And now it's time again to talk about everyone's favourite subject RACISM.

It's all ready been discussed on the thread but I thought I'd share my own experiences. I've only done two hitches on the rigs and I've heard a significant amount of racist commentary.

Now you can look at this one of two ways either my sample size is incredibly small and therefore insignificant or I've only worked with about 20 people and most of these are racist and so this is the average. Anyway take from this what you will.

On my first hitch upon meeting my driller we shot the shit a little he asked me a bit about Ireland etc. then one of the lads chimes in 'You got any Paki's in Ireland?' I've all ready written a about this.

Recently it seems I've been hearing a lot more. Talking to a Directional Driller recently he asks me where I'm from "Irealand sir" says I, "Well at least the Irish are willing to work not like those sand niggers". Sand niggers, up until this point in my life I had never heard someone use that term in anger. I had always just thought of it as a funny line from the movie Casino.

I've heard people talking a lot of shit about Muslims and Africans being lazy, begging rats. And just today I heard another first, I was talking to a Driller about hunting. We were discussing guns we own. He told me he had a Mosburg pistol grip which I was surprised to hear as it's obviously not a hunting gun. He just shrugs his shoulders and says "It's just a Nigger shooter". Another first for me I've never heard a gun referred to as a Nigger shooter before.

Anyway I'm not trying to discourage anyone from this, there is a fuck ton of money to be made in a short amount of time. But this is probably the reality of the type of people you will be working with. And if one of my Indian friends from back in England asked me if I thought it was a good option for him I would honestly say fuck no.

^^
i dont think you should discourage people
when they say nigger, they mean some low life. If you are black and bust your ass and can take a joke you will be fine. In fact an arab guy one my crew was probably the most respected hand by other crews and services. All cause of work ethic and personality. You can land a shit crew, but hey, I started on a crew of hudderites that wanted to run me off ASAP to make room for one of their cousins, so there is no guarantee even for a white guy.

(12-12-2014 10:49 AM)scotian Wrote:  

(12-11-2014 10:23 PM)Natural Nomad Wrote:  I have read almost all of this post in the last week and realized something horrible. Apparently if you have a DUI as an American you can't get into Canada.

I have two of them. Do any of you know Americans working in the Oil Sands with criminal records. Apparently there are plenty of cons but what about from other countries? Do I still have a chance? I have not read anything so far on this post.

It will be tough, I wouldn't say that its entirely impossible but you'd have to look into it, maybe call an immigration lawyer in Canada. I know that they were thinking of easing the rules for tourists but I"m not sure about workers, I have heard of workers driving a company truck from Houston to Edmonton being turned around at the border for DUI charges.

Scotian, Do you know any other good threads for work in Texas or ND? I've looked but NONE of them are anywhere near the quality of this one. I was crushed when I emailed a lawyer and he told me it would be very difficult to get into Canada for any reason with 2 DUI's and a couple AI's. I used to drink a lot when I got back from Afghanistan.
I am an ex infantry solider and me and my brother are looking to move somewhere for high paying work. Do you know if my past DUI's would stop me from getting a job and earning high pay if I jumped in my truck and moved to Texas? Or If I put in some hard hours hunting and networking/ passing out resumes I'd be okay? Thanks.

If any of you guys know threads like this one about US based oil work let me know. I also travel a lot and would be willing to go anywhere for a high paying job.

(12-12-2014 06:31 PM)Seanchaí Wrote:  And now it's time again to talk about everyone's favourite subject RACISM.

It's all ready been discussed on the thread but I thought I'd share my own experiences. I've only done two hitches on the rigs and I've heard a significant amount of racist commentary.

Now you can look at this one of two ways either my sample size is incredibly small and therefore insignificant or I've only worked with about 20 people and most of these are racist and so this is the average. Anyway take from this what you will.

On my first hitch upon meeting my driller we shot the shit a little he asked me a bit about Ireland etc. then one of the lads chimes in 'You got any Paki's in Ireland?' I've all ready written a about this.

