(01-10-2015 12:02 PM)DjembaDjemba Wrote:  I'm not really down with the male centric immigration changes. Alberta is already a sausage-fest. We need more women immigrating here.

I considered writing my local PM during the Ukraine crisis to suggest flooding the province with young Ukrainian women, given the province's historic, large Ukrainian population and Alberta's excess male population, it makes sense. Of course we won't get that, we'll get a bunch of pissed off Arabs and Somalians who just left refugee camps and won't let us fuck their women!

Speaking of Somali and Ethiopian girls, you got any good insight on them in town? I've seen quite a few Ethiopians north of the river around the downtown areas. Where do these girls party?

http://www.esdc.gc.ca/eng/jobs/foreign_w...1420912252

Employers taking the piss again!! Some had 100% TFW earning well below Province rates! Application fees increased (4x) / Permit times reduced.

Looks like they want to have a huge database matching workers to jobs available, suppose that's fair really, looking after your own citizens first!

But........! What chance someone moving from one part of Canada to the other if they haven't already done so through the good years?

Surely some of the early posters on here must be getting close to finishing their apprenticeships, will this affect you guy's?

Could be good time to sell a sister

If you come here green now, finding work will probably be slightly more challenging. I don't know anything about the rigs and that line of work however. I'm more on the trades side of things.

There's always going to be ups and downs. I took a pay cut to start a new trade a year ago, I ignored the big money out of town and hunkered down in town and got a few tickets under my belt, with a few more on the way.I got my tickets pretty fast, within a year and it's kept me busy.

However when I first came here I had a typical out of town labour job. I was clearing $2300 a week after taxes ($7000/month on average deposited into my bank). Knowing that this job was really pretty dead end I jumped ship. Now I'm better off for it, even if I never really got back into making the massive bucks. With my tickets, and another year of experience, I can potentially look towards working abroad if I feel like it. The Gulf offers good salaries and packages, Kazakhstan is expanding its oil industry too. Then there's the wind farms and mines in Northern Ontario.

What I'm getting at is that people need to be open more to the idea of hunkering down and forgoing the big bucks in the short term to get that right ticket, training, trade, experience, then you're not totally sweating when the price of oil drops.

On the other hand you can make the big bucks fast, but make sure to save it as you're making it. It's easy to get carried away with expenses when you're clearing a shit ton of cash, you forget that one day there will be a slowdown and you might not be seeing a cheque for a few months.

Other than my truck/car, I have not really much to show for my first year here when I was making a killing. I pissed it away clubs and partying on my days off, and other frivolous shit. Those one night stands with sluts my first 6 months cost me quite a bit. When I made my career jump I actually started controlling the expenses and have been way better since.

Apparently they have TFWs working at the new arena construction site in down town Edmonton: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/t...-1.2894771

Fuck. looks like it might be time to put my degree to work!!!

(01-10-2015 03:43 PM)DjembaDjemba Wrote:  If you come here green now, finding work will probably be slightly more challenging. I don't know anything about the rigs and that line of work however. I'm more on the trades side of things.

Good post.

The rigs are not good. Everything I have been hearing is saying that the next half a year is going to be dead. I have been hearing about project after project that is getting cancelled. That goes for guys with experience too. I can't give particulars but some companies are rotating work amongst its staff and cutting down on day rates.

Scotian and others have said from day one that its the nature of the beast so it is what it is. It was busy all last year (and more) so luckily I cut back on the drinking and saved some money. A lot of guys in my company didn't and took lots of time off to just relax when it was busiest - they are panicking now big time. I know a guy who bought a 30k 4x4 toy just a few weeks ago! Anyway there are some good lessons here about stacking cash while the going is good and making good contacts/having a good reputation within your company/industry. When it does pick up again it will mean lots of hiring and less competition for work so at least that's good.

Another lesson here would be that next time it is good come out right away instead of thinking about it for 1-2 years. Not to take a dig at people but it is a first in-last out industry so you set yourself up to be let go fast when you are the last to arrive.

I am planning on traveling from break up (March) till mid/end of summer. If its still quiet I will come back anyway and work another trade/construction/cafe job and get in before winter. There is always some work around town for $20 an hour and some of them can be kinda fun for a few weeks.

