest food I could find. Fresh fruit and veg, protein powder, seeds and nuts, steaks, Apple vinegar cider, zinc, almonds etc. Everything recommend on here. I have also started serious training in the mornings and will soon have a portable gym for every job that fits in the truck. I have been reading a lot on fashion and style for when I am back in town. I stopped watching TV at work and instead focus on reading and learning my job faster. Two main goals for the year are to be absolutely ripped and dress like a 'G'. I think its critical to that next level of game and completely within my reach with a little effort everyday.

Job wise I am picking up the ropes pretty fast. Its hard to learn at night though but I feel like I could do better now that my diet and workout are helping.

One of the best things so far is haven gotten to know some of the guys off the forum who are based up here. Having a crew of similar minded guys around has helped me so much. In fact it is the only consistent thing since I arrived. So of them might not post on here a lot but they are pretty smart, driven guys. I would put making some solid friends high on your list of priorities when you land.

I know a lot of this isn't directly related to the oil sands but once you have been here for a while you will see why I am posting this. Finding a job and making serious coin is the least of your worries up here. 35 pages of info on that (thanks again to Scotian). Its the other things that start to become problems. Trying to find and keep quality girls and keep yourself in shape physically and mentally becomes an issue. Trying to keep a social circle back in town when you are around for only a couple of days a month becomes an issue. This lifestyle is pretty different to anything I have ever experienced before.

Hopefully all this doesn't sound too negative just want to prepare people. I try and look at it all in a positive way- motivation to grow and adapt. I still consider the Oil Sands one of the best moves possible for someone looking for financial freedom and increased lifestyle options.

I think there is already enough info on finding work thanks to all of scotians posts so I am hoping to now focus on the lifestyle side of things up here. I think that is the next area to focus on once you actually make it here. A lot of it is covered already in different parts of the forum but adjusted for the Oil Sands lifestyle. After all what is all that money worth if you are not getting in good shape, dressing well, travelling, banging hot girls, making good friends, feeling great and reaching life goals?

Any lifestyle questions that people have about the oil sands post them up and Ill try answer or at least discuss them to the best of my knowledge. If people want I might even do some posts on possible camp workouts, diet, and other things to improve yourself will working up here.

My plan right now is working on the other areas in life that bring everything to the next level.

Peace!
Atlantic 路 2013-01-16 03:43:00 路 #862
(01-15-2013 08:28 AM)twitty529 Wrote:  how tough would it be to get into the drilling side of the environment?

You need to have:

A class 5 licience

A truck

2000 dollars saved up


You need to do:

The HS2 course

Some phone calls and a trip to Leduc.

Apply for work any time other than between March and May.


You want to be or say you are at least:

Based in Edmonton

Fit

Single

Don't have a drug problem

Available to work

Not an idiot and capable of hard work


That is all there is really to getting a job as a leasehand.
pitt 路 2013-01-16 05:16:00 路 #863
Great post Irishman (as always).

7 thousand dollars for 10 days work? Damnn

By the way, why do you recommend to have 2000 dollars saved up for the drilling job?
salmonfella 路 2013-01-16 05:48:00 路 #864
Irishman another great post dude. i often wondered about the personal side of oil drilling i would imagine it can be quite lonely? especially if you had landed that job fairly quickly. and maybe not had time to find a hot chick or sum mates to hang wit or grab a few pints. my plan is still the same waiting for the IEC visa to open this week (i hope) and be out in Calgary for mid march-April.
I don't want to ask you questions as i am sure you are snowed under with PMS.But just want to say cheers man for all the info especially the bit about LinkedIn . I have set up a profile and have a strong lead with an oil rig company for a lease-hand gig i have to go into them on arrival in Canada. it was simply off an e-mail i sent i came across confident and bigged myself up a fair bit.And to my surprise i got a reply back stating they would be hiring around that time with work hoping to start as soon it started to freeze again. There has been several messages over and back on LinkedIn which makes me feel confident i have a strong lead upon my arrival in Canada.I am still Hustleing like mad for any other job i can get. I cannot recommend LinkedIn enough much better then e-mails and it puts a pic to the name.
Thanks again irishman.
Atlantic 路 2013-01-16 05:54:00 路 #865
(01-16-2013 05:16 AM)pitt Wrote:  Great post Irishman (as always).

