Swearbox what's your rent like? I see you get $1,000 a month for living allowance. Is that enough? I was just on the road for a month and I got closer to 2k allowance plus accommodation paid for, Just wondering how far a grand goes.

(10-24-2013 07:14 PM)Kdog Wrote:  Swearbox what's your rent like? I see you get $1,000 a month for living allowance. Is that enough? I was just on the road for a month and I got closer to 2k allowance plus accommodation paid for, Just wondering how far a grand goes.

Hi mate, as yet I haven't paid any...I'm staying with a friend who I used to be in the Air Force with. He & his wife are renting a 2 bed apt for 1700 a month which is considered low. We dropped a guy off after work yesterday who is paying $3k a month for his place (2 bed apt with parking & utilities & furnished). Rent is the biggest issue here by far and is what keeps a lot of people away if there is no camp accommodation associated with the job.

Hey mate I was in contact with this company about a job but for a different trade to yours.. It's 5 years work on a Nexan site right? I was told there is camp offered were you not offered that? What is the company like overall? Did thy include and tools and winter gear for you? Sorry for all the questions just trying to Suss out the best company for me.. Anyone on here in the IBEW 424!??

(10-24-2013 11:27 PM)salmonfella Wrote:  Hey mate I was in contact with this company about a job but for a different trade to yours.. It's 5 years work on a Nexan site right? I was told there is camp offered were you not offered that? What is the company like overall? Did thy include and tools and winter gear for you? Sorry for all the questions just trying to Suss out the best company for me.. Anyone on here in the IBEW 424!??

Camp accommodation is offered but they only fly in/out to Calgary & Edmonton...I'm from Ontario so I took the option to find local accommodation (for which the company gives me $1k a month towards the cost).

It's very early to take a view on the company overall as I've only been with them for about 10 days plus I'm brand new to this industry and have no other companies / site experience to use for comparison purposes. That said, I haven't come across any out and out dickheads amongst the crew we have so far (around 200 guys and girls).

There is a tool crib here on site that is slowly getting more and more tools in. All of our PPE is provided and I'm told that winter gear is part of our clothing issue (I already have been issued with a pretty decent outer jacket (fire retardant and very warm).

SB

That's just awesome Swearbox! I'm very happy for you man! Keep us updated!

Cheers!

Good stuff swearbox, when you're quoting prices for housing is that for Edmonton?

What kind of places are these guys in (niceness wise) because looking on craigslist I've found a bunch of places you can get a room for ~500/mth.


Also update on my end: I think I'm going to hold off on getting a car until I get to Alberta. The hassle of changing over insurance/registration/whatever coupled with my complete inexperience at driving in the winter would mean almost certain death driving thru the rockies in december lol.

Anyone have any data on Saskatchewan. I think scotian mentioned he went there. Are there similar opportunities out there? My buddy is out there and said I could stay with him till I find a job, but I think hes just trying to trick me into going there since its so damn boring, ha.

(10-25-2013 12:57 AM)WesternCancer Wrote:  Good stuff swearbox, when you're quoting prices for housing is that for Edmonton?

What kind of places are these guys in (niceness wise) because looking on craigslist I've found a bunch of places you can get a room for ~500/mth.


Also update on my end: I think I'm going to hold off on getting a car until I get to Alberta. The hassle of changing over insurance/registration/whatever coupled with my complete inexperience at driving in the winter would mean almost certain death driving thru the rockies in december lol.

I'm in Fort Mac mate.

that explains the prices then haha!

I've been digging a bit deeper into my opportunities and I think I might want to become a power engineer. I'm tired as fuck right now, but from what I understand you can take distance ED courses at NAIT or BCIT etc and 'go at your own pace" before you challenge the exam.

Ideally I'd want to get the certs in Alberta, because it looks like you have to have actual plant time to challenge an inter provincial exam.

Theres a 4th class guy at my work and BCIT offers a reduced time period if you get 'sponsored'

I probably know half the shit already from my physics/math classes and could probably become a 4th class power engineer in a few months or maybe less. I got pretty good marks in uni and I didn't start learning till the day before the test.

