So how does one leave the oil field?

You can afford to go. Get rid of those car payments. Or tough it out for one more winter and get an LTL job in the Spring when hiring picks back up. Plenty of linehaul drivers are grossing $80k - $100k and home every day. Not take home, but man, you (or your wife) will have to adjust your lifestyle somewhat or else you'll continue to be a slave up there 2000 miles from home. It cannot possibly be worth it. Good luck.

 

Talked to a younger guy when I was hauling oil down in San Angelo. He was living in the truck, no showers around the area gas station food, etc. Making GREAT money $2600-2800/wk driving for 3rd party. He tells me how hasn't seen home in months and I asked why? He said that his old pickup had a bad alternator and he couldn't afford a new one...lol. I was like wtf? He was sending every penny home. His wife was going through it as soon as it hit the bank. She was driving around in a new Escalade living it up...lol. I think I lost a bit of my tongue that night... bit it clean off.

 

I live in South Dakota. Due to it being an El Nino year, they are predicting a really mild winter in the upper plains states. Maybe you should hang out awhile. With the oilfield slow down we've been hearing about, you may have a tough time getting back into it for several years if you leave it now.

 

She was also probably taking her boyfriend out to dinner every night. It ain't cheap being a sugar momma.

 

Pay is less in Texas.Cost of living is not as cheap as they claim... I worked the oil field for 4 yrs.. Pay in the begining was around $2100 every two weeks.. As the yr went by it was any where from $14,00-16,00 every two weeks... Right now most people I know in the industry here in Texas are starving as there is not much work... Walmart starts new hires around $80,000 first yr...

 

I rented my apartment 4 years ago at $1100/month. Just before the downturn they were asking $1700/month for the same apartment. Now they're going for around $900. There's no doubt they tried to squeeze every penny out of us. As for Walmart, they were hiring for around $15/ hr. That's a far cry from $80K a year.

 

Pulling water in the Texas oilfields pays about $18 per hour. The oilfield in Texas has been dead for awhile now.

 

I hear you all. I too have gone through the same scenarios. I spent three years in various parts of Texas, following the money. Of course when it was booming, you were able to do that. Towards the end and having worked for like 8 different companies in those three years, my ability to move around and follow the money was limited. I have to say though, I just left and came back to Florida in September and was basically still making the same money as I always did. There is still money in Texas, you just have to know where and what companies are still busy. Take for instance my last company, Coastal Plains out of Stockade, TX. They have 4 yards, Stockdale, Charlotte, Monahans and one in Jal, NM. They are a growing company and work exclusively for EOG. Even during the slowest of times I was with them, I was making at a minimum of $1,400-$1,600 a week. Currently, they are back to normal, with the drivers in Monahans and Jal working a 5/1 schedule, 12-14 hours a day. So, long story short, the money is still there. I don't miss the oilfields one bit, but I sure do miss those paychecks. I've actually gotten out of driving and don't really miss that either. If it hits hard again down the road, I'm sure my fat ### will be back out there, but for now, I'm enjoying being home in Florida, with my family and friends. Good luck to everyone.

 

Hey RockinChair. Have you got any leads on crude jobs around Hobbs for an owner-op with truck and trailer? I was seeing some a couple of months back, but now that I need one, all I am finding is company driver jobs. I have had several offers for Pecos, but I'm not that desperate yet. Thanks.

 

pecos is not desperate... Orla is

just sayin'