7 thousand dollars for 10 days work? Damnn

By the way, why do you recommend to have 2000 dollars saved up for the drilling job?

It takes a while for your wages to come in and to have a steady cash flow. Being a leasehand expect to get paid 3 weeks after you start. As an MWD it could be 2 months. I made it as far as from arriving to Canada to starting work as a leasehand by myself but have since had to borrow 2,500 from back home. My first truck died, wages took a while to come in, some big nights out on the town and other expenses knocked me back. Lucky I got some soild support from my folks back home but it is family policy to only borrow money when you have tried every other avenue first.

With my job everything I do I have to pay up front out of my own pocket. I end up making profit on things like kms driven to work and food allowance but it takes a while to see that money. A 4 Hour drive to work and food for a 2 week job can set me back over 700 pretty fast. Then things like my phone bill, insurance, rent keep coming in while I am at work. Its a little different for a leasehand but always good to have a safety net and be prepared. Unexpected expenses happen easier then you think up here.
Atlantic 路 2013-01-16 06:36:00 路 #866
@salmonfella

Ya it can be kinda lonely man. Not too bad but you are on your own out here. I work nights with one other person- the night directional driller and they are usually 30-40 yrs old, married and every job they change. On the plus side they are usually pretty intelligent people so you can have some good chats but after a few days you have basically run out of things to say. So you are on your own for 2 weeks really.

I got lucky and met a couple of cool people since I landed that are in a similar boat so its not that bad when I am back in town. I am used to having very social jobs though and a huge circle of friends so it taking a bit of getting used to. My last job I would meet maybe 50-100 new people everyday. Now I see the same 4 people for 2 weeks haha. I am in the process of making a plan to fix this which I will post up about soon. Hopefully a guide that everyone who moves here can use. Just have to test it first....

I think thats the next step on this tread. How to cope and adopt to the massive change in lifestyle that working on the rigs causes. Not trying to hijack the tread but I think its just as important a topic as anything else discussed on here. I would like to know Scotians thoughts on the subject. I can definetly see why he might be feeling burnt out.

Salmonfella make sure to have your driving extract and full licience all sorted before you come over. Thats probably the most important thing for an Irish person. Getting a truck and class 5 as fast as possible is huge.
salmonfella 路 2013-01-16 06:42:00 路 #867
Yea i can imagine man, yea i look forward to reading to reading that it would be good to see how you guys adopt in a massive lifestyle change.Thanks again man.
Salmonfella.
relo 路 2013-01-16 10:45:00 路 #868
(01-11-2013 06:37 PM)relo Wrote:  The opportunities in ND really aren't the same. Some ppl couldn't even find a job after moving there - like any job at all.

Is getting a work visa as a us citizen impossible? I emailed some place about it but no response

Anyone? I've read entire thread and made inquiries elsewhere, no response to this question
Damedius 路 2013-01-16 13:07:00 路 #869
(01-16-2013 10:45 AM)relo Wrote:  
(01-11-2013 06:37 PM)relo Wrote:  The opportunities in ND really aren't the same. Some ppl couldn't even find a job after moving there - like any job at all.

Is getting a work visa as a us citizen impossible? I emailed some place about it but no response

Anyone? I've read entire thread and made inquiries elsewhere, no response to this question

You aren't going to get a work visa unless a)an employer is willing to get one for you or b)you have a trade that is in demand.

My mother got a work visa for my brother's girlfriend. So it can be done.
relo 路 2013-01-16 18:25:00 路 #870
(01-24-2012 02:46 PM)scotian Wrote:  Guys I'm not too sure about how a criminal record will fuck up your chances of coming to work in Canada, but I do know of a guy from the States was refused entry to Canada because of a DUI he picked up years before. This guy had all of his papers lined up, he was working for the same company as he does in the states, he was just coming up for a month or two to help out, and they turned him away! You'll likely need to get some kind of pardon before you can come.

