I'll be moving to Alberta to eventually. My brother is having a great time working up there.

Quote:I can't wait to move out there and start working in a hard job that pays a great wage. In Toronto all I can find are minimum wage jobs in stores and restaurants. I thought I had it bad when I was working at a tennis club but man, the reality of the situation smacks you down pretty hard sometimes. All of these service jobs with little to no chance of working up, earning just enough to make ends meet.

I did find a forklift job here to hold me over for a while and it pays $17 an hour. Now when I go on kijiji and look for a job in Calgary and Edmonton, they are paying about the same rate... the thing is that I've been told Alberta is way more expensive than Ontario for things like Rent and Food so I don't really see any advantage unless you are going to be working in Fort Mac from day 1.

There are still quite a few jobs up here if you look around, Security licenses are only $200, Forklift is $300.. You can attend Mohawk in Hamilton for $2600 per year and there are lots of Machining jobs and what not around there. I don't know what Alberta is like and I don't live in Toronto but I would suspect there are an absolute TON of plumbing and finish carpentry jobs in Toronto just from the shear number of people living there. I would also wager that Elevator Mechanics would be able to clean up pretty well in the GTA. My friend works at Linimar as a Welder and he makes nearly $40 bucks an hour... so there is stuff available. Well anyway, I'm hoping to be able to double my wage when I move out to Fort Macmurray next summer.

(08-05-2014 03:20 AM)Albertron Wrote:  

(08-04-2014 06:46 PM)donnie514 Wrote:  Pretty interesting video of a day in the life of a Directional Driller.
(video)

(08-04-2014 07:51 PM)Atlantic Wrote:  Thats such an accurate representation of the lifestyle I am headed towards.

If you are wondering whats its like in an upper position on the rig that is it.

It scares me a little Ill be honest, I have to watch certain things a lot to keep myself in check. Its a lifestyle of excess both positive and negative. Thanks for posting.

Interesting that this video is a very accurate representation for the lifestyle a lot of guys out here live by. It's sort of, dare I say, the natural progression of a single man's lifestyle whose found a job that initially required few skills, and is rewarded tremendously. Let me elaborate:

The video starts off in a luxurious tone. Las Vegas; limo, champagne, gambling, partying, girls. All paid for by the highly lucrative drilling career the protagonist has chosen, found in the American oil sands of North Dakota. But closer to the end of the 10 min clip, a darker, sadder and more realistic tone presents itself. Used to be married to a German lady whom he met during his service in the military. However his wife felt that the oil patch lifestyle was too much of a strain on their family, leading to divorce, a.k.a. paying child support and alimony. He also mentions on his 20 days on/ 10 days off rotation, his work provides little to no human contact. And during this time, he mentions that due to the monotonous nature of his job, the divorce is a heavy burden on his mind during the 20 quiet days. You can spot this immediately when his demeanour changes upon the introduction of the topic of his divorce. He carries the same demeanour when talking about his career trajectory. He's unsure of where he'll be. So he copes by making frequent trips to Las Vegas, boozing and partying away the otherwise harsh realities of his life.

I find myself battling between the expensive, drunken and plain-ol'-fuckery escapades (i.e. going out and getting absolutely fucking wrecked on anything you can get your hands on) which provides great storytelling material, and the low-key, self-improvement type pursuits (i.e. learning a new skill, career-advancing courses, building a healthy, strong physique) which require good habit formation found through consistency of the intent to better yourself and resilience through the periods of lacking motivation. It seems obvious that the latter is the correct path to the most rewarding life possible. But man, who says a fun life is not rewarding too?? Reward becomes a subjective term. To me, a great reward is the gains I've made in the gym, while some other dude's reward is the number of drunk chicks he's fucked in a weekend.

But sometimes, I'm the other dude. Depends on how much I've worked and how much isolation I've endured. You really have to go through this lifestyle to understand what I mean.

This has been my experience so far.

Good post man. All people see from the outside is the money these guys make and the the things they spend it on. There are a lot of subtle hints in this video to the dark side of the industry: isolation, depression, golden handcuffs, nomadic lifestyle, promiscuous sex but little intimacy, the need to blow cash to justify working so hard that results in very little saved (repeat cycle).

(08-05-2014 08:10 AM)BadWolf Wrote:  I'll be moving to Alberta to eventually. My brother is having a great time working up there.

Quote:I can't wait to move out there and start working in a hard job that pays a great wage. In Toronto all I can find are minimum wage jobs in stores and restaurants. I thought I had it bad when I was working at a tennis club but man, the reality of the situation smacks you down pretty hard sometimes. All of these service jobs with little to no chance of working up, earning just enough to make ends meet.