The process seems too simple, am I missing something?

Since there are many canadians working in natural resources on this thread, I want to ask two questions....

How's the situation like in Nanavut or Northern Territories? I was reading their wikipedia articles and yellowknife has a lot diamond production going on.

They seem like nice places to live....calm, not many people. Although the cold weather would freeze my texan balls off.

Well here's an update on my Alberta job hunt adventures. Went to some instrumentation companies in Edmonton and Nisku/Leduc on Tuesday--all were saying it was slow. On Wednesday I decided to drive up to Calgary and hit the concentrated contractors in the downtown core. Some I dropped resumes but others said they would get me something when their winter projects pick up. Yesterday I took it easy and just made more copies of resumes and faxed a few out to some companies. And today I decided to drive down to Red Deer. Dropped a few resumes off at some instrumentation companies and well testing companies. I'm scheduled for a drug test and physical with a well testing company on Monday. And sounds like I might be able to get straight into an apprenticeship with two of the instrumentation companies I visited.

I don't think much has been said about Red Deer. Don't overlook this city. A crap load of oil well services company base out of Red Deer. I only visited a few companies and got a phone call with an offer in a matter of hours--I never even talked to a hiring manager, just dropped off a resume. In Red Deer you have well testing companies, frac/coil companies, service rigs, etc. If anyone has a class 1, 3, or 5 license, Baker Hughes has a big "Now Hiring" sign at their Red Deer location. So, don't overlook the small towns like Red Deer, Whitecourt, and Grande Prairie--I might drop a resume in on Baker Hughes when I go back next week lol.

(10-25-2013 12:57 AM)WesternCancer Wrote:  Good stuff swearbox, when you're quoting prices for housing is that for Edmonton?

What kind of places are these guys in (niceness wise) because looking on craigslist I've found a bunch of places you can get a room for ~500/mth.


Also update on my end: I think I'm going to hold off on getting a car until I get to Alberta. The hassle of changing over insurance/registration/whatever coupled with my complete inexperience at driving in the winter would mean almost certain death driving thru the rockies in december lol.

Anyone have any data on Saskatchewan. I think scotian mentioned he went there. Are there similar opportunities out there? My buddy is out there and said I could stay with him till I find a job, but I think hes just trying to trick me into going there since its so damn boring, ha.

Man it depends on where he is. If it's Regina, personally, I wouldn't waste my time--there's nothing but garbage retail gigs and construction, i don't care what anyone says. If it's Estevan, Kindersley, Weyburn, Swift Current, etc, I say go for it if he's letting you crash with him. I don't know about the shutdown maintenance type work, but I hear there's service/drilling rigs, well testing, fraccing, etc. going on. The problem is there's no place to live in those crappy, garbage towns, but if you have a place to stay, go for it.

(10-25-2013 12:57 AM)WesternCancer Wrote:  Good stuff swearbox, when you're quoting prices for housing is that for Edmonton?

What kind of places are these guys in (niceness wise) because looking on craigslist I've found a bunch of places you can get a room for ~500/mth.


Also update on my end: I think I'm going to hold off on getting a car until I get to Alberta. The hassle of changing over insurance/registration/whatever coupled with my complete inexperience at driving in the winter would mean almost certain death driving thru the rockies in december lol.

Anyone have any data on Saskatchewan. I think scotian mentioned he went there. Are there similar opportunities out there? My buddy is out there and said I could stay with him till I find a job, but I think hes just trying to trick me into going there since its so damn boring, ha.

Ya Sask has lots of work and is a bit more diverse than Alberta as they have oil and gas but also uranium and potash, however I`d never live here as the province sucks, it has all of the negative aspects of Alberta (cold as fuck, flat and boring, issues with natives, etc) but non of the positives (mountains, no PST, low taxes, etc). I`d much rather live in Edmonton or Calgary than Regina or Saskatoon and I`d never live in Estevan, a town I just spent three months in, although its booming there right now.