Neil, check out these websites, they are major construction firms that employ thousands of Carpenters in Alberta:

http://www.clarkbuilders.com/
http://www.pcl.com/

Also, you can ask the Carpenter's union about working in the oil sands: http://www.workunion.ca/UBC/

Carpentry = construction?

I work construction now maybe they'd take me
Tresdus 路 2013-01-17 11:53:00 路 #871
Irishman, could you post the write-up about your leasehand experience?
Atlantic 路 2013-01-17 22:32:00 路 #872
(01-17-2013 11:53 AM)Tresdus Wrote:  Irishman, could you post the write-up about your leasehand experience?


So I only did a week but here is how it went from start to finish.

When I arrived I sent out a lot of CVs to the oil companies and did a trip or two to leduc. One of the bigger ones called me back, said I was hired and come out to Leduc at a certain date to do orientation. It took about 3 hours, you watch a bunch of videos and then sign some forms. They said they would call me soon for work. At this point I did not have a truck.

Quite a few weeks went by and no call. I called them quite a bit but was always told to hold on. In the meantime I went ahead got my class 5 and truck. Once I told them I had the truck I was told I would be heading out in a few days. I went back out to Leduc in the meantime and got sized up for all my work clothes as part of my work package. I got a pair of boots, couple pairs of gloves, fire retardant overalls, glasses, green hardhat etc. Everything you need really. I bought some thermals and socks myself at Tiger store which is the cheapest place for rig clothes. Not the best quality but whatever.

On the day I got an email which directions and the number of my rig supervisor incase I had any problems. It was about a 4 drive I think up past Edson. I got lost a few times and eventually found the right road to the rig. On the way in I crashed my truck into a snow bank after getting run off by a semi. Called my rig manager and let him know I would be late. Got towed out and got to site just in time to start work. I did about 4-5 hours the first night about 30 minutes after arriving. No talk or training just up on the floor getting shouted at. Was not too bad but I was pretty hungry cause I thought I would have got dinner at camp first.

After all that went back to camp and got checked in. I shared a room with the other leasehand but he was never there when I was (alternative 12 hour shifts). I had my own bed and a cupboard for my clothes. Pretty basic but alright.

So after this first day the other 7 days were all pretty similar:

Wake up at 5am and have a quick shower. But on a lot of layers and head outside to connect 3 water hoses together to fill the water tanks for the camp. This is because are camp staff were all bitches would were too lazy to do any manual work themselves. This was usually -20 so the hoses would freeze to everything before you could even get the water going. You had to laugh as you run around in a foot of snow trying to work as fast as possible to get the water pumping haha. Always woke me up pretty fast anyway. After this I would go inside and eat as much food as I could before the rest of the crew got up. Key to leasehanding is easting a lot of food all day long. Always be full incase you get caught out with having to work an extra few hours.

At 6.45 we would get in the crew truck and drive to the rig, around 5km away. It was my job to have all the packed lunches, bottled water, coffee, snacks etc. that we would need for that day in the truck already. The last leasehand had rolled the truck into a tree so the driller was in charge of driving. On other jobs it is usually the leasehand but they never let me drive. Pity it was a sick truck.

So arrive on the rig. I would run around and drop off all the lunches to the MWD guys (how the tables have turned haha), the rig manager, tool push, vac truck driver etc. and then get back and into my rig clothes and up to the doghouse by 7am.

The doghouse is the little shack that overlooks the drilling floor. It is where you eat, have safety talks and the driller monitors the equipment from. We would have safety talks every morning which basically meant the toolpush and rig manager shouting at people and complaining. After all this the real work begins.

I worked 7am to 7pm everyday with maybe a 15 minute official break. You kept busy or at least tried to look busy. Some rigs might be different but they would flip out if I was caught not doing anything. I came up with a few tricks to avoid that which I will list later.

