What Jobs/Careers are available on an Oilfield?

[2rocky]

Aside from the discussion of the wildlife habitat/environmental issues of oil and gas development, I am curious what jobs are available in areas with oil and natural gas fields. Many places with good hunting have a booming industry close by and I was curious what the nature of the oilfield employment is?

What are the main jobs and pay ranges?

What jobs pay well enough to raise a family on and are accessible to someone with no industry experience, but willing to work?

Is the Work seasonal? What are the opportunities for advancement? Is it a Career? Are benefits common?

Do people work their whole career in one geographical area or is oilfield work nomadic by nature?

Sorry for the open ended questions but I'm trying to get an Idea of what "working in the Oilfield " means in a broad sense....

 

[smarandr]

I have a few clients that run trucks in NoDak and they tell me there's no place to sleep and no place to eat. So, I guess if you believe them you could probably make a killing in the hospitality industry.

 

[jlmatthew]

Read where Stippers are making over $3,000 a night at the man camps in NoDak

 

[Mudranger1]

Read where Stippers are making over $3,000 a night at the man camps in NoDak

heard this also:hump:

 

[THWAK1]

Read where Stippers are making over $3,000 a night at the man camps in NoDak

I was wondering where Cushman was! LMAO!

 

[fargoflyfish]

I happen to live right in the middle of the ND oil boom. There are jobs available in nearly every industry. However, the best paying jobs are in something oilfield related such as trucking, drilling, pumping, etc. The average household income in ND was approximately $40K, but in the oilfield areas it is around $85K. The oilfield activity has slowed down a bit, but is supposed to pick back up in a few months for a couple different reasons.

Make sure that before you pick up and move out here that you are prepared. Housing is almost non-existent. It is nearly impossible to find anything to rent and you are much better off if you can buy or build a house.

If you have any specific questions, let me know.

Good luck.

 

[jlmatthew]

I was wondering where Cushman was! LMAO!

How do you think he affords all those tags!

 

[Pagosa]

If your a geologist, engineer, driller, welder, or construction manager you can make over 100 with the right background. A pumper, rig worker, operator, etc can make around 4000 per month. Very seasonal and nothing is permanent, and its a tough job at all levels. My hunting and fishing has been limited due too working 60-75 hours a week and hunting seasons do not align when you have time off. It's a good pathway to something more rewarding.

 

[Dinkshooter]

No one ever says they want to be a rig pig when they grow up!

 

[THWAK1]

How do you think he affords all those tags!

I was going the other route, but that right there is friggin funny!

 

[belly-deep]

I don't think the oil fields offer the kind of lifestyle you seem to be looking for, but I could be wrong.

In my view, most oil field jobs offer young, uneducated, single guys a chance to work hard for a few years and make some money.

For a career, stability, a family, and hobbies, I would look elsewhere.

 

[ridge-runner]

ND and E. Montana are booming right now, but from what I understand is that the towns are still too small for the influx of people. Housing....good luck. Stories are coming out of Sidney, MT, of hotels being booked for years already once they are completed and multiple roommates per house kind of thing to deal with the high rent. The pay is great if you can deal with the hours that come along with it. I've got a friend who (once he got the time off) showed up to camp with two new pistols, a new truck, new Sage fly rod and new Hatch reel to boot. Don't think he's had time to use them since though. He has his own one-man trucking company, and I wonder if things might be different if he was higher up on the "oil field food chain." Empty food service and amenities (this coming from Sidney, MT) because everyone is out in the fields coupled with traffic like you wouldn't believe.

 

[Stubaby]

There are families moving to billings and bismark and the husbands are doing the two week on and off thing. I have friends that spend lots of time there and they all say that billings is as close as they would ever move thier family to the oil patch. Not enough infrastructure and police to keep up with the riff-raff.

The guys who are making a killing are the reps that sell the equipment and who are in charge of leasing. The guys on the riggs do make money but I can't imagine -20 or 110 above and doing what they do.

Lots of guys are heading that way- then come back in a month or two because of the stress of being there and on the family for being gone so much. If you are good at a trade like setting tile you could do well here in billings. It's created a void of good sub-contractors in places like billings and if you get in good with the GC's or builders will keep you busy.

 

[DRAFTSTUD]

We just got though the Haynesville Shale Boom and now alot of the guys are in South Texas or North Dakota. These are young men that are well educated and some have degrees, but no place will pay the money these young men are making right now. My son was called the other day and offered 80K to start, I told him the up and downs of the Oil Patch will cause you to spend all that big money when times go bust. But you won't have that big money, 65K trucks and houses they never see will use up all that fast money. These boys don't realize that by the time they are 45 they will be beat to hell and back. John

 

[mdhunter]

Let me get this straight...

Our government is spending more than $1,000,000,000,000 more than the annual revenue and you told those youngsters not to live for today?!? Why?

 

[Ben Lamb]

Let me get this straight...

Our government is spending more than $1,000,000,000,000 more than the annual revenue and you told those youngsters not to live for today?!? Why?

Because tomorrow always comes, and those guys default on their trucks and houses and cause an even bigger crash.

John is spot on.

 

[sweetnectar]

Tommorrow we still need oil and gas. But your right Government can shut it all right down when it gets involved.

 

[Dinkshooter]

I don't think the oil fields offer the kind of lifestyle you seem to be looking for, but I could be wrong.

In my view, most oil field jobs offer young, uneducated, single guys a chance to work hard for a few years and make some money.

For a career, stability, a family, and hobbies, I would look elsewhere.

I would have agreed 110% a year ago. However, last year my brother joined the evil side and has never been happier. 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off. I've seen him more the last year than the last 4 years which is awesome.

Of course he hooked up with a BIG company and has a good job as far as rig pigs go Making way more money than building houses and 26 weeks a year off is not a bad gig for a single guy.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Tommorrow we still need oil and gas. But your right Government can shut it all right down when it gets involved.

Very true. But the Oil and Gas industry is transient. They move to where the resource is, and after they've drilled,vthe work slows down exponentially.

To be sure,they're high paying jobs, for the short term. The bust always comes.

And thanks to new fleet mileage standards, our reliance on a diminishing resource will be lessened.

 

[dustinf]

Building scaffolding provides me a living. Most of my work is at coal fired power plants, steel mills, and other industrial sites. But there is lots of oppurtunity in the oil industry.

The hours are long, shifts weird, and the work is dangerous. 84 hour weeks add up fast, and give me the oppurtunity for time off in the fall.

These are from the inside of a coal fired boiler. About 500' in the air.