(10-25-2013 02:19 AM)WesternCancer Wrote:  that explains the prices then haha!

I've been digging a bit deeper into my opportunities and I think I might want to become a power engineer. I'm tired as fuck right now, but from what I understand you can take distance ED courses at NAIT or BCIT etc and 'go at your own pace" before you challenge the exam.

Ideally I'd want to get the certs in Alberta, because it looks like you have to have actual plant time to challenge an inter provincial exam.

Theres a 4th class guy at my work and BCIT offers a reduced time period if you get 'sponsored'

I probably know half the shit already from my physics/math classes and could probably become a 4th class power engineer in a few months or maybe less. I got pretty good marks in uni and I didn't start learning till the day before the test.

The process seems too simple, am I missing something?

Power engineering was mentioned on here a couple of pages ago and I think that the consensus is that its hard to get into and probably best to take a two year diploma at a community college, something you`re probably not too keen on since you just spent a few years in uni. I say come to Alberta and try to get into some entry level work on site, see how you like it, network and then move on from there. Or you could work some labour type job for a few months, save up some cash then go on an epic trip for a few months, that`s probably what I would do. There's no harm in taking the online courses though as you'd learn the ins and outs of how these plant sites work, even if you don't end up being a power engineer, its useful knowledge and would look good on a resume.

(10-25-2013 04:40 PM)Cattle Rustler Wrote:  Since there are many canadians working in natural resources on this thread, I want to ask two questions....

How's the situation like in Nanavut or Northern Territories? I was reading their wikipedia articles and yellowknife has a lot diamond production going on.

They seem like nice places to live....calm, not many people. Although the cold weather would freeze my texan balls off.

I've never been up there but I know that they're hard places to live, basically 9-10 months of winter, land of the midnight sun and very rowdy natives up there. You'd have to be an outdoors man to really enjoy it, if you're into hunting and fishing, a place like NWT or the Yukon could be great. Things are very expensive up there as they have to be flown in or hauled by truck over ice roads, but there are tax breaks and a "northern living allowance". Here's a link to a major diamond mine that I know of: http://www.diavik.ca/ , if you want more info, especially on Yellowknife, I have a couple of buddies up there now who could answer some questions, one of them works in a diamond mine.

(10-25-2013 07:14 PM)Temm Wrote:  Well here's an update on my Alberta job hunt adventures. Went to some instrumentation companies in Edmonton and Nisku/Leduc on Tuesday--all were saying it was slow. On Wednesday I decided to drive up to Calgary and hit the concentrated contractors in the downtown core. Some I dropped resumes but others said they would get me something when their winter projects pick up. Yesterday I took it easy and just made more copies of resumes and faxed a few out to some companies. And today I decided to drive down to Red Deer. Dropped a few resumes off at some instrumentation companies and well testing companies. I'm scheduled for a drug test and physical with a well testing company on Monday. And sounds like I might be able to get straight into an apprenticeship with two of the instrumentation companies I visited.

I don't think much has been said about Red Deer. Don't overlook this city. A crap load of oil well services company base out of Red Deer. I only visited a few companies and got a phone call with an offer in a matter of hours--I never even talked to a hiring manager, just dropped off a resume. In Red Deer you have well testing companies, frac/coil companies, service rigs, etc. If anyone has a class 1, 3, or 5 license, Baker Hughes has a big "Now Hiring" sign at their Red Deer location. So, don't overlook the small towns like Red Deer, Whitecourt, and Grande Prairie--I might drop a resume in on Baker Hughes when I go back next week lol.

Well done hitting up all of those cities and you're right, Red Deer is a busy city, mostly with drilling and oil field services but there's also a few chemical plants nearby (I worked at one recently) such as Dow chemical, Nova Chemicals and Agrium. The main contactor I worked for in Red Deer was Quinn contracting, I also worked for them up at Cenovus in Christina Lake (awesome site, the best I've been to), I would send them a resume too. A couple of other small towns that are very busy are Lloydminster, Slave Lake, Cold Lake, Wabasca and Zama, they all have oil and gas but I'm not sure if I could live in any of them for too long, maybe a few months but I'd eventually go insane, as I'm doing in this shitty little town in Sask called Coronach, you wouldn't believe how much it sucks here!

