Just returned from my Bakken "recon" trip

Update: I went home for a few days and the company I was working for asked me to go to Oklahoma where they were expanding. I had already asked about the oil hauling there since it was a LOT closer to home. I was supposed to be able to start hauling crude there in a few days with nearly the same pay or better. What happened was that I got stuck running an end dump and a vacc trailer cleaning out cutting pits. No place to live, no place to shower at the end of the day of nasty work.....it was not what I was supposed to be doing. I even spent two days inside a tanker hammering out 14 inches of frac sand that had been allowed to set up like concrete. It had to be done and no one else was around to do it. I am 47 years old and not in the greatest shape, so that job SUCKED. After it was done, I told them that I was in a crude truck by the end of the week or I was on my way back to North Dakota. They claimed they were having trouble getting me approved to haul crude. I contacted a small company in ND that I had been talking to already, sent them my preliminary info and they had me approved THE NEXT DAY. Friday morning rolled around and the company I was still with sent me a dispatch to go suck out another cutting pit with the vacc trailer. I let them know that I was done in OK and heading back to ND. Within the hour they sent me a message that I was approved to haul crude now. Imagine that. I am now back in ND with a new company training for crude. There is a lot more to it than you might think. Safety precautions must be taken (most of which are common sense) and specific testing protocols must be performed on the oil itself and a good deal of data has to be recorded. It is not just hooking up hoses and pumping on and off trailers. The potential income in incredible when you work by percentage with a good company. I stand to make in excess of $120,000 over the next 12 months if I keep my nose to the grindstone and that is working 12 hour shifts for just 265 days of the year. If you intend to come work in ND, I recommend that you get here soon while you can work in some good weather before winter sets in or wait until next spring. Winter here will slow you down. Another thing, look for a company that has a housing program of some sort. It can not be underestimated how important this is both physically and psychologically.