Scotian for the takedown. BOOM!

Im a few blocks away from the flooding and near a bridge. The volume of water is nuts. Whole neighborhoods are under water. The Stampede grounds and drowning and on Friday, all of the bridges except for one was closed. The water was touching the bottom of them.

There was flooding in 2005 which they had deemed the worst in 100 yrs. This flooding volume is four times that.

Lots of tradesman going to be busy.

How are you guys doing now in Alberta after these crazy floodings? Is Edmonton and the area affected or is it only southern AB around Calgary that is affected? How is this flooding affecting work flow?

(06-23-2013 08:58 AM)Zeus Wrote:  Scotian for the takedown. BOOM!

Im a few blocks away from the flooding and near a bridge. The volume of water is nuts. Whole neighborhoods are under water. The Stampede grounds and drowning and on Friday, all of the bridges except for one was closed. The water was touching the bottom of them.

There was flooding in 2005 which they had deemed the worst in 100 yrs. This flooding volume is four times that.

Lots of tradesman going to be busy.

(06-28-2013 01:15 AM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  How are you guys doing now in Alberta after these crazy floodings? Is Edmonton and the area affected or is it only southern AB around Calgary that is affected? How is this flooding affecting work flow?

(06-23-2013 08:58 AM)Zeus Wrote:  Scotian for the takedown. BOOM!

Im a few blocks away from the flooding and near a bridge. The volume of water is nuts. Whole neighborhoods are under water. The Stampede grounds and drowning and on Friday, all of the bridges except for one was closed. The water was touching the bottom of them.

There was flooding in 2005 which they had deemed the worst in 100 yrs. This flooding volume is four times that.

Lots of tradesman going to be busy.

Calgary was hit the worst as well as High River, Edmonton had some flooding (parts of the Yellowhead Trail), Fort McMurray also had some pretty bad flooding in the downtown area. I haven't been affected by any of this since I've been in Saskatchewan the past three weeks. It looks like Calgary is still a mess but none of this should have a major impact of whats going on with the oil industry in the northern parts of the province, it may fuck up the Calgary Stampede though.

Edmonton sinkholes: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/06/27/...da-alberta

Just wanted to ask, are there any difference between onshore and offshore? In terms of work/sallaries etc?

I have a good pal who's chief electrician on one oil plathform somewhere in Norway.

I'm thinking of asking him to get me a rastoabout gig (lowest entry for begginers if i got it right, if that's the right name).

You guys think he could help a guy like me with no expirience whatsoever to get a gig, and is it harder to work offshore then what you guys do?

Is roustabout work something that only a complete animal can endure or is it somehow endurable for normal folks?

(06-29-2013 03:07 PM)Jourgensen Wrote:  Just wanted to ask, are there any difference between onshore and offshore? In terms of work/sallaries etc?

I have a good pal who's chief electrician on one oil plathform somewhere in Norway.

I'm thinking of asking him to get me a rastoabout gig (lowest entry for begginers if i got it right, if that's the right name).

You guys think he could help a guy like me with no expirience whatsoever to get a gig, and is it harder to work offshore then what you guys do?

Is roustabout work something that only a complete animal can endure or is it somehow endurable for normal folks?

You won't find out unless you try. You got arms, legs, and a heartbeat, so dive in.

Ross is offshore/onshore the same work?

And what about sallaries?

(06-29-2013 04:33 PM)Jourgensen Wrote:  Ross is offshore/onshore the same work?

And what about sallaries?

Offshore pays more. Ask your friend who's physically there. If you're serious about doing the job, talk to the crew on an offshore rig. Go meet them at places they usually hang out.

I am serious, but there's no way i can ask that crew anything, since they're all from Norway, Scotland, UK or whatever, and i'm from Croatia.

I just want to be sure that i can do that job, i just don't want to letdown my pal who could guarantee for me. I don't want him to stand up for me and get me a gig, just to quit after a few months realizing is too physically demandfull.

(06-30-2013 09:37 AM)Jourgensen Wrote:  I am serious, but there's no way i can ask that crew anything, since they're all from Norway, Scotland, UK or whatever, and i'm from Croatia.

I just want to be sure that i can do that job, i just don't want to letdown my pal who could guarantee for me. I don't want him to stand up for me and get me a gig, just to quit after a few months realizing is too physically demandfull.

Hit the gym. You go for physical jobs, you better be weight training before hand, anyway. More muscle is always an advantage. Your friend can vouch for you any day, yet, guaranteed, there will be a physical exam before you get hired.

I fly out from Ireland to Edmonton two weeks tomorrow Will be landing in Edmonton the 18th will any of you guys be about then ? Whats the work situation like there at the moment?

if your coming into july things slow down quite a bit. From what I understand it's lull for maintenance shutdowns. However towards the end of july you should be able to get work as in august to September work ramps because of fall shutdowns. So spend the first week enjoying the city and by the second you should have some lay of the land and start hitting the pavement hard.

