A Newbie CDL's Adventure in The West Texas Oil Fields.........

From what I am hearing, they offer newbies jobs hauling water because it is safer then hauling crude. Not as much of a "boom" factor if things go south. Plus vacuum truck drivers seem to be in demand because they have to work a little more (harder) than the crude haulers do, and for less pay. But, it is a start; later one can transition into crude with some experience, 6 months to a year.

I should add that I was offered a job hauling crude as a newbie out of San Angelo, so a newbie hauling crude is not unheard of. But I like where I am at. I plan to stay here for at least a year.

I am hearing that after a year one can bid to be sent overseas to the middle east (non combat zones) or to Australia with the company that I am working with.

Yes, I could have made a little more hauling crude, but that offer did not include a Man Camp. So at the end of the day, I think that I make about the same.

 

OK, your comments struck a nerve with me. I was once in the military, and I love to travel. I lost a really good white collar job due to the economy and I figured I would reinvent myself.............. as a CDL Driver in West Texas. I am single, no kids, no grand kids, no ties to my home town (New Orleans) so I figured that to relocate would be easy. And yet, every once in a while, I look at my watch and remember where I would be at that time if I were back home. I get a bit nostalgic for the life that I walked away from. Then I tell myself that I have not had the chance to meet new people, and build a network here in TX, not yet at least. Then my check gets auto deposited and I feel a little better.

So, if you will miss your friends, family, grand kids, children, or even your dog, the West Texas Oil Field Adventure might not be a good idea. Just a thought.

 

This the last installment in this Thread; the topic "What I Do On A Daily Basis as a Newbie in the Oil Fields",

or, "Why Do I Have To Go Kill The Rattlesnake Just Because I Am The Newbie?"

"Snakes......, I hate snakes" (Harrison Ford in Raiders of the Lost Ark)........... yes, there really are rattlesnakes out here in the West Texas Oil Fields (WTOF). The official policy is that we are not to kill rattlers. Really? What are we supposed to do? Call PETA? Or, gently coax them to relocate to another part of the desert where they can have a happy, safe, and productive life? The rumor is that in W. Tex. the rattlers have evolved to not rattle anymore because the wild pigs will eat them. So, we have wild pigs, javalenas, cows, bulls (with long horns), bobcats, donkeys, sheep, coyotes, deer (mule, gray, and white tail), scorpions, horny toads, spiders, chupacabras, and the occasional Lot Lizard near the truck stops. Its a desert. Watch were you walk, reach into/touch, sit, squat, or stand. Oh, and the dust, did I mention the dust? If it rains (rarely) the dust becomes... you guessed it.......... quicksand.

Anyway, back to the rattler.......... we go to a tank to fill up with brine, and sunning itself near the valve for the Battery Tank is a 2.5-3 foot rattler. It did not rattle, but it had seen us and was ready to strike. My trainer spits out some of his chewing tobacco (chu-n baccer in his vernacular - he is a fifth generation Texan who always has a smile, would give you the shirt off his back, and is the salt of the Earth), and says, "Well Hoss, wat yo gonner do now?" I replied, "Can't we go find another tank to fill from?", he says, "Sure ting Hoss, nar-est tank's is twenty miles yonder - way don you just do something with dat rattler insted?"

"Huh? Do something with the rattler? Like what.......... put some sun screen on it?" I guess he did not get the gist of the joke, "Jus kill da som-#####." Me!?, kill a snake? Why me? "Cuz yo nu n don no nuttin, if it kills ya, we ain loss much" The he smiles and spits some chu-n baccer on the rattler. Smiles and says, "Naw he's good n pist" Well, he does have a point, I am the most expendable.

I am from a large city, this is the first snake that I have seen in the wild. So I found a fairly large rock........... I think the snake figured it out because it begin to make a brake for the brush. The trainer says, "Kill it son it don hav a-nudder chanz to git us tumorrer" I walked as close as I thought was prudent, peed on myself a little, and nailed the snake with the boulder. Then, for the coup de gras, I used another larger boulder.

The bottom line is that there is a degree of risk associated with working in the WTOF. The wildlife, the equipment, the oil wells, the weather, and driving a truck that weighs a few tons - off road. You have to be safe. Watch out, take care of yourself, and take care of the other guys (and gals) too. We have to get H2S certified. H2S is a naturally occurring gas that can kill you in concentration. Great................., poisonous gas, wild critters, hazardous work, and weather conditions.

So, exactly what do I do? I drive a vacuum truck. A vacuum truck is a large truck (tanker) that has a pump (a vacuum pump) and we pump liquids (non HM) into or out of a vessel. A vessel can be a storage tank, or a sump, or anywhere that there is non HM liquid. Then, after we pump it in-or-out, we have to put the liquid somewhere else. Some days, we fill up the brine (saltwater) tanks that are used at the drill sites. Or we move brine from one site to another. Some days we go to a plant or rig and pick up (vacuum) waste water.

It is not especially hard work. But, the average day is 10-14 hours - the more hours the better...... more hours = more OT = more $$$.

And, there is some sitting around waiting for someone to give you the go ahead to do something - sometimes we sit for hours. We work in any weather............"neither, cold, rain, sleet, snow, nor gloom of night, shall keep the vacuum truck driver from his appointed rounds." Loosely plagiarized from from Herodotus' Histories.

Well, that's about it. If you have an specific questions, just ask.