Originally Posted by Big Duker

Yes. Midland TX a few hundred miles west of DFW is having a heck of a boom as well. Fast food joints paying up to $10-12 hr to get help. Plenty of driving jobs too.

Originally Posted by mannmk7

Your inforamtiom is greatly appreciated. The part on that ten mile stretch would give the trip some meanigful direction. I prefer the face to face application process.

Thanks a lot

Originally Posted by waterhauler

Hey yall, new guy here, I happened to stumble across this post through a Google search and thought I'd see if I could help some of yall a little. I'm gonna forget all the questions I'm trying to answer, so bear with me.

As far as where to find these oilfield trucking jobs, most of the companies yall are talking about do not have websites, and the few that do, well, it's barely worth the time applying online, but that's another thread. Unfortunately, the way to get on with most of the companies in the Barnett Shale (Fort Worth area) is to get out go to their yards and try to talk to someone. With a little bit of persistance, anyone with some driving experience should be able to get on hauling water (that's production water off of the wells, I won't bore yall with the details), that's a good place to start. Rig moves and other positions are more difficult to crack into, require more driving experience and usually require a more rounded background than just driving, such as experience running heavy equipment.

I went out and got my CDL just as a way to get into the oilfield and started out hauling water about a year ago, it's my only big truck experience. It is tough to find someone to hire you with no driving experience, but once you get a little, the jobs come easier.

The hours can be a pain. Hauling water and other driving jobs that are based on shifts run twelve hours a day, usually on a four on/two off or six on/two off schedule. Other CDL oilfield jobs might be twelve to eighteen hours a day with various schedules such as fourteen on/seven off or twelve on/two off. The oilfield is not for the faint of heart. I know, I'm tired of not having a life for the last year as I've worked nights hauling water for a few different companies, and am considering getting out of it.

On the topic of non CDL jobs, the easiest way to get into the oilfield without a CDL is go find a rig, ask for the tool pusher and tell him you want to work. Repeat this process a couple dozen times and eventually you will find an opening and you can start roughnecking. Getting on as a roustabout is good too, but harder to find the openings without kind of knowing someone.

Mxell, your chances of getting a job in the oilfield are quite good. However, to do so you will have to be here knocking on doors, filling out applications, following up with companies, taking a lot of run around and getting a lot of "no"'s. Going through a good driving school will get you a lot further in getting some oil field jobs, particularly those on the well side, such as water hauling. And, yes, waterhaulers make anywhere from $1000 to $1200 a week or more, that's from getting paid $15 to $18 an hour and working 60 to 70 hours a week, but obviously all of that depends on the company.

Sorry, I know this has been a wandering, rambling post, but I just got in from work and headed to bed soon. This thread caught my eye and I thought I'd jump in and see if I could offer any additional help to anyone else out there.

Feel free to ask more questions!

Originally Posted by NoFearSpear

I just finished school last week and will be knocking on doors starting next week,,any ideas on good places to start,,im in Dallas and can travle.

Originally Posted by Big Duker

I would check out Raider Express in FT W. Texas Mike has been posting his experience with them and they are better than the big guys like Stevens, Schneider, Werner, Swift. More pay, better bosses, etc. Good luck to you.