So jobs included anything that they could think of:

Powerhosing
Scrubbing
Wiping down everything
Organizing tools, gear, equipment, pipe
Cleaning the shacks, toilets, doghouse, walkways, everywhere and anywhere
Snow removal
Setting up for lunch and cleaning up afterwards
Snow removal
Steaming Ice off anything since it forms everywhere
Washing down mats and sweeping floors
Washing and drying everyone鈥檚 gear and folding it for them beside their locker for when they start shift next

At any point someone could tell you to do something for them on top of the 5 things you were already working on. You have to take orders from anyone above you on site (everyone) so you could end up running around all day doing jobs for 6 different people. Got to multitask well and remember what you need to get done.

Anything you don't get done you pass on to the other leasehand at crew change.

Now it is hard physically and mentally but time goes quick and when the shift is over you feel like you worked a good day鈥檚 work. No problem sleeping anyway!

Once you do a week or two of leasehanding you move on to being a roughneck or floorhand which is more to do with putting pipe together and less cleaning and running around. But you have to prove yourself as a leasehand first.

I came up with some tricks that might come in handy.

Food. I would bring extra food taken from camp and hide it around the rig in the morning for when I needed an extra bit of energy. Chocolate bars, bananas, muffins etc. In cupboards, behind boxes- anywhere were you can grab it and scoff it down fast haha. Helped a lot. Would be funny when someone would find a chocolate bar inside the end of a pipe and be like wtf? No one figured it out though.

Micro naps and looking busy. I would go to somewhere like the tool shack, prop some tools against the door so it takes a few seconds to open it from the outside then while in a body position that looks like I am working take a nap. Someone comes to open the door, it takes them a few seconds and when they open it looks like I am wiping down a shelf.

Always have a spare job handy incase someone asks if you are busy. If you don't they might come up with some awful job so you are busy. If anyone ever asked I would say I had to remove the snow from somewhere and quickly head off. Of course if someone gives you a job that they need done regardless of whether you are busy or not I go do that as soon as I can.

That鈥檚 it really. If you can work hard and take a bit of shouting from the rig crew you will be grand. I would at least say try it out cause you can always quit handy enough. Good money and a few years later you will be a driller making 200k a year.

Two kind of crazy things that happened were once I was power washing down a box covered in snow when my derrickhand came running over shouting to stop. Turned out it was a direct 600 volt generator (now nice and clean!) that powered the drill floor. He could not believe I wasn鈥檛 dead! Everyone talked about that for 2 days. Pretty glad I didn't die haha.

The other was me and the roughneck snuck out to go drinking one for the night. We ended up drinking all night and only showed up 5 minutes before shift in the morning. Had to work close to 40 hours straight still drunk/hung-over. No one really noticed although we got in a bit of trouble for arriving later to work. That was my hardest day. The heat and noise of a pump house is awful when you are hung-over.

Alright I have kind of just typed this while working on something else so hopefully it answers all your questions. If not let me know what else you want to know about being a leasehand....
Technics 路 2013-01-17 23:32:00 路 #873
Irishman,

Watching your progress is like a real life adventure novel. Keep on with the good work.
Vacancier Permanent 路 2013-01-18 00:09:00 路 #874
Awesonme stuff Irishman! Its really inspiring to read how things are progressing in the right direction for you! You're a prime example of someone who wants it bad enough and makes it happen! Huge kudos brother! Btw, pm me your new contact info. Looking forward to reading more of your inspiring posts and to have a few drinks at O'Byrnes in the next few weeks.

Cheers.
Technics 路 2013-01-18 00:19:00 路 #875
VP!

How is your progress in the oil sands going?

(01-18-2013 12:09 AM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  Awesonme stuff Irishman! Its really inspiring to read how things are progressing in the right direction for you! You're a prime example of someone who wants it bad enough and makes it happen! Huge kudos brother! Btw, pm me your new contact info. Looking forward to reading more of your inspiring posts and to have a few drinks at O'Byrnes in the next few weeks.

Cheers.
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