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I saw a job listing advertising 70K to work in oil. When I broke down the numbers though, the actual wage was only about 12 bucks an hour. They just worked a crap ton of hours. You could make that in a climate controlled factory in the south. Why bother?
I hope that is not indicative of all oil related jobs, and I'm sure it isn't. It's just, those were the only jobs I saw advertised. Long hours and low hourly wages. Kind of like salaried workers who work 70-80 hours a week. Umm, no thank you...
For what it's worth, I rarely miss a day of work, and genuinely enjoy being at work most days. The employers I have worked for have expressed deep frustration with either having to let me go, or me walking out the door.
There has been a great deal of downward pressure on what many employers in blue collar trades can pay anymore. They have corporations to appease, or possibly shareholders. It's getting hard to hold on to good blue collar workers when utilizing a similar work ethic in other fields yields better returns. Oil is no different, as the whole industry is cyclical.
But what I see more of lately than ever are people bouncing from one crappy paying job in one field, to another crappy paying job in another. They are really shooting themselves in the foot by starting over so often. Everyone seems to think the grass is greener somewhere else.
In the oil field the $12 an hour are usually the only ones advertised, even for those with skilled history they do not just hand out the good jobs, you have to know someone in the industry or you start at the bottom and earn a reputation as a hard worker and then they pay attention to your qualifications and you can move into the better paying jobs. It usually takes about a year doing the **** work to get a decent job in the oil field.
But I know plenty of guys who make $1000+ a day in the decent jobs out there.
My friend just got a job working on the BNSF railroad starting off at over $28 an hour as a signal repair person, he will get paid medical and a RR retirement after 25 yrs., if he wants to retire early. My wife's x husband is a conductor on the Canadian National RR and makes over a $1000,000 a year with all the to he is working and same benifits as the other class A RR companies. Warren Buffet owns the BNSF. These are all blue-collar jobs also with no college education.
Please refer to my post saying what a professional executive secretary does. Also, if you want, I'll forward you a spreadsheet with some financial data. Please correct all the errors in the spreadsheet and then make a PowerPoint presentation out of it, beautiful to look at and with no mistakes, for me to edit and then present to a group of executives. I'll be surprised if you can do it, but I don't know you and maybe you can. That is what good secretaries do these days, it's worth $40 an hour, and that is not a lot of money (try to live on it in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc.).
My friend just got a job working on the BNSF railroad starting off at over $28 an hour as a signal repair person, he will get paid medical and a RR retirement after 25 yrs., if he wants to retire early. My wife's x husband is a conductor on the Canadian National RR and makes over a $1000,000 a year with all the to he is working and same benifits as the other class A RR companies. Warren Buffet owns the BNSF. These are all blue-collar jobs also with no college education.
My brother works for one of the railroad companies. Was making 70k by age 22. Sure beats going into debt for some worthless degree that will only have you slinging coffee and hamburgers for minimum wage.
Skilled trades tops the list. No surprise. There is an insatiable demand for $12/hr machinists with thousands of dollars in high end tools. Lol... Get real!
It feels good to laugh in HR or recruiters face. But it doesn't fix the problem.
If only the people writing this crap could walk a day in my shoes and see how bad the situation has become.
These low wages have laid waste to my industry. There is 0 skill to be found anymore. Nobody wants to be nickle and dimed for a living so GM and Boeing can get cheaper widgets. Most of the employers are too broke to afford decent equipment, so workers are less productive, or forced to work in dangerous conditions.
If only this country would invest in infrastructure and proper training, instead of tax cuts for mega corps and the wealthy... This country could actually be known for quality once again, which is where the money is in any industry. There is no prize for winning the race to the bottom.
This should be written on a plaque I could not agree more! Most people, myself included, couldn't survive on $12/hr. I have been unemployed for almost three months. I search jobs everyday, some of these wages are a joke. I make more on unemployment that what these jobs pay. Of course the other factor is experience, every employer wants a few years experience, OJT has become extinct.
There is no shortage of teachers in PA. Usually there's a wait to get a full time teaching position.
As far as drivers, people today, myself included don't want to live in a truck 1,2, 3, weeks at a time. I've been fortunate that I've never had to drive "over-the-road." I never will. I will get rid of my CDL before I drive "over-the-road," I couldn't do it. The problem with local trucking jobs is that very few of them provide stable work, unless its food related, UPS, or FedEx, or something along those lines. A lot of companies have difficulty finding drivers because their insurance companies are so strict on who they can hire. Also, DOT physical guidelines are becoming more rigid. At my last physical the doc gave me a hard time because according to the Body Mass Index, (BMI), I'm obese. I'm 5'4 202, but I'm a bodybuilder, I'm not fat at all, I weigh more because of the muscle mass. So the BMI scale doesn't work on me. The doc wasn't seeing it that way. Every law firm is out to sue the sh*t out of trucking companies for the slightest little accident. Factor in the responsibility you have and what you deal with I would never advise anyone to get their CDL to earn a living. I want to change careers. I actually have an interview with a marketing firm this week, if I can find something I enjoy and the pay is good, I'll make the change.
