Oilfield question. Where should I get started in this niche?

Cost Of Living

 

You said you bought a ticket to Midland for Monday. If I were you, I’d see if you can get a refund or push the ticket back a little. You need to strategize.

I live in Midland and it was recognized as the most expensive apartment community IN THE NATION several months ago. That includes NYC and San Francisco. There’s so much money competing for the same resources here that everything costs more.

When planning to move here I lived in a motel in Abeline (150 miles east) and drove in every morning for interviews because anything closer and prices got crazy. When looking at apartments the best deal I found was a 600 sq. ft. efficiency for $1,800/ mo - and it wasn’t available for *three* months. That’s why most people buy RVs here. You can live in company housing (man camps) but you’ll need to secure a job first.

No tanker experience means you’ll need to hire on with a company that will train you like Schneider (not promoting them). Outside of that, you’ll want to look at working Frac crew refueling rig equipment which means long hours.

Slumberger and Halliburton are “starter” companies who will hire with little experience but they pay less. I’ve seen a company called ProPetro hiring like crazy here too so I’d give them a shot as well.

Seriously, unless you’ve got friends/family you can crash with or you’ve got some savings to back you up I’d be cautious. You could get yourself into a bad situation.

 

Yeah ur heading to the right place . I'm from West TX and got all of my driving experience in the oilfields there. The cats who are hauling water and sand are still making good bread but beware of some cold hard truths ... as a newboot you will most likely get a junky truck that is subject to break down any moment. Oilfield roads (they're called lease roads) are extremely hard on a truck . That's why most of the trucks out there are rattle trap junkers. Yer gonna be nervous about the condition of the tires on the truck and trailer but the boss is gonna say naw man them tires gotta lot of miles left on em. Just run em . And it's a rat race out there. Race to the sand depot and get a full box....race to location and get in line to get that box offloaded with the prayer that he'll have a empty box to throw back on ya . At the depot, ya can't get no sand unless you gotta box . Water is similar but not quite as hurrisome. Ya gotta go to location and vacuum up a load of salt water and take it to a salt water disposal site. .. or maybe a engineer is screaming for fresh water . Sometimes they've been known to be in a bind to the point of needing 30 loads of fresh water asap. The money can be good for the company whose got the cats that step up to the plate and say hell yeah ill run back and forth till the wheels fall off boss. Good money. Dirty, dusty, grimy, rough living and dangerous. Midland/Odessa has the highest ratio of truck accidents per capita than anywhere else in the USA. The state troopers don't mess with ya out there because every year when the oil drilling or frac permits are drawn in Austin, the department of public safety gets a big envelope of cash (in the millions) with the understanding that the TX oilfield is a show that must go on. What's the stinking smell out there?-- homeboy that's the smell of money . Now put on yer big boy pants and go get some! Good luck

 

I'd buy a van or suv BEFORE getting there.

EVERYTHING is expensive once you get there. Buy anything you need. BEFORE.

As for not starving. It can happen. Just depends on the markets. And the markets just came out of a funk. It all started shortly after the depression ended. They're still not where they were before the funk. Probably only half.

 

Amen. He’s got no clue what he’s getting himself into. And how exactly do you buy a car with no job? Cash? Who here thinks he’s liquid for $10-15K? Good luck kid.

 

The cost of living in the oilfield is no joke. Do not come without a plan. Apartments can be 2 grand a month. Rv spaces can sometimes cost up to 800 depending on the area.

 

I’m not saying don’t come either. But have a plan and a way to get home if needed. You can make money here, but you can also end up homeless real quick too.

 

If you hire on with a water-hauling outfit, they may let you live in the truck. I see lots of guys sleeping in their (vacuum) trucks on location. Also, hauling water will get you some tanker experience. Tanker experience, combined with a HazMat endorsement, will open the doors to the real money: hauling crude.