I did find a forklift job here to hold me over for a while and it pays $17 an hour. Now when I go on kijiji and look for a job in Calgary and Edmonton, they are paying about the same rate... the thing is that I've been told Alberta is way more expensive than Ontario for things like Rent and Food so I don't really see any advantage unless you are going to be working in Fort Mac from day 1.

There are still quite a few jobs up here if you look around, Security licenses are only $200, Forklift is $300.. You can attend Mohawk in Hamilton for $2600 per year and there are lots of Machining jobs and what not around there. I don't know what Alberta is like and I don't live in Toronto but I would suspect there are an absolute TON of plumbing and finish carpentry jobs in Toronto just from the shear number of people living there. I would also wager that Elevator Mechanics would be able to clean up pretty well in the GTA. My friend works at Linimar as a Welder and he makes nearly $40 bucks an hour... so there is stuff available. Well anyway, I'm hoping to be able to double my wage when I move out to Fort Macmurray next summer.

Badwolf.. If you want to base your career in Forklifting, your gonna be making the same rate all your life. I got a room for rent in Edmonton (5 mins from whyte ave), fully furnished with a queen bed, dresser, closet, attached FULL bathroom for $400 a month ! Thats cheaper than what im paying in Ontario. The thing is, it all depends on how bad you really want it and how bad you're going to look to find what you get. Tons of Field tech jobs out in Nisku starting at $21/hr, after 3 months bumped to $25 with a company truck (if your smart enough to learn fast). In all honesty, I think you want to land a $30+/hr right away, with free accomodation, and travel allowance, WHICH you wont get. Welders who are making $40/hr in Ontario, have been in the trade for alteast 8 years lol. You have to start somewhere.

First time ever making a flowchart but this should help as a quick guide:

[attachment=20546]

^^^ very cool!

BadWolf: Please quit babbling on so frequently on this thread and just move out to Alberta already.Checking out Kijjiji.ca and being in Edmonton are completely different things. Move out here you'll have a job in a few weeks! One which will sure be better than a shitty $17 an hour fork lift driving job. Also read Atlantic's above chart. ^^^

The above is in response to a lot of PMs I have gotten lately.

Ill try respond to each but a lot are similar in nature.

It takes more than a few resumes. You have to wait for peak times (oct to nov) usually before they even read resumes.
They more than likely have enough guys during the summer and definitely around spring. That being said in rare cases you could get hired between feb - april.

It took me 3/4 months to get hired and I had a guy telling me exactly what to do. I still had to wait. Even then I applied for a lower position and talked my way up and I still worked as a floorhand for another company after I got hired (but before I started work). Keep busy while you keep looking.

This year will be busy so cover your bases: courses, good resume, a truck if possible and wait on till winter when they start looking for real. If you are not yet in Alberta or havnt a truck you are at a massive disadvantage. They will hire an idiot with a truck over a double degree engineer who doesn’t. They don't look at resumes from people who can't go to work tomorrow (not in Alberta).

If you are PMing me and don't have a truck/are not in Alberta/don't have any rigs courses there is not too much I can do. That is literally ten times more important than a good resume so focus on that first.


The Vice video posted recently shows the life of a typical DD. If you think the pros outweigh the cons and want/can deal with this sort of lifestyle it is definitely possible within 5 years of work. It is not for everyone though as a lot of people have mentioned already.

*Funny note on that video
- The bar they are drinking at is in Casper, Wyoming. I have drank there before several times with rig friends. It’s a good spot.
- Honestly that video is so accurate its ridiculous. That’s the guys I work with everyday. Of course we don’t all fly to Vegas but it shows the lifestyle and work/life mix perfectly.

The higher the % of rigs working the better your chances at getting a job.

This is for the drilling industry as a whole and does not apply to pipelines etc.

One rig working equals 135 jobs (direct and indirect) so it does go for relevant work - camp cook, floorhand, water truck driver that work alongside rigs.

(08-05-2014 11:27 AM)Atlantic Wrote:  They will hire an idiot with a truck over a double degree engineer who doesn’t.

That was my experience too while applying. You basically MUST have a 4x4 truck with at least a 6' box. My AWD SUV was insufficient. They actually said they'd prefer at least a 6.5' box with a crewcab, so consider those bonus points to put on your resume.

Great flowchart and info. Thanks.

(08-04-2014 11:35 AM)hedonist Wrote:  Curious with the days off and a ton of guys on here have you ever done any trips down south etc together?

