ChooChooTrain

Hey everybody,

It's been some time since I last touched coke, or anything else actually. I've found interests in other activities, which seem to keep the addictions away.
It's also been some time since I last worked, even though I've had plenty of job offers lately. This one caught my attention, as their offer is a lot better compared to the rest. I don't believe I would have a problem going back to slavery, except a lot of people do drugs and drink in the oil sector. That's exactly how it all began. Being in those boring ass work camps for weeks, sometimes months at a time, working 12 hour shifts daily, and being in the middle of butt f- nowhere.

Now, I can't stay unemployed forever. Sooner or later my savings will run out. Finding a local job here in the city wouldn't suit me either. Most are low paying, actually, all are compared to what I'm used to. Meanwhile everything is getting crazy expensive.

So, there's my dilemma. Go back and risk "going back" or stay here and think of something. I really don't know if I can just say no all the time - in other words there's a good chance I'll just resume it full speed.

Regards,
CCT

YoungAndClean

CCT nice avatar, trailer park boys is some funny sh!t man, I really enjoyed watching that show. Anyways, with regards to your question, yes, you are in a dilemna a lot of recovering addicts/alcoholics face. My opinion is that you are being rigorously honest with yourself by admitting that working in the oil industry would probley end up with drugs & booze. So if thats the case, what would you rather be, poorer and sober? Or in bondage making more money that will eventually slip through your fingers? I'm not saying that will for sure happen, but you get the point. I wish you the best of luck, and if you would be willing, I'd like to hear about how you got your foot in the door working on the oil rigs or in that industry. I've wanted to work on the rigs but they tend to hire from within, so anything you could share about what you do or have done would be interesting to hear.

ChooChooTrain

Hey bud,

Thanks for the answer. As to your question. You have 3 options. One is having someone from within pass your resume onto recruiters and vouch for you. This way you'd start from the bottom and work your way up. Important thing to remember is while at that is to keep your head down and mouth shut all while working like a farm animal. Promotions and raises come quickly, don't you worry about that.
Option 2 is to bombard every single company that has leasehand/floorhand positions open with your resume; and hope for the best. If you live in Alberta you could probably go straight to their offices (there are LOTS) and apply in person. With some it'll work, with others (bigger ones especially) you'll only get to talk to the receptionist. Still, there's a bigger chance of landing a job this way than applying through their website. After all, this is exactly how I landed my first job. Came from Vancouver, stayed in Edmonton for about a week and applied/called/annoyed daily until I got what I wanted.
3rd option is go to school. There are many short courses you can take that will come in handy and will give you the advantage over other applicants. OR, go to school full time(will let you know more about that soon) and land a higher paying job.

Basic certificates you'll need are first aid level 1 ($150), H2S Alive ($250) (not the online version), class 5 drivers licence (no restrictions) and WHMIS ($50; online is fine).

Things that will help you immensely are class 1 licence and air brake ticket.

Landing a job there isn't easy, but then again, it's not impossible either. Just annoy them until they finally give you a chance.

Do you have any experience in construction or other labour intensive jobs? That also comes in handy. However, my advice is screw bending your spine there for more than a year. Get them to pay you for education. Why make $500 per day destroying your back when you can make $2000 sitting on your ass?

I'll let you know more about what schooling I've done, where to go, whom to ask and what to avoid. I've written it all down in detail. Give me a day.

P.S. Remember that now is the best time to apply. Over summer they go looking for people that have gotten laid off, late fall/winter they'll be looking for just about anyone.
In your resume and cover letter, don't include useless crap that won't apply to the job and the environment of it. Keywords to remember are: safety, outdoors, cold/wet/ice, teamwork/player. Along those lines.

ChooChooTrain

Also, keep in mind that with these jobs, you most likely won't be coming home every night. That is, unless you're working on service rigs and magically happen to live close by in all situations. (less money on service rigs)
The reason I tell you that is if you have a wife, kids or anything else holding you back can be problematic later on.
Another thing, the jobs are seasonal. Most of them anyway. In other words, once that snow begins to melt, say bye bye to the job.
And the most important thing!!! : Not many people make $150,000 a year. Then again... I did pay off the condo, the cars, and there's about $300,000 left on the house. But of course, it all has to do with how well you sell yourself and the size of the company you're working for. But don't expect to "live large" while doing labour over there. If I remember correctly, leasehand starts off with $29/h
floorhand at $30/h. Then you have the derrickhand, motorhand, driller. Driller being the highest at $42/h. Depending on the work site, you may also get money for meals, accommodations and some other things on top of your salary.
Shifts are 12 hours per day, 2 weeks on, 1 week off. Of course, if you want to work 5 weeks straight, you can. So for the first 8 hours, you get paid 1x, middle 2 you get 1.5x, and last 2 hours you get 2x. Overtime is what gets you paid anyway.

Be prepared to work around meth heads.

Anyway, I'm just shooting the **** here, if you want to know something more specific, ask away.

In the meanwhile, check out rigzone.com and see videos on youtube of people working these positions before you make any decision.