Any electricians on here? i would like to ask a few questions to you directly if there is let me no thanks

Over 3 and a half months off from drilling and counting. Havnt been posting much cause I have been working like a dog at other projects but I might put up and update one of the days. I'm still on basic drilling salary which is nice since I have like 4 different jobs/projects right now also.

I'm keeping out of the bars and just enjoying the hussle at the moment. I have kind of fell off the radar a bit and havnt seen anyone from the forums too recently but have just been enjoying the work (80+ most weeks) and should be starting my own side business soon that can run without me.

If you want to save money and game here I again recommend a side job in town that puts you in contact which as much girls as possible : bookstore/clothes shop/ restaurant etc. Been doing very well lately without hitting a bar in weeks. 2 new girls last week alone. Must be the summer weather or something.

All in all loving the summer. Happy canada day everyone!

I'm in the beer garden of O'Byrnes if anyone is near Whyte Ave. Black baseball cap.

(07-01-2013 05:32 PM)John Mack Wrote:  I'm in the beer garden of O'Byrnes if anyone is near Whyte Ave. Black baseball cap.

I wish I could join you, I've been stuck in Estevan, Saskatchewan for the past three weeks and this place is a real shit hole. The only exciting thing that has happened since I've been here was that the plant site I'm working on was shut down yesterday due to an issue with asbestos, all of the workers walked off (union site) until they correct the problem, which should be tomorrow. Imagine 2000 tradesmen being let off work during a long weekend, in a small town of about 10,000 people, I didn't even bother going out last night but according to the news on the radio, several people spent the night in the drunk tank for public intoxication, fighting, lewd behavior, etc. I heard that once word got out that the plant was down, hookers and drug dealers were on their way from Regina , we'll see how many guys show up to site tomorrow.

Quick question for the guys working in the camps.

Any idea what the water system is there? Is it trucked in or piped in from a spring? Is there any sort of permanent fire system?

I've spent the past ~5 years working with clean water and if I were to ever make it out there it would be nice to jump into something I have experience with.

(07-02-2013 12:45 PM)canucktraveller Wrote:  Quick question for the guys working in the camps.

Any idea what the water system is there? Is it trucked in or piped in from a spring? Is there any sort of permanent fire system?

I've spent the past ~5 years working with clean water and if I were to ever make it out there it would be nice to jump into something I have experience with.

They truck it all in, the water in northern Alberta isn't good to drink or even use for showering, I think they call it brackish water and it sometimes has traces of bitumen in it. By fire systems, do you mean fire alarms? If so, then yes they have them and I've had to do stupid fire drills at 3am before, the camps are made of materials that go up pretty quick in a fire, I wouldn't want to be in one if it went up in smoke.

Hey guys, been reading this thread for a long time and this is my first post.

I'm from Houston, TX and I have been a student there for a while. Lots of student loan debt and generally being poor as fuck has taken its toll on me. When I came across this and various other threads I decided I'd roll the dice and come up. I worked a shitty full-time security guard job back in late March (9 bucks an hour!) while going to school in the morning, so I didn't sleep much. Saved up a decent amount although by oil sands standards it wasn't shit. Most of the money went to plane ticket, certifications (WHMIS, CSTS) and the SWAP program that allows me to legally work in Canada. Got my work permit and my SIN and I'm currently in Edmonton. I've been applying to places online/faxing resumes and calling people but I'm starting to get a little confused/discouraged as to how I'm gonna be able to get a camp job. I'm working a temp job right now in Edmonton but that's not what I came up here for. (when I told my boss what I'm doing he was like, "Wow you have balls", seems to be the general reaction most people have)

I have another week before I need to check out of my hostel for at least 7 days and money/time are running out. People are telling me to go to Nisku to apply in person, so I'm gonna try to get out there on Monday or Tues. Dont wanna fuck my temp job up though and that's 8 hrs a day during the week. I feel like I'm really close but there's something I'm missing. Need to get in a camp ASAP I don't care if it's general construction labourer or fucking janitor work, as long as I have camp then I can get my foot in the door.

(07-05-2013 04:50 PM)HoustontoEdmonton Wrote:  Hey guys, been reading this thread for a long time and this is my first post.