Recently it seems I've been hearing a lot more. Talking to a Directional Driller recently he asks me where I'm from "Irealand sir" says I, "Well at least the Irish are willing to work not like those sand niggers". Sand niggers, up until this point in my life I had never heard someone use that term in anger. I had always just thought of it as a funny line from the movie Casino.

I've heard people talking a lot of shit about Muslims and Africans being lazy, begging rats. And just today I heard another first, I was talking to a Driller about hunting. We were discussing guns we own. He told me he had a Mosburg pistol grip which I was surprised to hear as it's obviously not a hunting gun. He just shrugs his shoulders and says "It's just a Nigger shooter". Another first for me I've never heard a gun referred to as a Nigger shooter before.

Anyway I'm not trying to discourage anyone from this, there is a fuck ton of money to be made in a short amount of time. But this is probably the reality of the type of people you will be working with. And if one of my Indian friends from back in England asked me if I thought it was a good option for him I would honestly say fuck no.

Tell your friend to get into the trades. Lots of "sand niggers" there who make 6 figures in 6 months.

A trade skill is also transferable to none oil work, which is good for when oil prices drops to $58 as now. The majority of people on this forum who are Canadian born or Canadian citizens and moved out here are not white.

Racism is not something anyone should be afraid of. If rig folk don't like a person, life still goes on.

The prairies are the most racist part of the country. Deal with it. But at the same time, if you bust your ass day in day out, you will not have a problem regardless of your skin colour or accent. I've met tool pushes and consultants who are not white yet they get all the respect they deserve.

(12-12-2014 11:35 PM)DjembaDjemba Wrote:  Tell your friend to get into the trades. Lots of "sand niggers" there who make 6 figures in 6 months.

A trade skill is also transferable to none oil work, which is good for when oil prices drops to $58 as now. The majority of people on this forum who are Canadian born or Canadian citizens and moved out here are not white.

Racism is not something anyone should be afraid of. If rig folk don't like a person, life still goes on.

Amen to that. I'm brown myself and not going to let some inbred retarded redneck stop me from furthering my goals in life. If they have a problem with my skin tone then they can suck it.

(12-12-2014 06:51 PM)oilbreh Wrote:  ^^
i dont think you should discourage people
when they say nigger, they mean some low life. If you are black and bust your ass and can take a joke you will be fine. In fact an arab guy one my crew was probably the most respected hand by other crews and services. All cause of work ethic and personality. You can land a shit crew, but hey, I started on a crew of hudderites that wanted to run me off ASAP to make room for one of their cousins, so there is no guarantee even for a white guy.

I agree and as I stated I'm not trying to discourage anyone and I've only worked with two crews so this is a small sample size. I wrote that piece immediately after the fact and honestly I've been shocked at some of the things I've heard people say. For instance, talking to a roughneck on my crew about immigration into Canada. He said, "I don't mind people like you coming here to work, I just don't like the Muslims. You guys (the Irish) let all the Muslims into your country and they started a bunch of wars". That statement is hilarious and frighteningly dumb at the same time and it came from a 31 year old man with a wife and three kids.

I know this fact has been hammered home on the thread many times but when I talk to some people out here I think "Oh fuck people like you actually exist". Anyway I'm sure there are many people of all ethnicity in positions of prominence in this industry and at the end of the day it's 2014 and the frame work is in place for anyone with ambition to rise through the ranks.

Just looked at my bank account for the first time after a 25 day hitch, I started laughing out loud so much my room mate started giving me funny looks and I still have another cheque coming in.

I respectfully retract every negative thing I have said about this industry. Yurt

(12-13-2014 12:49 PM)Seanchaí Wrote:  

(12-12-2014 06:51 PM)oilbreh Wrote:  ^^
i dont think you should discourage people
when they say nigger, they mean some low life. If you are black and bust your ass and can take a joke you will be fine. In fact an arab guy one my crew was probably the most respected hand by other crews and services. All cause of work ethic and personality. You can land a shit crew, but hey, I started on a crew of hudderites that wanted to run me off ASAP to make room for one of their cousins, so there is no guarantee even for a white guy.

