TaserTot's New Oilfield Career: The Saga Continues :-D

For those of you who were following my other post, I have started working in the oilfields out here in West Texas. I wasn't going to post about my exploits out here anymore but something has happened that I would like to share. This is just to give everyone an example of what's going on out here and the opportunities that are available.

I started training on vacuum trucks on Wednesday. It's really easy work. There's really not that much to it and it pays well. I have been with my current company for only one week so far, but I see what's going on around me and from what I've been told by the other drivers it's a pretty good job. The company that I'm working for is on it's way to being a big player out here. They are just getting started after moving there from another area, but they have good equipment and a good training/safety program. You will find that a lot of these companies out here do not follow safe practices and pretty much try to do whatever they want whenever they want to. So working with safe people is important, not only to you and me as drivers, but also to the companies that we work for out on the leases.

I think I may have stated his before, but I have about 8 years experience in and around refineries before becoming a truck driver. I kinda thought that it might come in handy out here but it has actually paid off big time for me. On my second day of driving a vacuum truck I met a guy that works as a pumper/gauger field supervisor for a very large oil company that has a lot of leases all over the world, but particularly in Texas. I got to talking to him and I mentioned that I had been a pumper/gauger and inspector at a refinery. He seemed very interested in my oil background and he asked me a lot of questions and stuff. It was kind of uncomfortable because this all happened right in front of my trainer. Anyway, when I told him who I had worked for he told me that they would hire me and pay me $32/hr and provide housing for me depending on where I wanted to work. He got my phone number and texted me his name and info and where to go put my application in. He said that they have work for the next 30 years out here. It's a great job working mostly alone out in the field and it deals with oil recovery after all of the drilling and stuff is pretty much done. I will also be the guy that calls for trucks when they are needed and will have a lot of influence over who comes out to the lease site. It's a cool gig and I'm very excited about it, even though I technically don't have the job yet.

I have been wanting to get out of trucking for quite some time now, but there just wasn't anything that I had the skills for that paid as well as trucking. It looks like this might be my chance though. I am putting together my resume and stuff now. I just wanted to let you all know that the oilfield is still going strong. There's a lot of money to be made out here, and not just in Texas but all over. That's all because of fracking. Life is good and it looks like it may get better.

I'll try to keep you all posted. It may be awhile before I get that other job so in the mean time I'll be hauling around the area between El Paso, San Angelo, Midland/Odessa, Ozona mostly in a vacuum truck. I'll see ya'll out there.

Edit: I forgot to add that I also might get trained on a winch truck and be able to get even more hours. The HOS out here in Texas are a lot different than OTR or anywhere else I've lived. You can work a lot more per week than other places.

 

Also, the company that I am working for doesn't withhold the first check. It's just that they pay every two weeks and it depends on when you come in as to when you get a full two weeks check. I think someone mentioned that that may be the case and it is. You get your last bonus check after 180 days it is split up into three payments. They do have housing, but there are no rooms available.

 

Thanks! I plan to!

 

My terminal is in the town of Big Lake, population 2800ish before the boom..lol It's a very small town, with little housing or space for that matter. What a lot of people don't understand is that most of these small towns are surrounded by big ranches that are thousands of acres. The privately owned ranches keep the towns from expanding. There's only so much property to be had. I personally live in San Angelo and I drive an hour each way everyday. Luckily for me the rent is cheap, so the gas isn't that big of a deal.

My company is hiring and I think they will hire you with driving experience and train you for tanker/vacuum truck operation. I'm going to check on that tomorrow. There's a bunch of companies out here though. Look on Craigslist for job ads. I am going to post a list of companies in my area here in the next couple of days.