It does seem like electricians and plumbers are in demand, but like anything else those skilled trades can become oversaturated too.
As the previous poster said, this country needs to invest in infrastructure, and training, but I don't think it will happen because the wealthy own the politicians. The current state is benefiting those at the top in huge way
I saw a job listing advertising 70K to work in oil. When I broke down the numbers though, the actual wage was only about 12 bucks an hour. They just worked a crap ton of hours. You could make that in a climate controlled factory in the south. Why bother?
I hope that is not indicative of all oil related jobs, and I'm sure it isn't. It's just, those were the only jobs I saw advertised. Long hours and low hourly wages. Kind of like salaried workers who work 70-80 hours a week. Umm, no thank you...
For what it's worth, I rarely miss a day of work, and genuinely enjoy being at work most days. The employers I have worked for have expressed deep frustration with either having to let me go, or me walking out the door.
There has been a great deal of downward pressure on what many employers in blue collar trades can pay anymore. They have corporations to appease, or possibly shareholders. It's getting hard to hold on to good blue collar workers when utilizing a similar work ethic in other fields yields better returns. Oil is no different, as the whole industry is cyclical.
But what I see more of lately than ever are people bouncing from one crappy paying job in one field, to another crappy paying job in another. They are really shooting themselves in the foot by starting over so often. Everyone seems to think the grass is greener somewhere else.
The oilfield is not for someone with a family, at least you're on the side that's actually out in the field. They work you to death. natural gas drilling was booming in north central PA, then after the first of the year it came to halt. They are shipping rigs out of here left and right. Now, there's a lot of people out of work. Based on what I've seen, I wouldn't consider the oil field stable at all
My friend just got a job working on the BNSF railroad starting off at over $28 an hour as a signal repair person, he will get paid medical and a RR retirement after 25 yrs., if he wants to retire early. My wife's x husband is a conductor on the Canadian National RR and makes over a $1000,000 a year with all the to he is working and same benifits as the other class A RR companies. Warren Buffet owns the BNSF. These are all blue-collar jobs also with no college education.
A great way to make a living, sure. But a weak way to make a life. Hours totally unpredictable. Working on holidays common. There is no Christmas or Easter on the railroad. When it gets busy, you might never get home for months. Interesting you say "wife's x husband." She probably left because he was never home.
The oilfield is not for someone with a family, at least you're on the side that's actually out in the field. They work you to death. natural gas drilling was booming in north central PA, then after the first of the year it came to halt. They are shipping rigs out of here left and right. Now, there's a lot of people out of work. Based on what I've seen, I wouldn't consider the oil field stable at all
Exactly why I don't think it's as great a field as some make it out to be.
I applied to some oil related jobs out in Texas and North Dakota a few years back. Even then, the hourly wages I was offered weren't attractive at all. I also had years of experience in the field I was applying for.
A great way to make a living, sure. But a weak way to make a life. Hours totally unpredictable. Working on holidays common. There is no Christmas or Easter on the railroad. When it gets busy, you might never get home for months. Interesting you say "wife's x husband." She probably left because he was never home.
No she left him and he tried to controll her. She made her own money and he did not like it. Working on the RR is a great job it's federal govt regulated and the best wages and bennifits for a person with no degree. So what if gone for a week at a time you are well paid working there. People today don't want to take any job that dose not conform to the hours they want to work get over it a job that starts out at over $28 an hour and no collage degree needed. Also the pay that my friend gets tops out close to $40 an hour. There are people lined up around the corner to get these type of jobs.
Last edited by Vannort54; 05-23-2015 at 04:20 PM..
A great way to make a living, sure. But a weak way to make a life. Hours totally unpredictable. Working on holidays common. There is no Christmas or Easter on the railroad. When it gets busy, you might never get home for months. Interesting you say "wife's x husband." She probably left because he was never home.
12 hour shifts that's it federal law have to be off 10 hrs before work again. The only way you are not home is if train breaks down but the RR will pay for a motel or hotel room.
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I could not agree more! Most people, myself included, couldn't survive on $12/hr. I have been unemployed for almost three months. I search jobs everyday, some of these wages are a joke. I make more on unemployment that what these jobs pay. Of course the other factor is experience, every employer wants a few years experience, OJT has become extinct.
