Alberta oilfield driving jobs

Thanks. Will look into.

 

Oxbow/NoDak mostly, every time it gets slow and I start thinking of Vancouver and west coast women, it picks up again and I get a couple of 10k months. This winter should be pretty interesting though. You still working with the power company up there?

 

Yup for now.... They've been pissing everyone off so lots have quit. I'm just putting up with the bs for now as its a steady paycheque and I don't take the bs lol everyone that's quit has gone to fluid hauling and say its the easiest work for what they get paid.

 

Anybody work for Ferus?
G.P. AB

Ad says late model equipment. Does that mean old junk?
Almost all he other ads brag about new equipmet.

 

They run newer tridrive Pete's from what I've seen. Couple new coronados too

 

Alright, so here's my 2 cents on looking for Oil and Gas work in BC/AB. Spent two weeks looking for oilfield work for the first time, with a single winter of mountain Class 1 under my belt. I'll tell you what I've learned from all the jobs I applied to and followed up, covering locations, wages, types of positions, strategies, etc. Keep in mind I'm pretty new on here, though I've read about 100 pgs of this thread and applied to over 60 jobs in the last few weeks. This is all just my own perspective and I'm not going to put a disclaimer before every opinion, so take with a grain of salt, and thanks in advance to anyone who wants to chime in. Some of this stuff is inconclusive, but I'm just putting it all down in one post, as a reference point.


Over the course of 2 weeks, I applied to over 60 companies. Locations included Northeast BC to Lloydminster and Drayton Valley to Fort McMurray, Edmonton to Grande Prairie, and all the hamlets in between. Many applications were replies to ads, many with positions listed on website, a bunch just cold calls. Almost every company I applied to I was able to follow up with a phone call within a day or two, except the few that explicitly said not to, or the Kijiji ads that didn't identify the company. I sent a good cover letter, good resume, clean abstract, and a brief summary of my qualifications, willingness to relocate, etc, in the email body. I generally didn't apply to jobs that required more than a year of experience and specified oilfield experience as well, but sometimes I went for it anyways if it looked like a good gig. Some required tickets and I said I was willing to get them. Between bookmarking company websites, searching Kijiji (which seemed like the best single source), modifying cover letters, typing a summary for the body of the email, and following up with phone calls (often more than one), it was basically a 6hr a day thing. I finally started to burn out towards the end of the second week and just focused on the 4 or so leads I had. Trican's reference back check required a 7 minute interview with references and that pissed me off and didn't seem like the most money, so I dropped the ball on that one. Two others that I thought would go somewhere didn't. Ended up with maybe 2-3 jobs that I think I could've had that met my criteria, though more will probably call back over the week to come. Someone just called me today for a response to an ad I sent in more than 2 weeks ago, so do allow some time for them to catch up before giving up.


Often the local hiring manager hadn't even received my resume yet through the grape vine so I'd have to send it directly to them. Always worth trying to track down contacts at each location that might be hiring AND talking to the central recruiter. The recruiters for the big companies were good to talk to because they were happy to answer questions and were just some gruff ol goat that was too busy to talk. Often if I knew I wasn't going to be interested, I'd ask a few questions that I might be embarassed to ask a company I was trying to get on with. And when I'd first get someone on a phone, if they didn't seem to be able to recall everything about my application, I'd often just come right out and summarize my experience (<1yr Class 1) and I think they appreciated that, since it was obviously important and I wasn't beating around the bush.


As for locations, Grande Prairie seemed to have proportionately the biggest demand for Class 1. Lots of Edmonton and Red Deer jobs and a fair bit of Lloydminster, but they all usually wanted locals. Drayton Valley was somewhere in between. Fort St John looked quite busy too, far busier than Tumbler Ridge, Chetwynd, Dawson Creek and Fort Nelson combined, but again they usually wanted locals it seemed. Didn't actually see as many Fort McMurray jobs as I thought, but the first offer I got was from a propane company desparate to hire someone, benefits immediately, $32/hr with OT after 8, but it was 6 days a week and I was dead set on rotation at that point.


Way too many Kijiji ads either don't list the company (leaving you unable to research or follow up), don't mention the schedule, the accomodation (or lack thereof), wages, etc. It's absurd in an industry that's desperate for drivers, but so it goes.


It was benefits after 3 months with almost every single company, and almost all claimed they were "excellent" benefits when in the end, they sounded pretty average, so go ahead and ask about dental from each company, just to compare.