I'm on 14/14 shift now and it's unbelievable for travel

Out of curiosity, what are you doing that is 14/14? Is that just for the summer or are they maintaining that schedule into the winter?

My job has transferred me to Edmonton, but I'm already thinking that I'm working too much, even with 14-15/6-7. Work has sort of alluded to something out of the field in the not-too-distant future, but I'm almost sure the plan is the keep me here though the winter. I would love to do something equal time, but really never saw much of it in AB. Generally only with the oil companies, and then too you need to be living in some third world hellhole.

(08-04-2014 11:34 PM)scotian Wrote:  Not really settling down but I'm getting tired of living out of suit cases and not having a place to call home, I've been living like this for about five years straight and am looking forward to moving into my condo in Edmonton, its a pretty nice place. I plan on getting a couple of more tickets in the next two years, I've been slacking on the career progress over the past three years as I've been traveling so much I haven't had time to focus on upping my skills. I've been in my trade for almost seven years now and really should be making more money, but I'm pretty comfortable where I am right now, we'll see what happens.

So you actually like Edmonton?

I couldn't see myself living here longterm.

(08-05-2014 06:22 PM)Seadog Wrote:  

(08-04-2014 11:35 AM)hedonist Wrote:  Curious with the days off and a ton of guys on here have you ever done any trips down south etc together?

I'm on 14/14 shift now and it's unbelievable for travel

Out of curiosity, what are you doing that is 14/14? Is that just for the summer or are they maintaining that schedule into the winter?

My job has transferred me to Edmonton, but I'm already thinking that I'm working too much, even with 14-15/6-7. Work has sort of alluded to something out of the field in the not-too-distant future, but I'm almost sure the plan is the keep me here though the winter. I would love to do something equal time, but really never saw much of it in AB. Generally only with the oil companies, and then too you need to be living in some third world hellhole.

There's quite a few equal time on/off rotations these days in the oil sands, I"m not sure about the drilling side of things though but for sure a lot of the maintenance gigs are 7/7, 14/14, etc. I spoke to a welder today I work with, he's 25, moved to Fort McMurray when he was 19, started out as a labourer with a mining maintenance company and they put him through school at Keyano College, he did his entire apprenticeship in Fort McMurray (3 yrs) then moved back home to the east coast. The guy works 14/14 and they pay his flights, he grosses $180,000 a year and gets a paid set off, which works out to be 6 weeks straight off, not a bad gig!

(08-05-2014 06:40 PM)Tresdus Wrote:  

(08-04-2014 11:34 PM)scotian Wrote:  Not really settling down but I'm getting tired of living out of suit cases and not having a place to call home, I've been living like this for about five years straight and am looking forward to moving into my condo in Edmonton, its a pretty nice place. I plan on getting a couple of more tickets in the next two years, I've been slacking on the career progress over the past three years as I've been traveling so much I haven't had time to focus on upping my skills. I've been in my trade for almost seven years now and really should be making more money, but I'm pretty comfortable where I am right now, we'll see what happens.

So you actually like Edmonton?

I couldn't see myself living here longterm.

Edmonton is a hard city to like, its definitely my least favorite city I've ever lived in and I've lived in quite a few cities. If I do end up on a decent rotation, say 14/14 with flights, I would consider living in Victoria or Montreal, my two favorite Canadian cities but fucking off to Mexico or somewhere like that is pretty tempting too!

That being said, Edmonton is still a good city to be based in for a few years if you're in the trades, if you look at the cost of living compared to wages, its one of the better cities in Canada to get ahead financially. They're expanding the LRT system and building a new arena downtown so hopefully that revitalizes the city a bit but nothing will change the fact that the city is a frozen wasteland for about eight months a year.

(08-05-2014 06:22 PM)Seadog Wrote:  

(08-04-2014 11:35 AM)hedonist Wrote:  Curious with the days off and a ton of guys on here have you ever done any trips down south etc together?

I'm on 14/14 shift now and it's unbelievable for travel

Out of curiosity, what are you doing that is 14/14? Is that just for the summer or are they maintaining that schedule into the winter?

My job has transferred me to Edmonton, but I'm already thinking that I'm working too much, even with 14-15/6-7. Work has sort of alluded to something out of the field in the not-too-distant future, but I'm almost sure the plan is the keep me here though the winter. I would love to do something equal time, but really never saw much of it in AB. Generally only with the oil companies, and then too you need to be living in some third world hellhole.

I've done it a couple of times both has been instrumentation tech commissioning.

First project was a year long and this one should be about the same although I'm looking at doing a maintenance gig with one of the companies directly that is 11-9 but I would have to move to calgary.


