Advice for new oil patch blood?

Got a friend who's in the patch in Wyoming right now, you've obviously heard of the military phrase of hurry up and wait? Well there ya go.

From a squid, thank you for your service sir, welcome to ttr

 

You should be able to find something. Try sand or water haulers, they always seem to be hiring. Back during the boom you could make stupid good money, not so much now. If you try you can get a job that beats OTR pay. I've worked in the oilfields for several years and if you want to get home more often you will have to move to Midland/Odessa or any of the small towns out there if you want any chance of more hometime. In 2013 i made it home once for 10 days out of the whole year(i didn't live near the oilfield). Things are a little slow now but there are jobs, they just don't pay very well. Good luck.

 

Manage your money!! Don' get caught up in the oilfield mentality you have to have the 45 thousand dollar pickup and the Harley motorcycle (unless you can pay cash for them). Money is great but most adjust their spending to match the income.
When the oil field is hot the money is great but with a stroke of a pen in Washington or overseas the price can drop and the oilfield goes out like a light bulb along with the great paying jobs.
When you get hired on you will see what I am talking about, most have never had that level of income and don't have a clue how to manage the income.
What is that old song say.. something like

The road goes on forever and the party never ends

 

They might be hiring but that doesn't mean you 'd be making any money...

The most truck I see in the lower part of Permian is Sand cans , and couple flatbeds .
Very few water , mostly for the old leases, a little more Oil tankers - but you gotta know that nowadays most of the production goes out through Pipeline; they will use trucks only if they have some pump problems.

In San Angelo you have at least 3 outfits for Sand (Northwest, Caron and Maalt. they seem a bit busy as i often see them when I fuel up) , Never worked for them so I wouldn't be able to tell you what they are worth. The town itself is pretty decent to raise a family and is probably cheaper than midland/odessa.

 

I would look for something that pays by the hour. The is lots of waiting in the oilfield and you don't get paid for it on percentage. Keep in mind the cost of living in the Permian is still pretty high (much higher than El Paso) so figure that into your expenses. As far as 30% you need to ask 30% of what, is it $200 a load or $475? The rates are just as important as the percentage. Will you get one load a day or 6? How much of that time is running slow down bumpy lease roads? Don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions. There is a lot of turnover in the oilfield and truck driving in general so it's best to know as much as possible going into it.
As to what Redimix said, he is 100% right about managing your money. When i started my first oilfield gig all the old guys said the same thing, "it won't last forever, save your money". The younger guys laughed and dropped $75k on a new pick up and $30k on a new Street Glide. When the boom was over they got screwed. So save your money and you will do fine.

 

Dont piss off the company man