I was pretty tight for money my first year here so here are some quick tips to cut down your expenses for the guys feeling it right now:

- If you even think it might get quiet for your industry cut back spending right now, you can always spend it later if it doesn't
You don't want to run out of cash and have to start selling things that keep you in a job like your truck and being available to work

- Stop drinking and use online dating.

- Stop eating out and start buying in bulk. Any place close to Whyte Ave has hiked up prices on food. Try do a bulk buy in CostCo and cook for the week. Make big portions and bring some to work in a lunch box.

- If you work at camp start swiping some food and water. Also bring up your washing and do it for free. I did both of these for my first few jobs. I would also fill Jerry cans with free camp gas. That can be dodgy though. Its easier if you drive diesel and get on well with the rig crew.

- Get a side job. If you have a two/one try line up a cafe job for just a few hours during your week off. Lots of places like guys to cover hours for the normal staff. Eat free food, kill a few hours, make some tips and try bang some customers/staff.

- Offer to help out around the shop. Lots of guys do this so won't work everywhere but maybe you can get some hours, learn a little about your trade and be in good with town for when it gets busy again. Again sometimes this one gets played by too many guys.

Extra hard up tips:

- Stay at your girls place and eat her food.

- Look for free stuff on Kijiji and sell it again yourself

- Cycle instead of drive

- Rent out your couch or double up on accommodation

- Have multiple jobs including your main job. I did this for 5 months.

- Use free wifi and computers at the library.

I got here and finished my safety tickets right as oil started tanking. I'm fortunate to have enough money saved up to weather it out, even though the short term outlook is not great. That said it is still better for me to be in Edmonton rather than Toronto. I'm going to be doing some trade classes at NAIT.

One thing that I screwed up good was my licence. I thought I could do my driver's test here by switching over my Ontario licence. It turns out that I would have to wait two years, so I'm heading back to Ontario in a few days and getting my licence done there so that's one stumbling block I'm clearing.

I'm lucky to have facility maintenance experience so if nothing else I can get back into that during the day, do night classes and look to get indentured in plumbing or welding later on in the year. I'm in this for the long haul so I don't really worry about the current situation.

Edit: Yeah Atlantic, if in a few months time nothing stable comes up I'll be doing the multiple job thing to keep me afloat. I live just off Jasper so it'll be easy to pick up some bar work if needed. Could also do the security thing, but I'd rather avoid that side of the business if I can.

^ Good move flying home to finish your license. I have recommend people to do this before over PM.

@ DjembaDjemba
Text book mate.....Trade, Tickets, Experience = Priceless !

@ Atlantic
Solid, Sensible advice again......Do you ever stop giving!!

@ Scotian
How long was the downturn in 09? & any old timers ever mention what happened in 98/99 when price hit $10?

-I won't rush myself into a rent, I will visit at least a few places to feel out the landlords/landladies and then go from there and hope I end up with a decent reasonable owner.

Speaking of this downward spiral of oil prices given myself will be driving to Edmonton in about a week's time. It is quite discouraging, but I had already made up my mind and I am in for the long term. I plan to stay in this industry indefinitely. It will be harder for someone new to find a job but I believe by no means it is impossible. The worst case scenario I will just find a random in town job to keep me float while I continue to network and wait for the market to climb back up. By no means my goal coming to Alberta is to find a random job to survive. I did had a promising career in Ontario, but I still quit because I am willing to take the risk and live with the consequences.

I do find a lot of people (not necessary on this forum) I have been talking to about coming out to the west are making Alberta like the worst place to go right now given the oil prices plummeting. I find in general people over react to news and media. I have never been to the west and I agree there are less oil & gas related jobs in Alberta now. Less doesn't mean none, harder doesn't mean impossible. I am sure and I am confident I will find something after moving out here. I am not expecting sun shines and glories, but I don't think my long term goal (settle in on a trade or move into management) will be disrupted by the recent fall in oil prices. Just like scotian and many other more experienced folks had mentioned that it will always be up and down. I always tell myself that the oil & gas industry in Alberta doesn't owe me anything, I have to go out there and make it happen.

That been said, I will still be following the blue print set out by the folks here after I arrive, still same general game plan. See how it unfolds and I will keep you guys posted as well.

(01-10-2015 05:26 PM)Salty Wrote:  @ DjembaDjemba
Text book mate.....Trade, Tickets, Experience = Priceless !