Swearbox, glad to hear that things are working out well, do you plan on flying home every rotation? Would you ever consider moving the family up to Fort Mac? The town gets a bad rep and in someways its deserved but I actually miss the place, it can be a good place to live, especially if you're living in the city and are home every night and get to go out for beers once in awhile. A lot of us east coasters just move the entire family up, its expensive to rent a house there (3-5K/month) but being able to see your family every night can't be beat.

My best friend just moved up there two months ago and is buying a three bedroom town house in Timberlea (the nice part) which will set him back a cool $600K, it sounds crazy but he's getting $200/day LOA and the place already has two renters paying $1000/month each, so the he'll make money off the place.

I haven't even worked in oil and gas at all this year, I've been working in electrical plants in Saskatchewan and I did a quick ten day job at a fertilizer plant near Red Deer. Its been good but I haven't been working the big Fort Mac style hours so the money hasn't been great, but I needed a break from the 100 hour/week madness that happens in Fort Mac. Well, I'm taking three months off mid-November and heading to warmer climes but I'll probably be back in the big dirty next spring, hope to see some of you guys up there!

(10-20-2013 01:06 PM)NeVerGymLess Wrote:  Can anyone do a report on living in Edmonton ? Kind of like the ones in the travel section . I'm currently a crane operator in vancouver , making $60,000 a year , living paycheck to paycheck . Been looking at truck driving jobs in Edmonton for $80,000 but want to know what its like living out there .

We have a crane operator on our site and he is making a shitload of money and was working exactly 0 minutes the last 2 days. Per week he is making 5k$ net into his bank account, he even showed me his payslip and i was carrying 100lb pipe for 267,5$ a day
He is a well head boom truck operator.
It's his 4th year now, before he did 8 years coil tubing.

@ Temm
I'm a Well Tester for Schlumberger right now. I had my second field day today, before i had one week orientation.
If i were you i would go with a trade. I'm a foreigner so i can't.
Well Testing is actually not that bad except of rig in and rig out, luckily i haven't done it yet.
I was just carrying the pipes in the yard and they are fucking heavy, the heaviest ones we need to carry are up to about 270lb, so per person it's 135lb. I can't lift them and i need to carry the smaller ones only, approx. 100lb per person.
Beside this it's a nice job, yesterday i needed to go to the wellhead every 30 minutes to write down the pressures of casing and tubing, that's all. Today carrying pipe for about 30 minutes and then hammering it together, it's hard but ok. Then i helped the Pressure truck driver and some VAC Truck drivers because the Well was shut in. The last 3 hours again every 30 minutes to the Well Head to read the pressures.
Once Slickline finished it's job, there will be more work for us.
I'm not sure how long i will stick with it, i don't want to mess with my back.
I can't recommend pressure truck operator, when this truck works on full speed, you think it will explode the next second, it's shaking, steam and exhaust gases all over, 120db and the operator is standing in the middle of this nightmare.

(10-25-2013 09:48 PM)buko Wrote:  

(10-20-2013 01:06 PM)NeVerGymLess Wrote:  Can anyone do a report on living in Edmonton ? Kind of like the ones in the travel section . I'm currently a crane operator in vancouver , making $60,000 a year , living paycheck to paycheck . Been looking at truck driving jobs in Edmonton for $80,000 but want to know what its like living out there .

We have a crane operator on our site and he is making a shitload of money and was working exactly 0 minutes the last 2 days. Per week he is making 5k$ net into his bank account, he even showed me his payslip and i was carrying 100lb pipe for 267,5$ a day
He is a well head boom truck operator.
It's his 4th year now, before he did 8 years coil tubing.

