The truth about these new oil field jobs.
 

Does anyone have any sound info on what they are TRULY about? From A-Z please.

Thank you

Yeah. They are jobs that require hard work and dedication.

It's hard work, eats up a lot of your life, but pays very well. Most people quit and that's good for me because I don't want this market flooded with people willing to work for nothing like the otr market.

I'm home in Michigan, on break right now, from the ND oil patch. Right now I am with Baker Hughes, working as an Equipment Operator, my pay has taken a bit of a hit, but the bennies make up for it. Starting pay is roughly $23 and hour. They pay for housing (Private rooms at places like The Quality Inn, Ramada, Microtel, Best Western, etc.), travel to and from the house (full airline cost reimbursement or .50 a mile if you drive), immediate benefits, Blue Cross Blue Shield, eye, dental, 401k, stock options, etc., upon completion of two week orientation (which I was paid $2200 net to attend). They give you all clothing, winter gear, etc., including prescription safety glasses, you need to buy your own steel toed boots and long underwear.

If you have a wife, kids and or pets, bring them along, as they (Baker Hughes) will house them at no charge along with you. I have a few buddies that I work with that have the wife and kids with them right now. They put the kids in school, and mom goes out and grabs a part time job that normally pays around $14 an hour if not more. We are located in Dickinson ND, plenty of work. McDonalds and Walmart pay around $14 an hour to start. If the wife has other skills, she can make more, especially in nursing.

Here is a link to check out, it is from Mile High Employment out of Denver, CDL-A Drivers and Diesel Mechanics Job Fair in Minneapolis, Minnesota | Mile High Energy Solutions

Here is the Craigslist link JOB FAIR Minnesota for North Dakota oilfield(65-75K first year)

I have two of my friends heading up there, if you are clean you will be hired. We need 500 more people. And we are opening a new terminal come spring time. Things are kind of goofy right now, but we are in a small yard and have more work than you can shake a stick at. In other words, we are growing to fast right now, so not all is rosey right now but should be getting better come spring.

If you are not interested in Baker Hughes, the main issue for you guys will be housing, as there is little of it. Many outfits charge you up to $700+ a month for what many of us would consider third world accommodations and have issues getting you paid. In other words, do your own due diligence! There are many good outfits here in ND, but we have our share of fly by nights that have no problem in stealing from you. If you come up here to work for a legitimate employer, and were recruited from out of state, you should not have to pay for housing! It has never been like that in the oil patch, as companies have historically paid for housing at the minimum, be they man camps or group housing.

Here are some links to check out....

Check out this video too. It is from Cramer of CNBC's Mad Money, he did this show this past August. He did a great job describing what is actually going on up here in ND.

Mad Money, August 24, 2011 - CNBC

A local paper out of Williston ND

Classifieds - The Shopper, Inc. - Williston, North Dakota

If you want to talk, just pm me your phone number and I will give you a call on my dime. I have been in ND since April of this year.

Mike

ON EDIT! if you do not have your CDL Baker Hughes will send you to Denver to obtain one and PAY YOU to attend the CDL school! At no cost to you! So if you know of someone that can work for 30 plus hours straight, and they don't have a CDL, we will get them everything they need!

This is not a job for sissies! I'm 46 years old and hanging in there.

Double post for some reason..

Slodsm,

Agree, this place ain't for sissies.

:D At 54.....It is a lot harder than it was at 21!! I'm just happy as crap that I didn't try the "Well Services" again!! No iron laying for me!! :thumbsup:

Orangetxguy,

It ain't easy, that is for sure, my body aches. But, in this new economy, we take what we can get. Honestly it sucks, but I do enjoy the work. Hell, I need the exercise!

What is nice about this work, is that once you learn the racket, you can write your own ticket. Right now I am in cement, not that difficult, and the young guys are always there to show up this old man... Which I do not mind one bit. ;)

There was a time....when I was still a kid, when throwing iron together to get ready to cement, frac or acidize a well was a snap for me. I did it in the cold of Wyoming, Utah, Colorado...and the more temperate climates of New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Ohio....and California............now......I will let the kids do it.

justruckin, don't know how to pm yet but would love more info on how to hire on with baker hughes. like orangetxguy i worked offshore for halliburton cementing and what not in my 20's. would like to get on with baker and i understand the weather, have lived in alaska and seen my share of cold. anyway any info will be appreciated.

Sundog,

Call these guys... http://mhemployment.com/minneapolis-job-fair/

It's the real deal, pain in the arse right now, but there is allot going on, growing pains... BUT, they will and do bend over backwards to keep a guy happy. I have never been treated this good by anyone that I have worked for. Honestly, it is an opportunity of a lifetime.

