Challenger or Schneider as a Company Job?

Hey CC,

Your help is very much appreciated.

Thank you

 

You do make some factual statements, however your brush is just a little too broad there. While we have seen significant increases in house prices in Alberta, and especially in Calgary and Ft. McMurray, the average price of a single family home here is several hundred thousand dollars less than that in the lower mainland. Virtually everything else, including fuel, but especially taxes, is also higher in B.C. (Bring Cash) than in Alberta. The traffic in the lower mainland is also horrendous and rivals anything in any of the major U.S. cities. Don't get me wrong, I love the coast and Vancouver too (in fact, we're looking at property either on the Island or the Sunshine Coast), but I wouldn't even think about moving there unless I had a household income in excess of $80,000-$90,000 at a minimum.

If I were starting fresh and not being anchored to any specific area, I would look at a company where I could live in central Alberta (Red Deer area), Saskatchewan or southern Manitoba (Winnipeg), or possibly rural Ontario, etc. I would also look for a job that does not involve the over-the-mountains stretch between Calgary and Vancouver. At least for the first year at a minimum. No offense to our southern cousins, but your 6-8% grades are nothing like ours. The Trans-Canada is not for the inexperienced, especially in the winter. I've been up and down almost all the major passes in the western U.S. and they are all a cake-walk compared to the major routes up here. Even, or maybe especially, during the worst of winter storms.

 

I would be starting fresh. So fresh I don't have a cdl. It sounds like if I had a USA cdl it wouldn't be excepted in Canada anyway. Would a guy be better off getting the cdl here then go to Canada or do they have training co.'s like Schneider.

I havn't limited myself to truck drive'n. I have tried to check the net for jobs in AB but not knowing how to get around on the net I couldn't find much. The best info I got was here, McD's paying $10-15 ph, but rent being $2,000.00 a mo., wow. It's no wonder there seems to be a shortage of workers in AB, if this is true. It really sounds like a camp type job's the way to go. The co. would provide the living quarters, etc.

What I heard on the news is that the oil shale field's are booming. A welder was getting $120k a year. If you gotta pay $2,000.00 in rent or $700,000.00 for a house you'd need to make that kinda money.

As for drive'n jobs, can you name the companies that fit your suggestion.

As for other jobs like the camp jobs and or oil shale type jobs, do you know of any way for a guy way down here could find out about these jobs. Is there a state employment office. I see a number of them pay type empolyment agencies but I don't trust them.

Thanks for your help.

 

There's a few companies that might fit what you are looking for, however you will want to make sure that you would be able to come here and work in the first place. Despite what some Americans think, this isn't the 51st state.

So, onto companies; try looking at Yanke (H.O. Saskatoon, SK), CPx (Coastal Pacific xpress, H.O. Surrey, BC), Bison (H.O. Winnipeg, MB), Reimer Express (H.O. Winnipeg, MB), etc. There's more, but as I am not in that end of the business I don't know who does the training thing. There are quite a few driver training companies and some colleges that offer the same, such as Red Deer College (Red Deer, AB).

Schneider is up here and some of the other big American companies (as far as training), but they are based in Ontario along with a number of other big Canadian companies.

For the tar sands, search Fort McMurray (make sure you spell it right), Syncrude, Suncor, etc. There's lots of other oilfield-related work with companies like Sanjel, Schlumberger, Halliburton, BJ Services, Calfrac, etc. Those companies typically have their own training programs and can make for a darn good career (you'll work hard, but they pay well).

Part of the problem in the Fort McMurray area is that even if you can afford the rent there's no where to live. The vacancy rate right now is about 0.5% ... it would be lower, but that's the lowest stat they use. That's a similar problem throughout most of Alberta, but Fort McMurray is the worst.

HTH

 

LOL. I thank everyone here. You have all been helpful, as well as humorous. I have went to the websites recommended. They will be a great start. I don't think I'll put up for that bride though.

 

Dollar,

Can you tell the steps a person witout a cdl needs to take to get a driving job with Challenger. And if you can say how an American can get on driving. I guess and American can go to Canada for 180 days without having to do any paper work.

In the US we have trucking companies that have their own training were they train people without cdl's by sending them through their companies training program.

It has being said that in Cananda a person who wants to truck drive has to go to a truck driver training school. After the school then they go out and get a driving job. This is confusing because on one hand Canada is saying they need drivers but on the other hand they and business are limiting their training options by not having companies hire and train.