(09-05-2014 09:42 PM)Buzzyfurbox Wrote:  Cheers Atlantic,seems like there's a lot of dodgy places about,did the whole process take long?

No two days. One to buy the truck then another for them to run their inspections etc.

1,000 Post!!!

So as I mentioned briefly earlier, I decided to come out to Alberta and arrived on Tuesday. I will do a quick write up of each day so far. I just turned 19 and finished my first year in business school in April but felt that I didn’t learn anything, so decide to come out here and try something different. I can always go back to the business school I was in or transfer to engineering, but I wanted to try working on the rigs this year so I will see what my plan is in a year. Before I do the write up, I want to thank all the guys who posted in this thread especially scotian, Atlantic, PakiRambo, VP, DjembaDjemba, ?Kick, TravellingSoldier. I know I forgot a bunch of guys, especially ones who posted earlier on in the thread, but guys I can’t fucking thank you all enough. All the info you dropped in this thread and also the guys I have PMed or talked to on the phone has all been so valuable. I could have just stayed in school to get some boring desk job that paid pretty good, but decided to go out of my comfort zone big time. I feel that this has been such a good life choice and I have not even been out here for a week.

Before flying out:
- Saved about $4000
- Read through the entire thread multiple times and made lots of notes
- Decided that I wanted to go onto the rigs for the winter and would have to start as a leasehand
- Looked on kijiji for a place and ended up finding a great room in a condo building for $90/week just off Jasper Ave right downtown including everything (the lady there even cooks for me sometimes and has been helpful connecting me with people so far)
- Sent out a bunch of messages to kijiji ads for trucks
- Made a huge list of drilling companies to apply to once I got out here and include their address

Day 1: Tues
- Landed early and took route 747 bus($5)/LRT($3.20) to my rented place to meet owner and drop my stuff off
- Bought mailbox at UPS for 3 months right downtown ($90 total for 3 months but the address looks like its my apartment instead of a PO box like Canada Post)
- Went to bank to change address and get a printed statement
- Got new phone and number (make sure to get a smart phone with data and I also found Canada wide calling really useful)
- Went to registry to get license and health card but was denied as they didn’t accept UPS mailbox address or bank printed statement

Day 2: Wed
- Went back to registry early and got my license and health card (cost about $80)
- Went to insurance broker to sort out car insurance
- Looked on kijiji for more trucks
- Did PST online (about 5 hours)

Day 3: Thursday
- Did OSSA Fall Protection
- Met a guy to test drive his truck (was looking at buying a 2 wheel drive truck but talked to PakiRambo on the phone and saw his latest post, so only looked for 4x4 trucks)

Day 4: Fri
- Went back to test truck again and buy it (a 1999 Ford F150 4x4 truck with 250k km which I bought for 1.8k. has been great so far and when I took it for an oil change today, the mechanic said that pretty much everything looked really good)
- Called my insurance broker to finalize the truck insurance (about $120 a month compared to around $7k a year for a new driver in Ontario)
- Went to registry to register truck and get license plate (cost around $90)

Day 5: Sat
- Did H2S

Day 6: sun
- Got oil change and a few small things done on the truck ($100)
- Did WHMIS online
- Did CSTS online

Rest of the week:
- On Monday and Tuesday I have the Standard First Aid Course
- Tuesday night I am driving down to Red Deer for the Tervita Corporation Job Fair and Central Alberta Career and Job Fair on Wednesday
- Wednesday night I am driving back to Edmonton for the AlbertaWorks Fall Job Fair on Thursday
- If I don’t have a job from the tons of drilling companies at the two job fairs on Wednesday and Thursday, then I am going to start hitting the companies down in Nisku/Leduc and continue this until I have a job
- Also, at the start of October there are two more huge job fairs: October 1 Grande Prairie Job Fair and October 3/4 Alberta Employment and Job Fair. These should be good for the few guys coming out at the end of September