Mike

Justruckin, i called mile high and didn't like what they were telling me. from what i have read from you here i would love to get on with baker hughes however i'm a truck driver not a frac hand, i'm too out of shape to be rigging up and shoveling sand and that was to only position they talked about that i could have some home time, i live in Wisconsin. do you think if i showed up at their door would i be able to find a job with them. i'll be joining a small trucking company and will probably be out there next week. thanks

Hey Mike, meant to thank you again for your time and info per our chat last week.
I called them and they said they want experience (insurance reasons) and do not know of a school in Denver.(??) :/ Just thought I'd let ya know what they said.

was that baker hughes?

I've been told to just head out there and I'll find a job fast. What are your opinions on that plan?

Exactly which company is it you are working for? Mile High Energy Solutions....which is what your "job fair" link is about......Or are you employed by Baker Hughes....which is what you have implied.

You have a couple of the "Newbies" wondering I am sure....and you do have at least one "oldie" confused.

Just to clarify......I have never worked for Big Red. Not back in the day....not now....not ever! I worked for Dowell for 10 years.....Dowell is now Schlumberger Oilwell Services.


Sundog......The easiest way to get hired on with Baker Hughes.....is to talk with Baker Hughes. There are a lot of different companies under the Baker Hughes umbrella.

Careers @ Baker Hughes | BakerHughes.com

I was at a Baker Hughes hiring event in Denver on Monday (Oct 31). I was offered a job in Dickinson as a Field Operator. The offer letter describes the postion Mike mentions above. 23.00 per hour with CDL, 21.00 per hour without CDL. If you don't have a CDL they will train you. 21/14 rotation with housing provided.

The event wasn't well publicized and they were hiring pretty much anyone who looked fit for the postion. If you are drug free there is probably a position available for you with BH. They are literally hiring 100's of people. They said they have millions of dollars worth of equipment on the ground that they need to get running. BH has two teams moving throughout the country putting on these hiring events. It was a fluke that I saw the ad in the Denver Post on Sunday. (Who looks in the paper for a job anymore?)

As background, I currently live in Denver and grew up in Williston ND. I spent a few weeks in Williston in October, as I still have family there. Let me make this clear, there are thousands of jobs available in Williston, but DO NOT plan on going there are landing a job that will provide you housing when you get into town. Big Oil is buying up the town. Halliburton, Weatherford, BH and Slumberger all likely have housing available, but they will take a couple weeks to complete their due diligence before hiring a person (drug tests, background, DMV etc). They will not work on your timeframe. In fact, if you show up at these companies, they will tell you to go apply online.

I went to a job fair in Williston at CCS Midstream Services. There were probably 100 people there. The recruiters were moving thorugh the crowd looking for people with CDL's. They were pulling them aside and offering jobs on the spot. Of course, that doesn't mean they start the next day.

So yeah, there are jobs availble in ND, but you must do your due diligence from home. This is not the time of year to be living in your car in ND.

If they don't have any experience above the 45th parallel, that would harden them up quick. http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2...nd10/cold2.gif

What Interloper say's applies wherever this "Boom" is occurring.

Dad worked for Halliburton back in the 80's and 90's here in Southern Illinois. About 2 blocks south of where I live now there was also a big Dowell camp. I don't remember much about Dowell, but I know the Halliburton camp was the biggest east of the Mississippi at one time. About 10 repair bays, one pump bay, 3 wash bays, tire shop, labs, offices, breakroom and showers for all the crews that worked here. Dad worked on a cementing crew but they also ran Frac and nitrogen crews as well as had a huge warehouse across the parking lot that supplied all the other camps east with chemicals and such.

Anyone have any info about any drilling rigs working out there and who to contact about a job? I'd like to work on a rig as a hand. Kinda getting tired of driving a truck. Halliburton wouldn't be bad working on a cement crew, but I don't want to lay all the pipe needed for Frac either. Please let me know. I've heard jobs are paying great up there.

The Dowell shop was a 4-bay set up.....as I recall.......I only went into Flora once....in 83. The Bulk facility was behind the shop, as was normal for Dowell facilities nationwide.

Flora had about 135 drivers when I went into Flora.....and about 60 when I left two days later. It was not a fun trip.

I don't know what the wages are up in North Dakota, but down here in Texas, if you make the grade you start out at $18.00 an hour. That is with all of the companies from those I have talked with. I don't want to work as hard as the kids do....so I am sticking with driving a truck that pulls a trailer that is round and only requires a 3" hose for loading and unloading.

What year did they close Dowell here? I don't remember it being here but the building was bought by the city and they use it for all maintenance crews office and to work on the city trucks. Of course they tore the bulk plant down. It's still a pretty nice facility, but not half as big as the Halliburton camp that was here. They built a new one sometime in the late 80's or early 90's (one I described). In the mid to late 90's Halliburton left here and left the building empty. Couple different businesses ended up splitting the facilities up.