I'm from Houston, TX and I have been a student there for a while. Lots of student loan debt and generally being poor as fuck has taken its toll on me. When I came across this and various other threads I decided I'd roll the dice and come up. I worked a shitty full-time security guard job back in late March (9 bucks an hour!) while going to school in the morning, so I didn't sleep much. Saved up a decent amount although by oil sands standards it wasn't shit. Most of the money went to plane ticket, certifications (WHMIS, CSTS) and the SWAP program that allows me to legally work in Canada. Got my work permit and my SIN and I'm currently in Edmonton. I've been applying to places online/faxing resumes and calling people but I'm starting to get a little confused/discouraged as to how I'm gonna be able to get a camp job. I'm working a temp job right now in Edmonton but that's not what I came up here for. (when I told my boss what I'm doing he was like, "Wow you have balls", seems to be the general reaction most people have)

I have another week before I need to check out of my hostel for at least 7 days and money/time are running out. People are telling me to go to Nisku to apply in person, so I'm gonna try to get out there on Monday or Tues. Dont wanna fuck my temp job up though and that's 8 hrs a day during the week. I feel like I'm really close but there's something I'm missing. Need to get in a camp ASAP I don't care if it's general construction labourer or fucking janitor work, as long as I have camp then I can get my foot in the door.

Apply at NORALTA Lodge in Nisku. http://www.noraltalodge.com/ Cleaners make $260-$300 a day working at the camps. Recommend you read Robert Kiyosaki's books "Unfair Advantage" and "Increasing Your Financial IQ."

Awesome stuff HoustontoEdmonton! I take my hats off to you for your courage for coming here totally blind!

From what I've gathered, July is kind of slow but things pick up in August as the fall shut down season hiring gets in the way. If your current job is not too crappy, hang on to it for another 3-4 weeks then you should have better luck by then. Get in touch with the guys from the forum who are currently in Edmonton and there are a lot, just scroll back a few pages and you'll see them. Reach out to them, meet them for drinks, they are cool guys.

Regarding accommodations, are you staying at Hi Hostel? Even tough their policy is that you can only stay up to 2 weeks in a row and leave for another 2 weeks before returning, it's all negotiable. Talk to the guy in charge, explain to him your situation and see if they can let you stay despite their policy.

I'd like to hear what Scotian, the expert in the field as to say in terms of tips for HtE and others in this situation.

Hang in there man! It's only a matter of time!!!

Cheers!

(07-05-2013 04:50 PM)HoustontoEdmonton Wrote:  Hey guys, been reading this thread for a long time and this is my first post.

I'm from Houston, TX and I have been a student there for a while. Lots of student loan debt and generally being poor as fuck has taken its toll on me. When I came across this and various other threads I decided I'd roll the dice and come up. I worked a shitty full-time security guard job back in late March (9 bucks an hour!) while going to school in the morning, so I didn't sleep much. Saved up a decent amount although by oil sands standards it wasn't shit. Most of the money went to plane ticket, certifications (WHMIS, CSTS) and the SWAP program that allows me to legally work in Canada. Got my work permit and my SIN and I'm currently in Edmonton. I've been applying to places online/faxing resumes and calling people but I'm starting to get a little confused/discouraged as to how I'm gonna be able to get a camp job. I'm working a temp job right now in Edmonton but that's not what I came up here for. (when I told my boss what I'm doing he was like, "Wow you have balls", seems to be the general reaction most people have)

I have another week before I need to check out of my hostel for at least 7 days and money/time are running out. People are telling me to go to Nisku to apply in person, so I'm gonna try to get out there on Monday or Tues. Dont wanna fuck my temp job up though and that's 8 hrs a day during the week. I feel like I'm really close but there's something I'm missing. Need to get in a camp ASAP I don't care if it's general construction labourer or fucking janitor work, as long as I have camp then I can get my foot in the door.

(07-05-2013 04:50 PM)HoustontoEdmonton Wrote:  Hey guys, been reading this thread for a long time and this is my first post.

I'm from Houston, TX and I have been a student there for a while. Lots of student loan debt and generally being poor as fuck has taken its toll on me. When I came across this and various other threads I decided I'd roll the dice and come up. I worked a shitty full-time security guard job back in late March (9 bucks an hour!) while going to school in the morning, so I didn't sleep much. Saved up a decent amount although by oil sands standards it wasn't shit. Most of the money went to plane ticket, certifications (WHMIS, CSTS) and the SWAP program that allows me to legally work in Canada. Got my work permit and my SIN and I'm currently in Edmonton. I've been applying to places online/faxing resumes and calling people but I'm starting to get a little confused/discouraged as to how I'm gonna be able to get a camp job. I'm working a temp job right now in Edmonton but that's not what I came up here for. (when I told my boss what I'm doing he was like, "Wow you have balls", seems to be the general reaction most people have)

I have another week before I need to check out of my hostel for at least 7 days and money/time are running out. People are telling me to go to Nisku to apply in person, so I'm gonna try to get out there on Monday or Tues. Dont wanna fuck my temp job up though and that's 8 hrs a day during the week. I feel like I'm really close but there's something I'm missing. Need to get in a camp ASAP I don't care if it's general construction labourer or fucking janitor work, as long as I have camp then I can get my foot in the door.