A few tips that I have found out so far:
- As mentioned countless times before, this thread has everything that you need to get out here and make it
- As mentioned before, buy a 4x4 truck. The transit system hasn’t been to bad so far, but my place is close to everything.
- I took all of my in class courses at http://firstaidsafetytraining.ca/ and they have been great
- For online courses, go to Starbucks as the library has terrible wifi and won’t run videos. Also there is second cup, but I’ve heard Starbucks wifi is better.
- If having trouble getting your drivers license with mailbox and bank statement (two separate places said no to me), find a place to rent and get your landlord to sign a lease agreement (can be printed off of google). This can be used as proof of Alberta residence and only takes a few minutes. Just print it off google and it doesn’t even matter how long you put the lease for (I wrote down mine was for one week and it worked)
- For auto insurance, go to a broker (I went to hdf insurance on jasper) as they do not charge any extra on top of the insurance price (they get paid though a % from the insurance company) and they do/tell you everything. If buying a cheap truck to start, only get liability insurance as it is the lowest rate you can get and if the truck is not worth much, it will cost almost as much as the truck to get collision and fire/stolen insurance added on top. Also, you need to bring direct deposit form or void cheque from bank to the broker (when getting these from your bank get an extra one to give to your employer when you get hired).
- As mentioned many times before, but I cannot say it enough, a smart phone is worth its weight in gold here. Having the GPS is so valuable especially if you are using transit.

I hope to meet up with a bunch of you guys soon and drinks are definitely on me! And if anyone knows of drilling companies hiring leasehands/floorhands, I would appreciate if you told me.

If there are any guys who want to drive down to Red Deer Tuesday for the big job fair on Wednesday, send me a PM as I now have a truck.

All the big name drilling companies will be hiring soon/alredy. Do up some good resumes and spend a day driving around leduc/nisku calling in everywhere. Welcome man.

Essential,
That's the way to go man! Someone with a committed attitude and specific game plan as you as only one way to go and that is to succeed! Well done man! Keep us posted how it goes!

Cheers!

Greetings denizens of RooshV Oilsand forum. I've been diligently taking notes and finally decided to take the plunge. Just got my PST done and moving on to the First Aid and rest. Not gonna lie, scared shitless about making the move from Vancouver with nary a safety net in sight but hey, if all of you can't stop praising this place to the skies there must be SOMETHING to it. Just wanted to introduce myself and thank the main guys here, Scotian, Atlantic, Vacancier etc for the wealth of information you guys have provided. I intend to make my way over to the job fair at Red Deer on Wednesday this week too.

Btw guys, since y'all are so much more knowledgeable than me in this regard, a friend of mine is immigrating to Canada in January of next year. He's just as interested as I am in getting on the rigs. Do y'all think hiring would drop off by then seeing how its still technically in the middle of the winter? Any input would be much appreciated!

Thanks again and looking forward to seeing y'all in person soon.

Tis the season when it comes to drilling bud. I'd hit up Akita Drilling, Trinidad, Patterson, Canelson, Ensign, Savanna. etc. They are all in or around Nisku/Leduc. You'll probably get cards, they will take your resume, but just listen to what they say. If they say call everyday then do it.

What's up guys. I'm back on my second work visa after working a few months last year then going back home for school. This time was much harder to find work for some reason, I had to survive in Edmonton on about 800 bucks for over a month! Finally landed another labourer job in Conklin, but the pay is pretty low so I've spent all day ringing and emailing my resume to other companies. Sent my resume to Local 92 as well, not sure how to follow up with them. I'm going to be up here for about six months and the goal is to save at least $25k so I have dollar signs in my eyes. Good luck to everyone who might be in Edmonton looking for work, that process is pretty horrible but it pays off!

WTF it's already snowing in Edmonton. This winter is gonna be brutal

All right lads,

I finally made the move, the fools let me in. I got talking to the woman processing me at the border and she gave me a line on a job and told me how to go about applying for PR status and gave me a line on a job, it's true what they say about Canadians they are ridiculously friendly haha.

I arrived on Sunday night to cold winds, a grey sky and snow, thank god my people thrive on misery haha. So the first day is officially over and it was a good one, had my ups and downs, but it's all part of the game. Quick rundown:

-Woke up early, and had coffee in the kitchen of the HI-Edmonton hostel. While figuring out how I was going to get around my new city I got talking to another young Paddy doing the same thing as me, funny how many people are chasing the oil jobs.

- I left the HI-Edmonton and headed into downtown. My first stop was the Service Canada Office where I got my SIN. Bish bash bosh easy.

- The next step was to get a Canadian phone, after pricing several different companies I decided to try kijiji for an unlocked one. I sent emails to several people but no one got back to me today. So tomorrow I'm just going to buy one from one of the major carriers. I was trying to avoid it because of the price, but tomorrow I'm just going to bend over and let Rogers fuck me. I can't go another day without a phone.