DAMN! A quarter million a year?? You can work just a few years and go retire for the rest of your life in Thailand. How do I get Canadian citizenship???

Scotian wrote

"Swearbox, glad to hear that things are working out well, do you plan on flying home every rotation? Would you ever consider moving the family up to Fort Mac? The town gets a bad rep and in someways its deserved but I actually miss the place, it can be a good place to live, especially if you're living in the city and are home every night and get to go out for beers once in awhile. A lot of us east coasters just move the entire family up, its expensive to rent a house there (3-5K/month) but being able to see your family every night can't be beat."

I have no plans to fly home every time I'm off for a few days. As a first yr apprentice the wages just don't support that kind of action especially when you factor in the cost to rent a place here. I'm lucky as I'm staying with a mate in his spare room but I'm still going to have to stump up some dough each month for the pleasure - we just haven't figured out how much yet.

It would be nice to be able to go home at night to your loved ones but right now I don't see that happening just yet. It's a big call to make...if I moved my mrs up here we would take the hit of losing her wage (I'm sure she could find something else round here though) but if she moved here it would mean moving out of where I am now and that would mean a huge increase in rent so not too keen on that idea.

For now we're just going to suck it up and see how things go and get used to the idea of being apart for extended periods otherwise it's just not worth being here if I'm going to be spending half my wages on flights every other week...might as well be suffering on a pittance back in Ontario. Obviously everyone has different circumstances and some folk are in a position whereby they have a shitload more disposable income (I'm thinking about the J Men now)...just hope my 4 years passes quickly

SB

(10-25-2013 09:48 PM)buko Wrote:  @ Temm
I'm a Well Tester for Schlumberger right now. I had my second field day today, before i had one week orientation.
If i were you i would go with a trade. I'm a foreigner so i can't.
Well Testing is actually not that bad except of rig in and rig out, luckily i haven't done it yet.
I was just carrying the pipes in the yard and they are fucking heavy, the heaviest ones we need to carry are up to about 270lb, so per person it's 135lb. I can't lift them and i need to carry the smaller ones only, approx. 100lb per person.
Beside this it's a nice job, yesterday i needed to go to the wellhead every 30 minutes to write down the pressures of casing and tubing, that's all. Today carrying pipe for about 30 minutes and then hammering it together, it's hard but ok. Then i helped the Pressure truck driver and some VAC Truck drivers because the Well was shut in. The last 3 hours again every 30 minutes to the Well Head to read the pressures.
Once Slickline finished it's job, there will be more work for us.
I'm not sure how long i will stick with it, i don't want to mess with my back.
I can't recommend pressure truck operator, when this truck works on full speed, you think it will explode the next second, it's shaking, steam and exhaust gases all over, 120db and the operator is standing in the middle of this nightmare.

Ahh, so you decided to go with Schlumberger? Yeah well testing isn't something I want to do for too long just long enough until I can get into a trade, which may happen sooner rather than later. I've had a few recruiters tell me that they were going try to get me into a trade as soon as something opens up--hopefully they weren't pulling the chain.

(10-25-2013 11:26 PM)Temm Wrote:  Ahh, so you decided to go with Schlumberger? Yeah well testing isn't something I want to do for too long just long enough until I can get into a trade, which may happen sooner rather than later. I've had a few recruiters tell me that they were going try to get me into a trade as soon as something opens up.

Yeah, the other with the base salary was with Weatherford, the next day Schlumberger called me and it was the best offer i think. We will see how long i will make it, it's an interesting job you learn a lot about the whole production and the other services as well, the physical part is just very annoying.
I would go with a big Company like Weatherford or Schlumberger, you will learn more and i assume their safety standard is higher.
Yes, something less physical demanding would be nice

(10-25-2013 10:12 PM)speakeasy Wrote:  

(10-25-2013 09:48 PM)buko Wrote:  

(10-20-2013 01:06 PM)NeVerGymLess Wrote:  Can anyone do a report on living in Edmonton ? Kind of like the ones in the travel section . I'm currently a crane operator in vancouver , making $60,000 a year , living paycheck to paycheck . Been looking at truck driving jobs in Edmonton for $80,000 but want to know what its like living out there .