Good luck man, glad to see you made it up to Etown, don't get too discouraged if you don't land a camp job right away, they aren't always that easy to land, in fact I'd say that the majority of the guys who've moved to Alberta from this forum aren't working in camps. Try to get some experience in a relevant skill or trade that could get you work up north, and keep applying. Usually the temp jobs will let you have a day off once in awhile, see what they say. I would apply to the big oil field services companies such as Weatherford, Schlumberger, Halliburton, etc, since you're a US citizen they would be keen to hire you on because you can easily work in both countries.

I'm curious about the SWAP program that you got into Canada on as a US citizen, can you tell us more about that?

SWAP program was great and pretty easy to do. The only problem was the cost - 500 bucks plus insurance, so total for me it was about 600. But once I got that work permit in my hands it was like gold.

Only requirements are that you have been a fulltime student in the past year (and can prove it with transcripts), pay the fee, and need to be under 30. I think only people from US can do it but I'm not completely sure. Check it out - http://www.swap.ca/in_eng/us_faq.aspx

(07-05-2013 06:30 PM)HoustontoEdmonton Wrote:  SWAP program was great and pretty easy to do. The only problem was the cost - 500 bucks plus insurance, so total for me it was about 600. But once I got that work permit in my hands it was like gold.

Only requirements are that you have been a fulltime student in the past year (and can prove it with transcripts), pay the fee, and need to be under 30. I think only people from US can do it but I'm not completely sure. Check it out - http://www.swap.ca/in_eng/us_faq.aspx

Right on, I wasn't aware of that program, good find. If you need a place to rent, I recommend you look on Kijiji Edmonton, its similar to Craigslist, you should be able to find a decent room to rent on there for $400-600. I recommend staying on the south side of the river, near Whyte Ave is pretty good, that's where my condo is and where most of the RVF guys are living, its near bus routes, the LRT train and of course all of the bars in Etown.

Don't worry too much about getting into camp right away, pace yourself, make some friends in Edmonton and get to know the city a bit. Its actually quite nice in Etown this time of the year, so enjoy it, because you'll see that by October the place turns into a barren, frozen Soviet style waste land, then is a good time to be in a work camp.

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(07-05-2013 04:50 PM)HoustontoEdmonton Wrote:  I've been applying to places online/faxing resumes and calling people but I'm starting to get a little confused/discouraged as to how I'm gonna be able to get a camp job. I'm working a temp job right now in Edmonton but that's not what I came up here for. (when I told my boss what I'm doing he was like, "Wow you have balls", seems to be the general reaction most people have)

I have another week before I need to check out of my hostel for at least 7 days and money/time are running out. People are telling me to go to Nisku to apply in person, so I'm gonna try to get out there on Monday or Tues. Dont wanna fuck my temp job up though and that's 8 hrs a day during the week. I feel like I'm really close but there's something I'm missing. Need to get in a camp ASAP I don't care if it's general construction labourer or fucking janitor work, as long as I have camp then I can get my foot in the door.

When I first got into Edmonton back in Feb, I had a roommate who was looking for work on the rigs, as was I. For 5 days straight, every single day, him and I went out to as many employers around Edmonton and Nisku as possible. Even to all the employment agencies in the area. Nothing. No replies. We were applying during the beginning of shut-down season so we had some bad timing. In total, I must have visited 15 different drilling companies, 10 different employment agencies and numerous other oil & gas companies, not to mention the hundred's of e-mails I sent out to practically any blue-collar job out there. It wasn't until the end of the 2nd week where I walked into a well-servicing rig company at the right time and basically hired me on the spot.

My point is, even though it may seem like no one is hiring, you HAVE to keep hitting the pavement to find the ones that are hiring. You need to go visit the companies, ask for the manager, and display your intentions for work. Cold approaches are tough to do, but they are necessary. All the RVF boys here that got jobs went through the same ordeal. I remember talking to Habsguy and zeeman about the constant rejection we got from companies and how Habsguy almost went broke before finally landing a proper gig so many weeks later. I even remember when zeeman was whining about getting a parking ticket and getting all nervous and shit because companies weren't responding favourably to him, and if he went another month without work he'd be broke too. But he ended up getting an interview and landed a proper gig too. These guys will probably read this and laugh, hahaha.

Just like anything in life, if it is easy to get, it's not worth getting.

(07-06-2013 02:07 AM)Albertron Wrote:  Just like anything in life, if it is easy to get, it's not worth getting.

Unless it's a single, childless, STD free, naked woman rushing to get into your bed!