I agree and as I stated I'm not trying to discourage anyone and I've only worked with two crews so this is a small sample size. I wrote that piece immediately after the fact and honestly I've been shocked at some of the things I've heard people say. For instance, talking to a roughneck on my crew about immigration into Canada. He said, "I don't mind people like you coming here to work, I just don't like the Muslims. You guys (the Irish) let all the Muslims into your country and they started a bunch of wars". That statement is hilarious and frighteningly dumb at the same time and it came from a 31 year old man with a wife and three kids.

I know this fact has been hammered home on the thread many times but when I talk to some people out here I think "Oh fuck people like you actually exist". Anyway I'm sure there are many people of all ethnicity in positions of prominence in this industry and at the end of the day it's 2014 and the frame work is in place for anyone with ambition to rise through the ranks.

Yes people like that absolutely exist, check the Everything Else section of this forum, plenty of race baiters and race haters.

Also quite frankly their opinions aren't very important nor very influential. It's not like the Canadian government has ever asked Johnny Roughneck what his opinion is on Canada's immigration policy. They're just airing apparent grievances. Nod, agree, move on, and most importantly make money and get tickets/certs.

(12-13-2014 01:01 PM)Seanchaí Wrote:  Just looked at my bank account for the first time after a 25 day hitch, I started laughing out loud so much my room mate started giving me funny looks and I still have another cheque coming in.

I respectfully retract every negative thing I have said about this industry. Yurt

What do you do and how much did you gross ?

So far ive only had the experience of working with somalians at a construction site up north. 3 fobs and one ex gangster. Overall they were a decent bunch to work with but from time to time would be quick to anger and start fighting. The white supervisors I had were super nice and down to earth. I may have lucked out working with that crew.

(12-13-2014 07:16 PM)NeVerGymLess Wrote:  

(12-13-2014 01:01 PM)Seanchaí Wrote:  Just looked at my bank account for the first time after a 25 day hitch, I started laughing out loud so much my room mate started giving me funny looks and I still have another cheque coming in.

I respectfully retract every negative thing I have said about this industry. Yurt

What do you do and how much did you gross ?

I'm a leasehand on a drilling rig, bottom rung of the ladder. You start off on $28 / hour working 12 hour shifts after 44 hours you get paid 1.5 times your regular rate. Also I'm in a camp which means I get paid $50 a day living allowance. I worked 25 days consecutively so from the figures above that comes to:

- Regular hours $28 x 168 = $4704
- Overtime $42 x 120 = $5040
- Living Allowance $50 x 25 = $1250

Which comes to:
4704 + 5040 + 1250 = $10994

Minus taxes which is more for overtime hours, which is hilarious as the government is basically saying the harder you work the more we're going to fuck you. Let's round it off and call it 26%, which comes to:

$8135 so ~$8,000 for 25 days, not exactly groundbreaking considering what people are averaging up here. But everything is relative and what may not seem like much to some is a lot to others. Considering I've fuck all expenses as I continue to streamline my lifestlye and you jump a few dollars for every position you move up it's decent for a first pay cheque.

What do you guys here know about industrial plumbing? Is it very repetitious and boring like some people say or does it require a high degree of mechanical aptitude and smarts?

Just stopping by to say thanks. I found this thread about 45 days ago. I drove out to Wyoming and pounded the pavement in a suit and was able to get a position as an MWD for the majors. Within the first couple weeks I was promoted to a trainee on the Directional Driller side. We're on a hiring freeze right now due to falling oil prices, but this stuff is the real deal.

I have never felt more comfortable in any industry. It's an awesome adventure and the people are great. The money is also, frankly, insane.

This would have never happened without this forum and this thread. Cheers.

Finally got to write in this thread, want to give a Big Shout Out to Scotian, Atlantic and all the others that contributed to this thread. (I know using my real name is a bad idea, but too late for that lol)

Anyways I have a few questions, since the Oil has dropped 2-3 times in the last while, what are the chances of finding employment up in Fort Mac or surrounding areas?