We have a crane operator on our site and he is making a shitload of money and was working exactly 0 minutes the last 2 days. Per week he is making 5k$ net into his bank account, he even showed me his payslip and i was carrying 100lb pipe for 267,5$ a day
He is a well head boom truck operator.
It's his 4th year now, before he did 8 years coil tubing.

DAMN! A quarter million a year?? You can work just a few years and go retire for the rest of your life in Thailand. How do I get Canadian citizenship???

Marry a broad from.....Toronto.

(10-25-2013 11:36 PM)buko Wrote:  Yeah, the other with the base salary was with Weatherford, the next day Schlumberger called me and it was the best offer i think. We will see how long i will make it, it's an interesting job you learn a lot about the whole production and the other services as well, the physical part is just very annoying.
I would go with a big Company like Weatherford or Schlumberger, you will learn more and i assume their safety standard is higher.
Yes, something less physical demanding would be nice

Yeah I was trying to get on with Weatherford but the testing manager said that they weren't bringing on any new guys until the end of next month, so who knows. I read on another forum that Weatherford is shutting down one of their services, coil tubing I think, so I don't know. I heard they were really busy and needing guys bad, but their manager was saying otherwise.

If you have a class 5, should try to get on with Sanjel, Trican, Baker Hughes, etc. I hear they are taking on class 5 drivers and getting them their class 1 just have to stay with them for a year or they take like a few thousand from your pay or something not too sure though.

speakeasy, I'm surprised cattlerustler was the first to suggest using game to get a job in Canada, ahha! Just make sure to hide all that oil $$$ you're making.

Thanks for the opinions on power engineering. I was skimming BCIT, NAIT/SAIT sites and it looks like BCIT has a 'continuous intake program' ie anyone can get in at any time. I emailed the program coordinator at BCIT today and she said that depending on the size/class of the boiler at my job I could start right away going for my 4th class ticket as I would be able to get 'firing time' I won't be able to find that info out till my next shift, but I'm heading into BCIT tomorrow anyways and I'll try to get as much data as I can on any oil/gas/energy programs they offer.

scotian, what you've said is basically my game plan to start, I am also a pussy and want to avoid as much of the winter as I can ahah! I work better under tight deadlines, so even if I only have a an hour a day to study after a long day of whatever I end up doing to start (probably labour, until the hiring season for my current #1 path starts up) I'll be able to get the necessary grades/work done. It would be really beneficial to work in a place with the right class to get the work experience necessary to get my ticket.

my buddy is in saskatoon, he said the girls are great, but other than that it sucks ahah. I skimmed some sites to see what they had for jobs... mostly retail, whereas in edmonton theres tons of places wanting general labor to make alright money. The security of having a place to stay rent free till I get a job, and the familiarity of staying at a good friends place is a big pull, but it doesn't look like Saskatchewan is for me. Theres only so much prairie I can take... Calgary was almost too much.

I need to stop reading this thread after work though, I get so excited and can't fall asleep

(10-25-2013 11:48 PM)Temm Wrote:  

(10-25-2013 11:36 PM)buko Wrote:  Yeah, the other with the base salary was with Weatherford, the next day Schlumberger called me and it was the best offer i think. We will see how long i will make it, it's an interesting job you learn a lot about the whole production and the other services as well, the physical part is just very annoying.
I would go with a big Company like Weatherford or Schlumberger, you will learn more and i assume their safety standard is higher.
Yes, something less physical demanding would be nice

Yeah I was trying to get on with Weatherford but the testing manager said that they weren't bringing on any new guys until the end of next month, so who knows. I read on another forum that Weatherford is shutting down one of their services, coil tubing I think, so I don't know. I heard they were really busy and needing guys bad, but their manager was saying otherwise.