@ Atlantic
Solid, Sensible advice again......Do you ever stop giving!!

@ Scotian
How long was the downturn in 09? & any old timers ever mention what happened in 98/99 when price hit $10?

during the recession in 90's alberta and sask were hurtin, you couldnt buy a job. Things have changed though. Picture what edmonton looked like without any of the shit that got built the last 15 years.

(01-10-2015 07:49 PM)oilbreh Wrote:  

(01-10-2015 05:26 PM)Salty Wrote:  @ DjembaDjemba
Text book mate.....Trade, Tickets, Experience = Priceless !

@ Atlantic
Solid, Sensible advice again......Do you ever stop giving!!

@ Scotian
How long was the downturn in 09? & any old timers ever mention what happened in 98/99 when price hit $10?

during the recession in 90's alberta and sask were hurtin, you couldnt buy a job. Things have changed though. Picture what edmonton looked like without any of the shit that got built the last 15 years.

The 90s was so different. Back then Toronto had unemployent of 3-4%.

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/studies-etudes/...24-eng.pdf Check the chart on page 2 to see how unemployment across provinces was in the late 80s and 90s. Ontario was the only province to escape double digit unemployment.

Pretty much the rest of the country was mired in double digit unemployment for a while.

I know there are guys looking for jobs in here. My flatmate has his own trucking company and he's badly looking for a good reliable driver with a class 1 driving license for immediate start. If you're interested, post it here or PM me and I'll get you in touch with him directly.

If I can help anyone in here, I'd be more than happy.

After 6 months of struggling getting hours at my previous company, where from mid July on, I was lucky if I was getting one shift a week. I remember the month of Oct, going to almost every company in my field in Edmonton in person with my resume and all telling me the same thing:

"It's dead now as approaching end of the year coupled with the price of oil tanking. Everyone was telling me to come back in the spring as it would get better and they would be hiring again at that time."

Around the middle of November, I was getting completely disillusioned and was a day or two away from booking my flight back to Toronto with my tail between my legs. Then my good friend Buko mentioned to me that there's currently a company in my trade who is hiring. I applied there not expecting anything as I had been applying and sending my resume to all the companies in my field numerous times for the past few months. Lo and behold, the next morning, I was awaken by a call from the manager from that company asking me to come for an interview that same day. Long story short, I started the next day.

Ever since then, mid November, I have been working non stop. At one point, went 3 and a half weeks with a few 15 and 16 hour days out of town working non stop with only 1 day off in between. Leaving home early and coming back late, exhausted with no energy for anything else but eat and then crash. Wish I had found this company back in April when I got here this year...

These past few days, been working night shifts and outside. At first, it was very hard to be out there when it's -30 with a blizzard blowing the freezing snow in your face till the early hours of the morning. However, slowly, your body adjusts to it and gets used to it and provided you're warmly dressed, it's actually manageable. I never thought I'd say this as I had never worked in such conditions before.

And believe me, being for 10-12 hours outside in such conditions, the temptation to say "F it" and book a one way ticket to a warm pussy paradise is extremely alluring. Believe me, I've been having major internal battles on those long night shifts out on the field trying to push aside those temptations for the past few days.

After struggling for so long, I'm very relieved and happy for finally getting in with a great company with good people and being kept very busy.

I'm confident that by the spring, I will have my first ticket along starting working towards getting my 2nd one.

All in all, can't stress enough the importance of being persistent and patient to everyone who either just got here or is/has been struggling getting a good gig. Specially the new guys! I know what it feels struggling and almost going broke as I've been there. Get any job you can find for the time being until you can get what you really want. Keep at it guys, keep grinding and keep looking always. You never know from where or from who you'd get a shot at THE exact type of job you're looking for as it happened for me.

And to end this post on a positive note: there's only what, 2 more months of winter left and after that, it'll be way easier, conditions wise. Plus next week, we'll be getting a much needed respite from the Arctic like conditions of the past week!

Keep warm and keep hustling boys!

Cheers!

(01-10-2015 11:31 PM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  I know there are guys looking for jobs in here. My flatmate has his own trucking company and he's badly looking for a good reliable driver with a class 1 driving license for immediate start. If you're interested, post it here or PM me and I'll get you in touch with him directly.

If I can help anyone in here, I'd be more than happy.