Scotian I'm curious as why you would live in edmonton over calgary?


In regard to the video and stuff like this http://www.news.com.au/finance/work/fifo...6957604000

I've never really struggled with the whole loneliness crap even when I have had GF's and been away. Heck half the time I'm happy to get away from them

I'm an only child so maybe that explains it ....The whole time I'm up there I'm planning adventures etc ...the biggest battle is keeping busy and making the days go quick. work hard and play harder

Does anyone know of any oilfield companies located in nisku that I can actually go and apply for camp labourer work? Applying online just isn't cutting it for me. I'm currently in Calgary so making the trip a couple hours north is nothing.

Any suggestions/tips would be appreciated.

I think I've had enough of the oil patch and want to make my way over to the oil sands or try my hand at IT with one of the oil and gas companies in Calgary (I have a somewhat technical background.) Every oil patch services company I have been with makes grand promises of strict rotations in the offer letter (21/7, 15/6, 20/10) but in the end, it's never the truth from my experiences. One thing I am realizing is I really like taking stuff apart, troubleshooting, and fixing things. My plan from the get go was to get into a trade, specifically instrumentation/electrician but not to be picky and just take the first thing I could get, which led to well testing.

I'm wondering if anyone can post a legitimate link for CSTS? I'm thinking of getting this ticket out of the way if I ever get days off again.

That's one thing I'm prepared for, I've always been much happier when I'm alone.

Reading that article makes me laugh just wondering how many guys are doing that, working their ass off so they can support someone they barely see. It doesn't make much sense to me, but I guess that's the way it is. Getting engaged to a chick with three kids though... Not good. I know I've read in the thread about people you guys have encountered who are paying out alimony and child support making $100k+ and living out of a small apartment. Revealing stuff.

I definitely don't want to get a girl pregnant and get handcuffed to a bad deal when I'm out there. Have any of you guys noticed the girls you hook up with wanting to have kids with you because of your job? Maybe even doing some nefarious shit like insisting on no condoms while drunk?

And to Badwolf: My whole point of moving to Alberta is to get my foot in the door with a job that requires no training aside from relevant safety tickets. With my basic maintenance experience in Ontario, the best I could hope for is as a helper/labourer making far less than I could in an equivalent job in Alberta. From there I can start my path to getting an inter-provincial red seal in my desired trade so that I can go back to Ontario if I want. The big difference is in opportunity, where Alberta has a >4% unemployment rate for youth, Ontario is around 16%. I just wish I would have done this out of high school like the guy scotian mentions above who at 25 (my age) is grossing $180k. However, I'm just glad I've decided on it now. Also, it really is only Fort Mac with the insane housing costs, Edmonton as mentioned is very reasonable relative to Toronto.

To Ricky Rose: Not sure what you mean by oilfield labourer, but if you want to be a leasehand on a rig this is a good resource to start with - http://www.caodc.ca/ Just look at the top of the page and click on rig work or service tech. Like Atlantic said, you need a few things to make yourself stand out in the sense of you being able to work the next day. Just look at his flow chart a few posts up.

(08-05-2014 10:34 PM)Temm Wrote:  I think I've had enough of the oil patch and want to make my way over to the oil sands or try my hand at IT with one of the oil and gas companies in Calgary (I have a somewhat technical background.) Every oil patch services company I have been with makes grand promises of strict rotations in the offer letter (21/7, 15/6, 20/10) but in the end, it's never the truth from my experiences. One thing I am realizing is I really like taking stuff apart, troubleshooting, and fixing things. My plan from the get go was to get into a trade, specifically instrumentation/electrician but not to be picky and just take the first thing I could get, which led to well testing.

I'm wondering if anyone can post a legitimate link for CSTS? I'm thinking of getting this ticket out of the way if I ever get days off again.

http://www.acsa-safety.org/index.php

I did my CSTS here, but my Well Testing company paid for it. Should be about 100$ or less i think. You can do it online

(08-05-2014 10:38 PM)Big Country Wrote:  I definitely don't want to get a girl pregnant and get handcuffed to a bad deal when I'm out there. Have any of you guys noticed the girls you hook up with wanting to have kids with you because of your job? Maybe even doing some nefarious shit like insisting on no condoms while drunk?

If they have any brains they would...most of the ones in Vancouver are too busy fantasizing about their yoga instructor/barista/whole foods cashier

I've met girls here that had no idea where fort mcmurray was ..or you get the other types that will crucify you for working in oil and gas

Thats why I respect gold diggers!