A little about myself, I am a married man, with a young family (I know, I know ) But I am trying to find a career path to provide for their future, currently living in Vancouver, which is a shithole. For some reason I believe I was hiding under a rock as the family and I lived in Edmonton from 2010 to 2013 and never once heard about Fort Mac (I know, I know ) I've read the entire thread, but still have some questions

Now not to bore you, but here are the questions:

- Now I understand most companies won't even give you the time or day if you don't have atleast Standard First Aid or H2S Alive, is there any other certificates one should look into before making there way up there to apply?

- I've heard that there are Off and On periods to apply, would Jan or Feb be a bad month to come up and apply?

- Now a few coworkers of mine and I have been discussing a possible road trip, contributing to gas, hotel, food etc so it is all cheaper for everyone, would it be a bad idea to apply with a few guys or just do the trip solo or with one other guy? I personally believe a employer would just not look at more then two guys at a time when handing in resumes. Please share your opinions.

- I have a family so I am aiming for a Camp job, (so on my days off I would come back home and see them) I understand that LeaseHands & Greenhands have to start the bottom, but are their Camp Jobs available? I have general labour experience, but nothing close to the Oil Sands or Camp Job experience. I've worked in warehouses a long time, just curious thats all. I am not afraid to work long hours or get dirty (Wife and I discussed it, we don't care if I am away for a month at a time as long as there are some days off)

Here is a list of Companies that I have seen repeat through this thread that are around in Fort Mac or close to it, would any of you have any input on which are Camp Jobs or are a good company to start with:

- Suncor
- Syncrude
- CNRL Horizon
- Shell Albian Sands
- Imperial Oil (Exxon) - Kearl Lake
- Suncor Firebag
- Husky Sunrise
- Cenovus - Christina Lake
- Meg Energy - Christin Lake
- Precision Drilling
- Nabors Drilling
- Trindad Drilling

- Would it be better to start as a LeaseHand/Greenhand or a Apprentice? If Apprentice which companies are most likely to hire a Apprentice? Also read through this thread that it would be best to sign up with the Union office if you choose to go the Apprentice route, is this true? how does it work exactly, you go to them, ask for help finding a apprenticeship and sign up for the union? is there a fee?

I understand some people are going to say it is the worst time to find work up there due to the crash of oil, but any information would help.

Cheers,

DK

(12-15-2014 09:22 PM)DerekKenmuir Wrote:  I've read the entire thread

Hmm if you have read the thread then I suggest going here and giving this page a good look, it will answer every one of your questions
http://bit.ly/1GK5YHG

(12-15-2014 11:00 PM)komatiite Wrote:  

(12-15-2014 09:22 PM)DerekKenmuir Wrote:  I've read the entire thread

Hmm if you have read the thread then I suggest going here and giving this page a good look, it will answer every one of your questions
http://bit.ly/1GK5YHG

I appreciate your response, that is where I started and ended on page 145, it took me a few days, but I did read it. (I'll read it again, I am sure I missed a few comments)

Now back to the oil crashing, has anyone noticed companies closing up there hiring phase? I saw some say on other forums that some companies are laying off people and some are just not hiring anymore.

Any leads on who still might be? the drilling companies?

Also read somewhere it's a waste of time to apply in Fort Mac as the workers there are there to work not hire, is it true to apply at the head offices through Calgary and Edmonton for better chances?

For drilling companies I heard from a friend that worked for Nabors Drilling that their hiring stops in Jan, is there any truth to that?

(12-15-2014 11:16 PM)DerekKenmuir Wrote:  

(12-15-2014 11:00 PM)komatiite Wrote:  

(12-15-2014 09:22 PM)DerekKenmuir Wrote:  I've read the entire thread

Hmm if you have read the thread then I suggest going here and giving this page a good look, it will answer every one of your questions
http://bit.ly/1GK5YHG

I appreciate your response, that is where I started and ended on page 145, it took me a few days, but I did read it. (I'll read it again, I am sure I missed a few comments)

Now back to the oil crashing, has anyone noticed companies closing up there hiring phase? I saw some say on other forums that some companies are laying off people and some are just not hiring anymore.