Just to add to your post. This is the results from a kijiji oilfield job search.

http://www.kijiji.ca/b-jobs/alberta/oilfield/k0c45l9003

Look how many of the jobs are for Class 1 positions. If you have a class 1 license you can have a job tomorrow. You want job security, get a Class 1 license.

How much on average do people with Class 1 license earn? Will they earn as much as somebody that works in the rigs?

(01-11-2015 06:51 AM)pitt Wrote:  How much on average do people with Class 1 license earn? Will they earn as much as somebody that works in the rigs?

Don't know the rate in Alberta. But here in Ontario, easy 8k+ a month. So probably 10k+ here in Alberta at the very least.

I think the rates vary depending on whether you're hauling oil related materials or not. I heard from my flatmate that for non oil related stuffs, like say hauling grocery items for chains like No Frills or Safeway, it's about anywhere between 4-6k/month.

I guess the 10K+/month would be for hauling oil related stuff.

Anyone more knowledgeable about that can confirm this?

I worked for a hauling company for a few months. Class 1 drivers started in the low 40s an hour I believe. Then after 50 hours worth of driving within one week, over time kicks in.

Oilfield hauling is 24/7. Virtually no time off or sleep when it's busy. You are by law only allowed to drive 70 hours in 7 days. You'll be over that line before you're half way through the week. Then if you're pulled into a scale and they find out you're over hours or lied in your log book you're grounded and fined, not your company, but you personally.

So you have your company pushing you to haul for as much time as you humanly can and the law trying to catch your ass doing it. If you actually did the job legally, took your 8 hours off after driving up to your limit, a hauling company will throw your ass out. They want those wheels spinning 24/7. Damn if you do, damned if you don't. You have to get good at lying in your log book to stay legal.

I know a guy that pulled in 20k in one month working round the clock. Best get an amphetamine prescription from your doc if you want to do it.

So before I dig in and devour 149 pages of posts (not srs) I just wanted to ask some general style questions:

currently unemployed and while I'm job hunting I thought that it would probably be a worthwhile endeavor to dig into some kind of high pay/high work kind of job for 3-6-12 months, build a good financial base for myself and then switch back to a more liveable med pay/med work hours typical job which allows one to also have a private social life. As far as I understood from this thread already, the oil industry has enough jobs for "grunt" work and no one is pissed or surprised when somebody just comes there for work for 3/6 months and then vanishes, right? I have a college degree in business administration but no technical knowledge, do I qualify for any kind of entry level job or would I just be hauling pipes around?

Also with "normal" companies you send out a CV, wait for answer, can get an interveiw over skype etc but I'm getting a feeling that for this oil industry you have to be physically present at that location and just go over in person and say you're looking for a job, correct? do we have some kind of list of what jobs are actually possible or out there in the oil industry cause I have no idea where to even start

(01-12-2015 08:08 AM)Rangarr Wrote:  So before I dig in and devour 149 pages of posts (not srs) I just wanted to ask some general style questions:

currently unemployed and while I'm job hunting I thought that it would probably be a worthwhile endeavor to dig into some kind of high pay/high work kind of job for 3-6-12 months, build a good financial base for myself and then switch back to a more liveable med pay/med work hours typical job which allows one to also have a private social life. As far as I understood from this thread already, the oil industry has enough jobs for "grunt" work and no one is pissed or surprised when somebody just comes there for work for 3/6 months and then vanishes, right? I have a college degree in business administration but no technical knowledge, do I qualify for any kind of entry level job or would I just be hauling pipes around?

Also with "normal" companies you send out a CV, wait for answer, can get an interveiw over skype etc but I'm getting a feeling that for this oil industry you have to be physically present at that location and just go over in person and say you're looking for a job, correct? do we have some kind of list of what jobs are actually possible or out there in the oil industry cause I have no idea where to even start

The 3 - 6 months Get Rich Quick And Bounce scheme doesn't work so well over here. It takes about a month to get your courses, a driving license, a place to stay and the gear you need for work and maybe even a truck. It takes another month to actually start making some money and being paying back the price of coming over and also the price of your set up month. At this stage you are two months in and maybe have not even made back the money you spent yet. I think it takes about 6 months till you actually start making some progress and seeing some decent wages (the thread title refers to making 6 figures a year after six months).