As for travel allowance and camps, it really seems to even out in the end. The one job that seemed like a consistent schedule, company appartments, 7/3/7/4 rotation, and really quite convenient in many ways (though flights not paid for), was definitely the lowest paid at $25/hr and OT after 10, but still, I was willing to take it if they'd moved ahead quicker. My advice is to focus on finding a good rotation (or flexible schedule) and just plan to rent a place and pay for your flights. You definitely won't lose money because of it, unless you're willing to live out of the truck. Several companies had guys doing that. One even had a lounge for the drivers with tv, showers, laundry. So that might be worth asking about if that sounds appealing to you. The only real problem for some people with trying to be self-sufficient is having a vehicle. If you're going to need a vehicle for work, but be flying home, that might leave you without a vehicle at home.


Yes the cost of living is high. In Grande Prairie, most rooms were going for at LEAST $650. In Edmonton there's probably a bigger range of prices, but lots of furnished rooms for $650-700. YES the cost of living is high, but get over it. Don't get me wrong, it's crazy and it would really suck if you rented a room, didn't have much money, and weren't able to land something within a few weeks, but if you get a decent job, you really aren't going to be too fussed about paying rent. The food prices aren't that much higher, and gas is cheaper. The ranges in gas costs I've seen were $1.02-1.16/L.


One of the best leads I had (in theory) was a super B fuel tanker by a pretty reputable sounding company in Edmonton. Did a 45min phone interview and pretty sure I could've had the job if I'd waited, but I ended up going with the bird in the hand instead of the bird in the bush. Still, it was 37 cents/km on road, 60 cents off road (but I don't think they went off road THAT much), $40 to chain up, paid to load, unload, wait, etc. Claimed 80-120k/yr.


That was the only serious phone interview I did, the rest were all quite informal, fairly short, and wouldn't make most people very nervous.


Most phone calls I made eventually got me to someone that I could follow up with. Almost all were cordial. Some I left several messages for and never heard back, some I had to make several phone calls to finally get them.


The biggest leads I got were from companies who called me before I even followed up, though half of those leads eventually evaporated. I thought that was strange. I still stand behind the idea of following up with every job you bother applying for. In fact, I'd much rather spending my time phoning places to follow up, then bother with these company websites that expect you to fill out their proprietary application that basically makes you re-do your whole resume. I would still bookmark the long application companies, but maybe save them until after you've applied to the easy ones.


Many ads didn't specify the work schedule, so a bunch of conversations ended when it was clear that it was a weekends-off kind of job. A bunch said to drop them a line if I came into town. Some took weeks to call me back, even when they had an ad up. In fact overall, I was a bit surprised at the amount of delayed call-backs, considering the overall demand for drivers.


Overall, not having any safety tickets didn't seem to be a major hindrance, though it certainly narrowed the potential openings somewhat. Some places insisted on a certain amount of experience, but most were at least somewhat satisifed with one winter of BC mountain driving experience.


On the question of whether or not one needs to show up in person to get a job, I think there's a few factors I'd bring up. First, if you have no experience, then yes it's going to be fairly tricky to get hired over the phone from far away. The job I ended up getting was contingent on passing a driver evaluation when I showed up though, so that's a possibility, perhaps even one that you could suggest yourself. The other factor is whether you can afford to spend 3-4 weeks cold calling and emailing and following up and waiting. I think being from BC definitely gave me an advantage, so if you're from Ontario or East, I'd definitely be willing to put in that amount of time before giving up.


If you were to head out this way, do what I did on the drive up and write down every oilfield-related truck you drive by. I ended up with a page of names. Add that to a pre-researched list from a few towns and enough money to get you through a few weeks (rent if you're going to commit to one location) and you'll probably be fine. Again, the biggest handicap is obviously not having any labor or driving experience at all, in which case, showing up might be your best chance. And I wouldn't personally bother getting tickets ahead of time at that point. If someone's willing to hire a newbie, they're probably willing to put you through the tickets.


Trying to make some contact from a distance a week or so before heading up probably isn't as great an idea as it sounds. I did have a few companies sound interested in me showing up in person when I told them I was leaving within a few days, but I don't know that it really helps or that they really cared.


Half or less of the companies I talked to had an oilfield exemption. Most were using Cycle 1, and rotations if offered were 15/6 or 21/7 or even 7/3/7/4, plus a few others. Though there were definitely some that were just flexible and you could just work your Cycle 1 and book a bit ahead for a week off. Or so they said...


To summarize what I've deduced from the forum and elsewhere, it seems like nitrogen and coil tubing are decent, vac trucks are a lot of labor and quite dirty, fluid hauling is especially worth aiming for, but sand sounds good too. Water trucks seem to be a common entry level thing, which'd be a good foot in the door for fluid hauling. What I can say from driving 15 hours up through Alberta is that there are a HUGE proportion of tanker trucks on the road.