Any leads on who still might be? the drilling companies?

Also read somewhere it's a waste of time to apply in Fort Mac as the workers there are there to work not hire, is it true to apply at the head offices through Calgary and Edmonton for better chances?

For drilling companies I heard from a friend that worked for Nabors Drilling that their hiring stops in Jan, is there any truth to that?

I'm not trying to be cunty, lord knows I came with many questions and a lot of people from this thread have assisted me but I like to think I did some of my own leg work. Some of your questions can be answered very easily for instance

[/quote]
For drilling companies I heard from a friend that worked for Nabors Drilling that their hiring stops in Jan, is there any truth to that?
[/quote]

Nabors Drilling have a phone number, here it is
http://www.nabors.com/about-nabors/contact-us

I would suggest you call them and speak to one of their recruitment agents and ask whether they are hiring or not. Then I would call Trinidad, Precision, Ensign etc.

Side note: If you think Vancouver is a shit hole I would suggest you steer clear of Edmonton, Fort Mac and basically everywhere else your going to find work

Last year the price of oil was good - I sat around with no work for nine months and worked in a cafe to keep going.
This year the price of oil is not so good - I have been very busy and have hardly have time off.

Every person, job, contract and company will be different. The price of oil is a small factor amongst many other things.

Companies are always hiring and firing. Some companies win contracts and others don't. Some are growing others are not.
Alberta has a lot of industries that don't rely directly on the price of oil. Even the ones that do can vary a lot in how busy they are.

Factors that are a lot more important then the price of oil:

Resume and job interview skills
Being able to keep going and suss out jobs till you are hired
Having all your courses and a clean DL
Having some savings and reading the whole thread
Being able to vibe with the guys in your head office
Being able to vibe with the guys on site
Working well and making contacts and friends within your company
Not overspending and keeping some savings
Actually doing your job and putting in some effort to keep things going smooth


There are guys on here who didn't get hired when it was busy and there are guys who are still busy now when 'people aren't hiring'.
Go figure.

(12-16-2014 01:22 PM)Atlantic Wrote:  This year the price of oil is not so good - I have been very busy and have hardly have time off.

Every person, job, contract and company will be different. The price of oil is a small factor amongst many other things.

That is because you have been in the company for over 2 years now, of course you're going to be busier.

When the oil drops to 55$ it is a very big factor. I've heard from enough companies that have already started laying off people, mostly drilling but also welding shops.

I would not go out now and start applying for jobs. Wait till the oil is back up to 80+$. There's so many empty rigs sitting around in Nisku and the rigcount is pretty low that you'd have to be pretty damn lucky to find a job.

I was referring to the guys post above to make the choice to come out here...

He asks about the price of oil affecting his chances of finding work but I would look at the fact he mentioned coming in Jan/Feb for rig work, asking what courses are needed, saying he will work a month (rig rotation is 2-1), and many other things that show he hasnt properly read the thread and/or do some very basic research.
This guys issue wont be the price of oil it will be his own lack of preparation.

Rig guys hate this attitude of looking to be spoonfeed and not being able to do it by yourself.
This will show during a job interview and it will show when you go to work on a rig.
You wont get hired and if you do youll be the first to get fired.
I cant even tell if he is maybe trolling - three years in Edmonton and you never heard of Fort Mc?