If you have a class 5, should try to get on with Sanjel, Trican, Baker Hughes, etc. I hear they are taking on class 5 drivers and getting them their class 1 just have to stay with them for a year or they take like a few thousand from your pay or something not too sure though.

you mean for frac or coil?
frac iron is thousand times heavier than ours, i want to avoid this physical work
i'm not sure about coil though, many guys say it's the best service you can choose, a supervisor can clear over 100k per year with a lot of days, but it takes a long time to be one in coil.
Yes they pay for your class 1 but you get paid way less per month then guys with their class 1 and if you quit before the 1st year is over you need to pay it back. It's better to make the class 1 before applying.

(10-26-2013 09:43 PM)buko Wrote:  

(10-25-2013 11:48 PM)Temm Wrote:  

(10-25-2013 11:36 PM)buko Wrote:  Yeah, the other with the base salary was with Weatherford, the next day Schlumberger called me and it was the best offer i think. We will see how long i will make it, it's an interesting job you learn a lot about the whole production and the other services as well, the physical part is just very annoying.
I would go with a big Company like Weatherford or Schlumberger, you will learn more and i assume their safety standard is higher.
Yes, something less physical demanding would be nice

Yeah I was trying to get on with Weatherford but the testing manager said that they weren't bringing on any new guys until the end of next month, so who knows. I read on another forum that Weatherford is shutting down one of their services, coil tubing I think, so I don't know. I heard they were really busy and needing guys bad, but their manager was saying otherwise.

If you have a class 5, should try to get on with Sanjel, Trican, Baker Hughes, etc. I hear they are taking on class 5 drivers and getting them their class 1 just have to stay with them for a year or they take like a few thousand from your pay or something not too sure though.

you mean for frac or coil?
frac iron is thousand times heavier than ours, i want to avoid this physical work
i'm not sure about coil though, many guys say it's the best service you can choose, a supervisor can clear over 100k per year with a lot of days, but it takes a long time to be one in coil.
Yes they pay for your class 1 but you get paid way less per month then guys with their class 1 and if you quit before the 1st year is over you need to pay it back. It's better to make the class 1 before applying.

Coil. Yeah fair enough point about the class 1. Where is your services shop based out of? You're living in Calgary right?

out of Grande Prairie

Just landed at the HI hostel, the place is crawling with dudes looking for work

Quick update from tiny village near the Arctic almost:

My job had me relocate to a small town 3 hours nortj of Etown. Its almost like a cartoon type of town: one main street, one plaza with a few shops, one Wal Mart, one Timmys, one McDo, one Subway and thats pretty much it. No malls, bars, lounges or clubs. But there are some cute little things. The ratio in town must be 10-12 to 1 guy for every lizard. Very scketchy phone reception and no internet since I moved here. I'm using the wifi at the only Timmys in town to check my email and post this. In other words, a fully certified world class shit hole!

Today went to get fitted for work clothes at my boss's house. He looks like a cool older guy. He's also waiting for a call from head office to start on a new project which might start tomorrow or sometime this week.

Nothing much to do here other than reading books ( thanks God I brought a few good ones about travel and adventure) and playing video games on my ipad or with my cool quebecois flatmate.

It snowed on sunday and its starting to get cold already. My boss said once he gets the green lights from head office on the new project it'll be crazy busy non stop every day for the next few months. He also said the hours are long, he would come pick me up at 6 or 7 am to drive to the various job sites all accross Alberta, Saskatchewan or even BC and be back at home at 9 or 10pm. He said his other trainee is clearing about 9K every 3 weeks! He toold me once you get your first ticket, it'll bump to 12-16K!!!

He told me straight up 'if you stick here with me working these crazy hours till spring, by the time it gets warm again in May-June, you will have cleared m100K!!!' Needless to stay I'm very excited!

Im typing this on my phone and dont have a laptop as it died recently. But once I get a proper laptop, I will post a lot more and may even start a blog about my adventures among rednecks, Indians and bears up north here in Alberta.

But guys, get off your lazy butts and get here! Once you're in AB, its just impossible not to make some serious $$$$$$$$!

Cheers!