I think experience in flat deck, heavy haul, equipment haul, fluid haul, and winch trucks are the most transferable experience you can have, short of specific oilfield experience. Most winch truck positions I inquired about didn't seem interested in training me, same with equipment hauling/low bed. Lots of people wanted to know if I had off-road experience.


As for wages, after reading online and talking to potential employers, I figured my goal would be to net $6000 per month, meaning grossing $9000 per month (or me). This definitely cut out maybe 1/4-1/3 of the jobs I heard the wages for. I knew there'd be a chance of making a bit less some months, but probably made up for by making a lot more other months. In the end, I think I've gotten really lucky with the job I landed, and I don't think it's too optimistic to think that I'll usually be grossing $400/day, and often more, or even a LOT more, if on a lease for several days, though it's too early to say for sure and I definitely don't wanna jinx it by mentioning the details yet.


I wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea of getting paid by the load, even if there was a guaranteed monthly salary as a baseline. Seemed like a recipe for frustration. Hourly has always appealed to me way more and for those quite inexperienced, don't underestimate how crappy it is to not get paid by the hour. Way less incentive to be safe, in my experience, and I like to think I'm a pretty safety-oriented guy. But my sense is that defensive driving is even MORE important up here than in most places, so I'm stoked to be paid by the hour and not have to stress my speed, etc.


As far as online resources, obviously this thread is great. I've read maybe 100 pages, plus I've done lots of keywords searches for position titles, locations, and company names. If you're brand new, check out www.truckerswheel.com/oilfield-trucking.html too.

Thanks to all the guys that have answered everyone's questions before. I offered this up to save them from being asked the same questions again. Seriously, read a bunch of the thread and do some keyword searches...


Cheers

 

Wow, great read. Lots of good info there. Keep updating your adventure.

 

This is probably one of the best responses I've read. You're articulate, resourceful,
and unafraid to be frank.
I've always told individuals with no experience to apply in person.
But you've completely elaborated on that!
I have no doubt you will do very well and
wish you the best!
However, I just KNOW that within another page or so that
somebodys going to ask, "so how do I get a job in oil"? Lol!
Thanks again!

 

Lots of great insight for people like myself trying to get a job out west. Thanks for this.

 

Good early morning all who read, and all who write. I've been reading for a couple of years now - lots of opinions. I even wrote a seven part introduction way back about my plans to come back to Alberta. It has been a successful migration so far (and that's not to say that I've had great success). I started off quickly with a roll-off bin company, but the pay structure highly favoured the experienced drivers, and the schedule wasn't a good fit for me. So I quickly found another job that I enjoyed much more, and did that for a year. Was getting paid 27 an hour with OT after 10. Not the best, but I felt valued for my time. I did it for over a year, but the problem was that it wasn't rotation. I had to continuously beg for unpaid vacation because I hadn't completed a year to qualify to take the earned time. Some may ask why I feel I deserve it and to them I'd say that's not the point.

I couldn't convince any of my family (parents, brother, sisters, nieces & nephews but I have none of my own to speak of) to follow me out here so that I wouldn't get so homesick. So I eventually burned myself out, and quit over a small thing. It was my fault, and I regret it. But now I know what I want, and I know that I can shop for it because I have the time. The one thing that I did (and I never used to) while I was making money, was to save some of it in the bank. It was meant for the eventual downpayment of a house or condo, but now it's turned into this emergency fund.

I had to see the family last month, and I plan to see them again at Christmas. In January, I will actively search for a rotation job. In the meantime, I have already taken some online courses like General Safety Orientation, PST 2.0, Wildlife Awareness, Bear Awareness, and CSTS. I also signed up to take in the next couple of weeks, Detection & Control of Flammable Substances, Fall Protection, Confined Spaces, GODI, H2S Alive, TDG & WHMIS, and Standard First Aid. I think I just spent over $1300 on all of these courses. Granted, I probably would have been subsidized with a company that hires me, but then I wouldn't have anything meaningful to say to "what did you do between October & January when you were out of work?". And it shows I'm serious about an oilfield rotation job that pays well, offers a lot of overtime, and regularly scheduled breaks in case I start feeling burned out.

I was inspired by glacier_fed to write this update because one major point leaped from his very well written post; that you should go into Alberta knowing what you want out of a job, and why. If you don't have that information (as I feel I didn't when I started out), then you should be prepared to try different things. It has been a fun ride, and I look forward to my next adventure in Alberta.

Cheers