^^^ why bother replying to people that clearly didnt read the whole thing. I would have given up pussy for a year or shelled out a couple grand to have this information when I came out. It would have paid itself 100 times at this point.

new rig counts. http://www.caodc.ca/rig-counts-drilling-dr-week

Sask looks down this week. Lots of smaller companies in the southern part. Maybe they are done for now due to price. Maybe its just an end of the year budget thing since rig rates always sky rocket come the new year. Keep in mind wells are usually pretty short, leases are easy to make compared to northern BC and NW AB. Could mean the north gas guys are just finishing up pads/month long wells. Also I am just speculating. Alberta down 30 rigs from last week. Think about it. each crew normally 6 people. 3 crews. 6*3*30=540, now add the pushes, usually 2 per rig, 600. Thats just alberta. Sask down 15 rigs, thats 800 jobs. Add in all the services. I cant even guess that number. Think of the porta potty man. The guy that recharges the h2s monitors. The thread cop. Most people just looking to lease hand, but still when 50 rigs less are working this week it might not be the best time. I dont know if they took the statistics on a day that was very rig move heavy, or companies are waiting for 2015 for new budget, or maybe its something else. Someone mentioned rigs in yards in nisku, well they always have em there so i dont know, but if its rigs that were previously drilling its bad since they would normally only rack it by location if it was on a short break or inspection.

Best of luck

(12-17-2014 12:17 AM)oilbreh Wrote:  ^^^ why bother replying to people that clearly didnt read the whole thing. I would have given up pussy for a year or shelled out a couple grand to have this information when I came out. It would have paid itself 100 times at this point.

new rig counts. http://www.caodc.ca/rig-counts-drilling-dr-week

Sask looks down this week. Lots of smaller companies in the southern part. Maybe they are done for now due to price. Maybe its just an end of the year budget thing since rig rates always sky rocket come the new year. Keep in mind wells are usually pretty short, leases are easy to make compared to northern BC and NW AB. Could mean the north gas guys are just finishing up pads/month long wells. Also I am just speculating. Alberta down 30 rigs from last week. Think about it. each crew normally 6 people. 3 crews. 6*3*30=540, now add the pushes, usually 2 per rig, 600. Thats just alberta. Sask down 15 rigs, thats 800 jobs. Add in all the services. I cant even guess that number. Think of the porta potty man. The guy that recharges the h2s monitors. The thread cop. Most people just looking to lease hand, but still when 50 rigs less are working this week it might not be the best time. I dont know if they took the statistics on a day that was very rig move heavy, or companies are waiting for 2015 for new budget, or maybe its something else. Someone mentioned rigs in yards in nisku, well they always have em there so i dont know, but if its rigs that were previously drilling its bad since they would normally only rack it by location if it was on a short break or inspection.

Best of luck

Damn I asked about rig shutdowns and layoffs in the North Dakota thread but it seems like it's starting to get bad up in Canada already. FYI the energy sector bonds and equities are getting crushed and many researchers are saying up to 40% of US E&P plays might go bust if prices don't re-set to $70-80 levels by call it mid-2015.

Trouble is, I don't see oil prices going up anytime soon what's done has been done and it will take awhile to stabilize prices.

Wondering how bad it's going to get before it gets better.

They had an economist on cbc saying that oil prices will stabilize in 6 months. Good to wait till then and find something else in the meantime. Plenty of other jobs available right now.

(12-11-2014 07:18 PM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  Good stuff man!
How long was the construction management programme? Where did you take it?
Do you also have an engineering degree to do your work?

(12-11-2014 01:12 PM)Tubthumper Wrote:  

(12-11-2014 04:06 AM)Nima Wrote:  

(12-11-2014 01:54 AM)Tubthumper Wrote:  Just wanted to throw out some thanks to Scotian and the other guys early in this thread who provided the helpful info. I stumbled upon the thread almost 3 years ago, lurked for a bit, and it sparked my interest in working in Alberta. I've since gone back to school, and now I'm working a pretty decent gig up north. Crazy how clicking on a random web page can start a new career... Anyway, thanks again boys!

What do you do and what did you study?

I took a Construction Management program and now I'm working as a field engineer for a construction contractor at one of the larger oil sands projects.

No I don't have an engineering degree. I have an unrelated degree that I used credits from to get into the construction management program at BCIT, which has taken around 2 years to this point (I still have a final project to complete before I finish the degree). My job doesn't have any design engineering work- it's more of coordinating subtrades, managing schedules, clarifying technical issues with desginers, etc..