They pay $18 an hour for rig hands here in Illinois right now so I'm sure it's much, much higher in ND. If Baker Hughes is paying guys $23 an hour for wireline services, you know the rough necks are making some serious money. I'm just getting tired with messing with all the crap truck drivers deal with. I know rough necking isn't going to be easier, but it might be just enough different to keep me interested.

I did look at Baker Hughes website and they are hiring a wireline driver for around here so I might check into that. Winter here would have to be better than in ND!

Nomak was advertising $27 an hour to start, they just had a job fair in Bismarck. Google "The Shopper" out Williston ND to see if their ad is still up.

Yep, Baker Hughes.

Justruckin, I've been reading your posts and I would really like to pm you with some questions but I see no option to send you a pm on your profile page. Is there another way to pm you?

You have to have made a minimum number of forum posts before you can send a private message. It's supposed to slow the scumbag spammers down.

Hey Mike (Justruckin),

I've been looking for the past week for jobs up there.

I've got almost 9 years driving experience with an X endorsement in all weather/terrain - even trained students on my own truck to drive for a bit.

I'm 41, have no DUI/DWI's, no felonies, and a left turn infraction on my DMV, but I have no oil industry experience whatsoever.

I just put an application in with Tesoro on Thursday or Friday, but haven't heard back from them. How hard would it be for me to get on with one of the heavyweights up there?

I'm not looking for a "job" anymore. I've held them for the past 9 years, driving "jobs" are a dime a dozen - I'm looking for a career - something with the opportunity for advancement, retirement, the whole 9 yards.

I know Halliburton and Baker Hughes are pretty good companies but I've scoured their website for "Driving" opportunities, hauling frac water, sand, crude, etc. and can't find a thing?

What position titles should I be searching for? I understand you are an equipment operator =-> surely these aren't the only driving opportunities up there...

Oh - and I couldn't figure out how to PM you with my number or I would have.

Looking forward to your reply!

Thanks,
Tony

Hi guys...Does anyone have any info on Nabors? Also.... What companies are running out of Baker, MT. My mother in law lives there and my wife is about fed up with California. So were starting to get things set to move up. Either Baker or Billings.

You don't have to go to North Dakota to make good money.We are having an oil boom in West Texas as well. The company I drive for is contracted to Halliburton, we haul frac sand. My average take home is $1400 per week.Might be better pay in North Dakota, but we don't have the cold weather to deal with.We stay out 2 weeks at a time then home for a few days so housing isn't an issue.Housing is readily available.If you have a CDL you can get a job hauling water,frac sand.Every trucking company out here has a help wanted sign for truck drivers.

Binder, how much overtime are the drivers getting down there?

As much as they can stand.


And they are spending what they make just as fast as they can.

I bet they are! I treat my jobs like business myself, keep what we need to live and pay the bills, then bank the rest for our future. Works out pretty good that way. Would be better if I had the same income as the folks in Texas or North Dakota. Hopefully will be going to ND pretty soon.

justruckin: I have been trying to pm you but having trouble. Please e-mail me at [email protected] i would appreciate it very much. PS i am also from SE mich.

Any companies in West Texas hiring newbies that need training for CDL?

Bruce, email sent...

There has been alot of information on the the ND and Texas oil fields on these forums and I do have a question for you Justruckin, I do have experience operating heavy equipment and handling aviation fuel and a friend of mine is trying to get me to go to either ND or Texas to haul fuel, frac, or whatever they will need me to do. My question that I have is that I do not have a CDL, but I do have heavy equipment experience (fuel trucks mainly). You can e-mail me at [email protected]. There is a lot of information on this forum, but I still have a few of my own.

Reaper, I don't know of any jobs available in your list... They all require a CDL with all the endorsements. Maybe not the HE operator, but most of those guys have to drive the truck to get the equipment to the site. I don't know what else to tell you.

That is cool, a friend of mine is pushing me to go to ND or Texas, and as of right now I may look at a OTR company for 6 months and then hit the Oil Fields. I drive a fuel truck for a living, but where I am at now, I cannot move up with my company without taking a big pay hit, and I do not make that much money as it is. I like driving, but my problem is that I do not have a CDL since the FAA does not require us to have one and yes we do drive our trucks on public roads, but only a few hundred yards to go to the farm from the ramp.

My friend is telling me that I need to get out to the fields and that "I have experience" with driving fuel. Yes I do, but these trucks are straight trucks, and they weigh alot more than your tractor trailers. Also the only combo experience I had was a yard dog, but it only lasted a few weeks cause the company went under, not unless you count pushing or towing a airliner. But thanks anyway, I will think of a way to get out there :)