- The bank account was next. This required a bit of finagling as I have no apartment yet, so I just gave them the address of the hostel and they bought it. Went into a room with a teller (foul thing that she was) to discuss the accounts available to me. All the accounts came with fees and minimum balance bullshit. This I told her I could not do, I'm fresh off the plane with no job, I told her I'd try TD Bank across the road. At this remark her attitude changed and she was suddenly trying to work something better for me. Eventually I ended up on a student account with no fees or minimum balance even though I haven't been a student in two years, happy out.

- The final task which took over most of my day was getting my driving license. I had hoped that I could simply trade in my British one for a Canadian Class 5 and be done with it, but this was not the case. She told me I needed proof of address e.g. a bank statement mailed to my house or a utility bill, both of which I can't provide. So I huffed it back across town to my bank and asked for a statement which the teller found strange as I just opened the account and have yet to transfer any money into it. I told her it was of the utmost importance and asked her to stamp and sign it to make it look legit, even though it still wasn't what I needed and showed a balance of $0. I then trekked back to AMA office with my fake statement and showed it to the girl at the counter (fine chasis on her), she told me what I knew she would. So I hit her with a story about not having any money or friends in a foreign land and my only hope of a job is this Class 5 license. She went and talked to her supervisor and I was in. I thought all was sweet until I found out I needed a confirmation letter which accompanied my license which I'm fairly certain I chucked in the bin. So close but yet so far, plan is to call the DVLA in England first thing tomorrow morning and plague them until they fax over a copy to AMA.

So the first day is done, some success and some failure, but I feel good as I didn't take no for an answer which I would have were it not for all the similar stories all ready on this thread. So tomorrow will be another busy one, can't wait, take care gentlemen.

P.S.
If anyone is driving to the job fair in Red Deer on Wednesday and has space PM me it would be much appreciated and if not God has provided me with a thumb and a pair of legs

I was telling a few guys, but for anyone getting a cell out here I would not suggest getting rogers for a cell plan. Its been said on the thread already and I have heard from others (including Future Shop employee) that Rogers service is shit out here especially as you get farther from the cities. Bell and Telus have better service. Future Shop has a deal that right now (I think its still going) that if you activate a new Bell plan, you can get a Iphone 5s for $50. Even if the deal is not on anymore, the department stores (such as Future Shop and Best Buy) usually have better deals/promotions than if you go straight to the bell/telus/rogers store. The monthly cell plan costs are usually the same, but the big stores will have a weekly deal for a cheaper phone if you activate a plan or some sort of deal where if you activate a plan you get a discount on phone accessories or a gift card.

(09-08-2014 10:25 PM)Seanchaí Wrote:  P.S.
If anyone is driving to the job fair in Red Deer on Wednesday and has space PM me it would be much appreciated and if not God has provided me with a thumb and a pair of legs

A dude a couple of posts above you is going to the job fair.

My boss took this pic today (on his way up to Edmonton, from Calgary). September is barely a week old ffs!!

(09-08-2014 10:25 PM)Seanchaí Wrote:  P.S.
If anyone is driving to the job fair in Red Deer on Wednesday and has space PM me it would be much appreciated and if not God has provided me with a thumb and a pair of legs

There is a job fair in Edmonton tomorrow as well.

http://edmontonexpocentre.com/ai1ec_even...e_id=12804

Guys don't go with Rogers as has been mentioned, their cell coverage in western Canada is shit, go with Telus or Bell and you'll be fine. Man I can't believe its fucking snowing already, it doesn't completely surprise me but usually it doesn't start for another couple of weeks, WTF are we doing in this God forsaken shit hole boys? Oh ya, making tons of cash so we don't have to do this for the rest of our lives, don't lose focus fellas! Honestly I don't know how you rig pigs do it, working your bags off all winter in the Alberta cold, I'll be sure to post some pics on here when I'm on a beach in a tropical 3rd world shit hole in a couple of months .

Up here in Fort McMurray its really busy right now with shut downs, I've been bouncing around different sites getting pulled in every direction, I'm on day 21 straight and getting big hours, 14+/day so the bank account is getting fat but I"m looking forward to my days off so I can get some R&R in Etown and hopefully have a few drinks and hang out with you guys. Good luck to the new guys in town, I'm not totally sure when I'll be back, could be in two days, could be in two weeks at this point, but we'll be seeing each other soon enough.