I've been working in the oilsands for 9 months now, driving 797's with zero experience on major mining equipment or even general heavy equipment. I have a family in another province with shit jobs in our area so had to look to Alberta. A few days after I got my job in Alberta I was offered a job back home for $17/hour. I'm making $35/hour in Fort Mac so it was no contest. Somehow I had horseshoes up my ass because even guys that live in Fort Mac want my job and someway I got it while being out of province. It's not camp work....that's the ever elusive mythical fucking unicorn that guys across Canada think is so easy to get - a $100,000+/year job that covers your food & rent and will fly you home and back for each shift. Keep dreaming about that one boys & then you'll never get out here to make some big money.

Damn how the hell did you manage that? Driving those big haulers looks so awesome. I have a buddy doing it at Suncor and there's so many people applying and in line for those jobs it's like making it to the NFL to get one.

(08-06-2014 06:20 AM)Kdog Wrote:  Damn how the hell did you manage that? Driving those big haulers looks so awesome. I have a buddy doing it at Suncor and there's so many people applying and in line for those jobs it's like making it to the NFL to get one.

I applied to any & everything for a few months. Every day I would spend 2-4 hours sending off my resume to postings mainly from this site http://www.fortmcmurrayonline.com/jobs/welcome.aspx and then I was able to bullshit my way into a job once I got a call. I was lucky though, I'm the only one at work who has zero previous experience in construction or on heavy equipment.

You can't be an HEO without a clean class 5 license, grade 12 or GED (you have to give copies of your high school transcripts) & being able to pass a piss test BUT that's all you need to drive the biggest trucks in the world. I also had a Fort Mac address listed on my resume which I think was also key....the oilsands around Fort McMurray like to do local hires.


And it is awesome driving heavy haulers.

EDIT: you also need your CSTS & OSSA to get hired.

(08-05-2014 10:34 PM)Temm Wrote:  I think I've had enough of the oil patch and want to make my way over to the oil sands or try my hand at IT with one of the oil and gas companies in Calgary (I have a somewhat technical background.) Every oil patch services company I have been with makes grand promises of strict rotations in the offer letter (21/7, 15/6, 20/10) but in the end, it's never the truth from my experiences. One thing I am realizing is I really like taking stuff apart, troubleshooting, and fixing things. My plan from the get go was to get into a trade, specifically instrumentation/electrician but not to be picky and just take the first thing I could get, which led to well testing.

I'm wondering if anyone can post a legitimate link for CSTS? I'm thinking of getting this ticket out of the way if I ever get days off again.

CSTS-09 from Alberta Construction Safety Association.

(08-06-2014 01:10 AM)Canadian Wrote:  I've been working in the oilsands for 9 months now, driving 797's with zero experience on major mining equipment or even general heavy equipment. I have a family in another province with shit jobs in our area so had to look to Alberta. A few days after I got my job in Alberta I was offered a job back home for $17/hour. I'm making $35/hour in Fort Mac so it was no contest. Somehow I had horseshoes up my ass because even guys that live in Fort Mac want my job and someway I got it while being out of province. It's not camp work....that's the ever elusive mythical fucking unicorn that guys across Canada think is so easy to get - a $100,000+/year job that covers your food & rent and will fly you home and back for each shift. Keep dreaming about that one boys & then you'll never get out here to make some big money.

Hats off to you bro...since its not camp work do they give you LOA? Must be tuff being away from your family for 9 months now. Love your term "the ever elusive mythical fucking unicorn" Thats fucking perfect dude.
When they do offer flights to all major Canadian hubs they try and hammer your wage down...going through this now. They call it "flight and camp benefits".

(08-06-2014 03:00 PM)vanisle Wrote:  Hats off to you bro...since its not camp work do they give you LOA? Must be tuff being away from your family for 9 months now. Love your term "the ever elusive mythical fucking unicorn" Thats fucking perfect dude.
When they do offer flights to all major Canadian hubs they try and hammer your wage down...going through this now. They call it "flight and camp benefits".

I've noticed this a lot actually. We have a few guys that fly back to ON, and a friend just made the move to an operator with rotation out of Ft. Mac, and in both cases they were given the option of a local salary, or a smaller one with flights. In both cases they took the local salary, because the paycut was more than they both felt they could get flights for. Which I suppose makes sense because the typical person booking flights in a company doesn't have a huge sense of cost, at least compared to someone who's actually footing the bill, so they're never on the lookout for the deals.

My job is one of extremes. A day ago im a foot deep in mud sweating my ass off on a rig move, now im taking in the beautiful scenery on a ferry from Victoria to Vancouver on my way back to Alberta.