Life in North Dakota "Man Camps"?

Well, I opted to follow you guys advise! I went with the well known, reputable company (but lower pay). The more I talked to the owner operator that was offering me $3,000 a week, the shakier the deal seemed to be. I simply didn't trust that I would be trained properly, be driving safe equipment, or even be paid!!!

I got off to a bumpy start with the reputable company. I failed my first drive test! Remember, I haven't been behind the wheel in a year due to the surgery on my arm, and I haven't backed a straight trailer in almost three years. I was pulling doubles the year prior to my surgery. I've never driven an 18-speed, was also suffering from pneumonia and a horrible ear infection. The ear infection was the worst part! I couldn't hear the drive tester's instructions. The test went something like this...

Tester: "Turn here".
Me: "Did you say something?"
Tester: "Yes, I said to turn up here."
Me: "I agree. It's (the weather) very clear."
Tester: "I didn't say the weather was clear! I said to turn up here!"
Me: "WHAT?"
Tester: "RIGHT TURN HERE!!!!"
Me: "I can't make a right turn here! We're already past the intersection! Why didn't you tell me to turn earlier?"
At this point, the veins were popping out of the drive tester's forehead... he wanted to kill me!

However, Human Resources knew I had spent the previous afternoon at the clinic because I was sick and my ear was killing me. She scheduled me for a second drive test the following day. I passed, although I really need to work on my blind-side backing skill, as well as regular backing skills when I'm in tight areas. I can only do a perfect back if I have a wide-open area to maneuver, and we all know having plenty of room is rare!

At orientation, they assigned me all the safety gear I would ever need. I mean, this company is really a cut above the rest in the safety gear they give you! I got a green hard hat, which is the "newbie to company" color! I'll get a blue hard hat after I pass a 90-day probation and skills test. White hard hats are for supervisors only. I was also assigned a hard hat liner, 3 pairs of safety glasses, hearing protection, a full face respirator, a half-face respirator, H2S monitor, cold weather gloves, regular gloves, and fitted for uniforms. Uniforms consist of FRC jeans, long and short sleeve button-down shirts (with company logo and your name sewn onto the chest), a company jacket, a cold weather company jacket, and two pairs of insulated bib overalls.

I'm eligible for medical coverage/benefits after 30-days.Their medical insurance is the best I've ever had and only costs $98.00 a month. It includes dental and vision care. They have 401k matching plans, and provide (at no cost to me) life insurance ($50,000), long and short term disability, and accidental death or dismemberment t insurance. These are all free to me, but I can opt to pay for extra coverage if I want to. And they have an employee assistance program that can be used for legal assistance, tax and financial planning, family counseling, and other things. These services are fully funded by the company, completely private (the employer has no way of knowing who is using the service or what was discussed), and cost me nothing.

The company moved me into their housing the day I was hired. I'm sharing a brand new, 2 bedroom/2 bathroom apartment with a girl that works at the sand plant. The apartment is subsidized, not free. My cost is $800.00 a month. The company picks up the other half of the rent. This is more expensive than I would have liked, but the accommodations are incredible, secure, clean, and right across the street from Walmart, and only a couple miles from my job.

Not everything is rosey, of course! We all know that every aspect of a new job CANNOT be perfect (it violates the laws of physics, I think!). I don't like the fact that the company just switched from hourly pay to percentage of load! However, I'm not in a position to say this is a bad thing because nobody has got a check under the new percentage of load yet. There is no way of knowing if the percentage of load is going to be fair or result in drastic cuts to pay. Several people quit when the new pay method was announced, but my understanding is that they were the ones who were milking the hourly pay the most. The company also closed it's night shop. The mechanics (whose night shift was basically unsupervised) were screwing around not getting any work done. The company decided to close the night shop rather than try to hire and train another shop supervisor. However, the will reconsider their decision if someone from the day shift steps up to the plate and proves themselves capable and trustworthy enough to promote to night shop supervisor.

I've been out with my trainer twice. He's a very kind and professional guy. Very thorough and patient. He wants the people he trains to succeed. I'm learning to haul frac sand. The hoses can be heavy when the get stuck together in an awkward position, but I'm learning the tricks of the trade and I like the job! The command centers on these drilling sites are amazing! I walked in to get my sand tag signed, and it looked like they were launching a space shuttle with all those computers running and people barking orders into walkie talkies!!!

I have much more to share, but I'm recovering from a bad bout of pneumonia and an ear infection. The medicine makes me queezie, and I need to get some sleep before work tomorrow. Thanks for the advise about going with the reputatable company! I think the lower paying, but reputable company was definitely the right decision for me! I'm comfortable with the pace of training and the company's emphasis on safety. I also think the benefits (medical, life insurance, employee assistance, housing) more than make up for the lower rate of pay. I'll keep everybody posted!

 

Hey Jason!
Sounds like I got the really sugar-coated version of the situation! I trained with a different guy today, and the info he gave me was more aligned with your statements! He basically said all the good drivers left, and the ones who are left are looking elsewhere and about to jump ship. In fact, their desperation for drivers after the exodus was probably the reason they gave me a second chance. With their best drivers gone, they can't afford to be too picky! H

He laughed at the line I was told about the shop! I can't help but wonder what will happen if my truck breaks down at night?

I still think it was a better choice for me because of their emphasis on safety and training. And everybody has been incredibly nice. I'm worried about the percentage thing, but at least Ill know Ill get paid. I'm pretty overwhelmed by the whole oil field thing and chaos on the drill sites. I want to return home in one piece... no misssing limbs or fingers eeither... and I'm simply too inexperienced to dive into crude oil as a contractor. They are a solid company for me to get traing and experience. They don't own me, and I can quit the job if I don't like it!

I certainly dont understand the reasoning behind changing to percentage of pay at the outset of winter? I can't think of a single scenario in which this is fair to drivers!