(09-09-2014 07:23 PM)scotian Wrote:  I'll be sure to post some pics on here when I'm on a beach in a tropical 3rd world shit hole in a couple of months .

I'll be sure to respond with a pic of my frozen balls once they've fallen off. I'd be more than happy to buy you a pint lad if your around. Take it easy

Hi... An update from me, I arrived to Alberta 2 weeks ago to take my H2S training at Enform-Nisku on Aug-28 and I had already scheduled a couple of interviews for the day after with some well testing companies located in Red Deer (I had already applied online and called the companies a few days before). I just tried with well testing companies because I want to apply for a Permanent Resident next year, so working in this field is one of the best and faster ways to apply despite my trade in my home country is Civil Engineering with Oilfield experience. I started to work last Thursday with a couple of days shifts and then 2 night shifts, as most of you know this is an On Call job, so, sometimes I will be waiting for the call to work next day when the well testing has finished. So, is well testing all the time like this? and on the other hand could you tell me any ideas for a daily job while I am waiting for the next well to make some cash?. I am located in Red Deer.

PD: I want to say THANKS for all the guys that has posted important information on this forum. They know who they are...

Work at McDonalds/Food Service, they have flexible schedules and you can game the TFWs and girls that work there, if you get fired it's no big deal. Just find another, there's tons of these jobs around. There's also cash paid daily construction jobs at a lot of the staffing agencies, haven't done this myself but I see their signs everywhere.

(09-09-2014 11:02 PM)Jack Of All Trades Wrote:  Work at McDonalds/Food Service, they have flexible schedules and you can game the TFWs and girls that work there, if you get fired it's no big deal. Just find another, there's tons of these jobs around. There's also cash paid daily construction jobs at a lot of the staffing agencies, haven't done this myself but I see their signs everywhere.

Thanks man! I will check the signs for construction jobs in Red Deer (I haven't seen any here in Red Deer but I will check around tomorrow).

(09-09-2014 09:55 PM)HANS... Wrote:  Hi... An update from me, I arrived to Alberta 2 weeks ago to take my H2S training at Enform-Nisku on Aug-28 and I had already scheduled a couple of interviews for the day after with some well testing companies located in Red Deer (I had already applied online and called the companies a few days before). I just tried with well testing companies because I want to apply for a Permanent Resident next year, so working in this field is one of the best and faster ways to apply despite my trade in my home country is Civil Engineering with Oilfield experience. I started to work last Thursday with a couple of days shifts and then 2 night shifts, as most of you know this is an On Call job, so, sometimes I will be waiting for the call to work next day when the well testing has finished. So, is well testing all the time like this? and on the other hand could you tell me any ideas for a daily job while I am waiting for the next well to make some cash?. I am located in Red Deer.

PD: I want to say THANKS for all the guys that has posted important information on this forum. They know who they are...

If you're on a tight budget and need some quick cash I found that posting a personal profile ad in the kijiji general labour, trades or even resume category gives me more work opportunities than responding to posted ads.

Just explain precisely what you're looking for and be brief about your strengths and work history; basically like a resume summarized.

I got 7 phone calls, 3 emails and 2 text messages from companies with immediate work for me and that was just in the one day I posted.

Ask and you shall receive

Another last minute emergency option for immediate cash is labour ready, they open at 5:30 am with available work through out the day, but best chances for same day work are in the early morning, they take new applicants at 10:30 am, they work on a first come first serve basis so the earlier you are the most options you will have. If you do end up going to labour ready and are waiting for a job to come in, if you just wait outside the front door, you may get a random employer drive up offering work as has been the case for me in the past to what has been a great experience in landscaping maintenance.

Hey, all
I’m new to this forum, only joined 2 weeks after seeing Atlantic's post, which lead me to Scotian’s. Didn’t know much about Alberta oil sands and wasn't interested until I saw a post last 2 weeks on youtube about a Directional Drillers making 250k a year “Vice News”. Will post the link below. That got me interested and I’m here now. Here is a little about me. I’m from Trinidad, an Island in the Caribbean. I worked 12hour shifts at a Bank in the IT department for 4 years. 3 days 3night and 2 days off was the roster.
I moved to Toronto 2 years ago to study and graduated this May with an Advanced Diploma in Computer Systems Technology from Seneca College. I finally got my 3-years work permit so I can work any where in Canada. It’s that time to get a job, pay off my student debt while trying to get my Bachelors. I took this summer off to enjoy the sand, sun and the island life in the Caribbean but I’m heading back to Toronto mid September and thinking about making that move to Alberta to work as a Leasehand in October. Essential thanks for your post, maybe we can meet up at one of those Job Fairs.
I got a few questions that I hope you guys can help me with.