If you are coming to come over plan for:

Year 1: Set up year. Come out of it with some profit and pay off your costs of moving here.

Year 2: Good job progress, making more money and getting a solid place in your company/industry

Year 3 and onwards: Saving lots or traveling lots. Or both.

Of course you can still travel for a bit in your first year or two but you wont be instant baller status by any means.


As for entry level jobs you get what you are worth. If you have the same approach and attitude of most of the guys (regular guys - not referring to forum members) you will struggle to get anything with amazing pay. A standard job like that is about 20 an hour in town (construction if you have a DL and a truck) and maybe up to 30 out of town if you make a good contact.

The best way to do well out here is plan for 'the long con'. Don't expect too much year 1. You have to get used to how the patch works and become of some value before you can start making money and/or request time off to travel. If anyone can do your job (non skilled) then anyone will and they won't pay you much and they definitely won't want to hear about personal request for time to go on a pussy hunting safari.

At the moment its on a bit of a down turn so its that little bit more competitive. By not coming out when it was on an upturn you lose the advantage of being first in. You can make up for this when you arrive by being reliable, fitting in well, doing that little bit extra, vibing well with the guys on site, making good contacts, getting certs and courses, making an effort to understand Canadian culture etc. Eventually the cream will rise to the top and your company will want to work you more and more.

Company when its busy: work anyone
Company when its quiet: work guys who have knowledge and who keep us in work by not being fuck ups and getting along with people

As for hiring its demand versus convenience...
Demand is now LOW so hiring your green ass better be CONVENIENT.
This means you are actually in the country and have certs, gear, DL, attitude, and some basic research.

Make yourself the best choice for the work and you will get work. Easy.

Go back and read the thread. Write it down. Do some homework.

A good first post recently was this guy. Its easy to see he will do well cause he uses all the advice mentioned in this thread...

(01-04-2015 07:49 PM)malil73 Wrote:  Hey everyone, my first posts here, finally got approved after almost a month of waiting lol.

I wish I had found out this thread a lot earlier as I had already made up my mind moving to Alberta through my own researches. I will be moving out in either the 3rd or 4th week of this month. This thread had been extremely helpful to me, it had eliminated many of my doubts and fears about coming out here in Alberta alone. But what I like the most is a REALISTIC expectation of what to expect when I arrive.

Myself is a recent Ontario university graduate with sales and office experience. Once I arrive after taking care of shelter, admin and tickets I will find/take any general labor/starter positions I can find related to Oil & Gas, if I can't find any, I will take any jobs to stay afloat. It probably isn't the best time of the year to move and given the current oil prices but I will tough it out.

I haven't figure out exactly what I want to do yet. For me it wasn't about making a quick cash and then bounce, it was more of a long term and permanent move. I don't plan going back to Ontario regardless what happens there. Like many have posted before, once I started working I will talk to different people and by then hopefully I will have a better idea on what to do.

I have to give to get, I wish I have a lot meaningful info to contribute at the moment, I hope this will change soon.

Good luck to anyone who is making the move to Alberta soon!

A lot of good advice is being thrown around lately about saving money or more importantly not pissing it all away. While this is valuable information I personally like to take the Connor McGregor approach to finances which is to spend it all on tailored suits and expensive watches so as to keep the hunger of a poor man. If you save too much there's always the temptation to not return to work, this option is off the table when your broke and you end up getting to own a lot of shiny watches.

Maybe it's the best time to come out here, dead of Winter, economic turbulence, what better way to find out if you can grind. Make it through the Winter, make it through the downturn and you'll have built up a level of resolve not possessed by most people. There's never a perfect moment to do anything anyway.

^^^

Um, that works for him because he is 26 years old, famous, and still has a bunch of prime fighting years left. Barring an unforeseen injury, he doesn't have to worry - he can spend himself broke and more money rolls in. Maybe...if all goes according to plan...
However, there are huge numbers of pro athletes who have followed his spending "plan" and not had a happy result. Frequently they find themselves in their 30s or 40s with a used up body and completely broke.
The most driven people keep their hunger regardless of how much wealth they acquire because while the shiny trinkets and fat bank account are nice...to them they are just symbols of what they really crave - winning/being on top. Financial stability and increasing wealth through business/adding value in a addition to direct victories over other men in the octagon/gridiron/boardroom/etc.