1) I have a Trinidadian Driving License with 10 years experience. Should I get a Toronto License and use that in Alberta or do I have to get an Alberta License. How long does it take to get it?
2) Would it be a problem for someone working on the oilrig floor if they had long hair? I have dread locks longer than shoulder length. I know you got to wear a Hard Hat but would that be an issue?
3) Is there racism in Edmonton, Calgary or Fort Mac? Have anyone seen or encountered that in the oil industry?
4) How is the IT profession in the Oil Industry compare to working directly on the Oil Rig, salary wise? Well besides being inside, not in -40 degrees and no hard labor.

I can't believe an Island Boy like me would have ever though of working in -40 conditions, but i'm definitely moving out there. Shit the weather looks bad already!!! But if there is a will there is a way. Got to say thanks to Scotian, Atlantic, Vacancier Permanent, Catalyst , Pitt, PakiRambo, DjembaDjemba and TravellingSoldier for being so informative as well as everyone else who has contributed to this forum. Thank you.

Vice post- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPkkSzV7aGM

(09-10-2014 03:31 PM)silk93 Wrote:  I got a few questions that I hope you guys can help me with.

1) I have a Trinidadian Driving License with 10 years experience. Should I get a Toronto License and use that in Alberta or do I have to get an Alberta License. How long does it take to get it?
2) Would it be a problem for someone working on the oilrig floor if they had long hair? I have dread locks longer than shoulder length. I know you got to wear a Hard Hat but would that be an issue?
3) Is there racism in Edmonton, Calgary or Fort Mac? Have anyone seen or encountered that in the oil industry?
4) How is the IT profession in the Oil Industry compare to working directly on the Oil Rig, salary wise? Well besides being inside, not in -40 degrees and no hard labor.

For the rules for your license, check out this:
http://www.servicealberta.ca/pdf/mv/GDL_...0_2014.pdf Edit: Go to page 21 for specific information on transferring your T&T licence. You have to get paperwork from the Toronto consulate, so that works for you.

So long as you can prove your driving experience, you can avoid having to start off with a class 7 and get your class 5N. You will still have to do the test for class 7, then apply for a GDL (Graduated Driver's License) exemption.

Regarding 2 - I believe you must be clean shaven, but that's facial hair, not sure if that applies to head hair.

3 - I would imagine there would be pockets of racism but you can find that anywhere. Hopefully a guy who is on the ground out there can give you a better answer.

4 - An office job is a typical 40 hr week for the most part, so you would be losing out on overtime hours. With your credentials I'm pretty sure you could start off with being a MWD though. It'll likely be a few years before you get to be a DD.

I'd look up the major drilling companies and see the positions they have open if you would prefer working in an office setting. You can find a comprehensive list here: http://www.rigtech.ca/live/Industry_Contacts

Aside from that getting a leasehand position in October is good timing. The rigtech site has a lot of good information regarding the drilling season.

2 - Other guys correct me if I'm wrong but for girls at least the hair needs to be in a bun and I think under the hardhat.

3 - Lots of racism, it's a pretty redneck world.

I also wanted to add something to the financing from a couple of pages ago. I bought a motorbike here through a dealership and I had trouble initially getting the financing, but then they changed it to 10% downpayment and 2 year contract and I got it, all on a 1 year working visa.

(09-10-2014 06:41 PM)Tresdus Wrote:  2 - Other guys correct me if I'm wrong but for girls at least the hair needs to be in a bun and I think under the hardhat.

3 - Lots of racism, it's a pretty redneck world.

I also wanted to add something to the financing from a couple of pages ago. I bought a motorbike here through a dealership and I had trouble initially getting the financing, but then they changed it to 10% downpayment and 2 year contract and I got it, all on a 1 year working visa.

Just wondering, what race are you?

I'm packing all of my shit up into my truck and am heading south bound on highway 63 this morning, I"m finally moving back to Edmonton after a three year absence. I'm getting the keys to my condo this afternoon and will be spending the next few days shopping for furniture (yay) and moving into the place, if any of you have a couple of hours you can spare to give me a hand, I would really appreciate it. I will pick you up and drop you off and buy some drinks too, just PM me.