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Vancouver Off-Topic / Current EventsThe off-topic forum for Vancouver, funnies, non-auto centered discussions, WORK SAFE. While the rules are more relaxed here, there are still rules. Please refer to sticky thread in this forum.
Lol 7 years for 100,000?? Did he put it all up his nose?
A buddy of mine working at apprentice pipe fitter saved up 55k over 13 months and another has about 80 working 2 years and both are terrible with their money
I do agree completely about the transferable skills though
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no doubt, it's terrible, though it's not all that rare for even high income earners to save very little, especially if they're young. his lack of savings really supports the point i was getting at though - he gave seven years to the idea of getting ahead but didn't achieve a whole lot because he had no long-term plan. he never gave a thought to where he'd be after 5-10-15 years. there's a valuable lesson to be learned there for any young guys reading this thread.
Granted however, in the oil field the temptations for instant gratification (booze,girls,F350) is much stronger.
Hmmm... not sure I agree with you, I've never felt any sort of temptation before....
Spoiler!
Mind you... I don't actually work in the oilsands.
Quote:
Originally Posted by noclue
Anyone would like to share their prediction what happens if oil prices stick at $75-$80 for a while? Would work slowdown considerably?
Noting serious, expect some long term stability around that range. OPEC's recent move to drop the price of oil doesn't impact the oil sands as much as it impacts many of the shale oil producers in the US, this is a strong arm tactic to hurt the shale guys. Don't expect companies in Alberta to shut the taps on current major projects until we hit the high 50's IMO.
Re: Mindbomber, couldn't have said it any better myself. Lots of people are lured to the oilsands for a quick buck, but the 7 years you might spend labouring come with a cost that is difficult to quantify in terms of limiting your progress/development etc. Even if you pursue a trade ticket, don't stop at one, get another ticket, go back to school eventually for a two year technical diploma, maybe later you can transfer into an actually Uni program etc.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jasonturbo
Follow me on Instagram @jasonturtle if you want to feel better about your life
That's why I already have my degree/trade what i'll be going back to at some point. You have to go up there with a goal and stick to that goal. Unless that is if you wanna stick it out here and make a career out of it which is very easy to do. Buddy who worked rigs for 7 years, if he busted his ass should've moved up off the rig floor or at least been a driller by the time he was done. Hell my friend is a motorman and thinking of applying to be a directional driller pretty quick ($1000+ a day). It's all about being smart and looking to the future.
Right now i'm putting away roughly 60% of my pay into the bank and I still live a pretty decent life, have more disposable income than my friends, and drive a Raptor haha.
The amount of losers up here that are stuck in a rut is very shocking. I would say 1\3 people are paying upwards of 3k a month in alimony/child support to ex spouses and the rest of they money goes up their nose, into the truck, the strippers, etc. It's half the reason I still live in Van and fly in and out, I don't wanna be around that shit. Not because I can't control myself but because I couldn't give a fuck for it haha.
5 years being amazingly stingy and saving every penmy I'd say 300,000 would be a tough goal but possible depending on situation from what i know of the circumstances
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Last edited by Hondaracer; 11-06-2014 at 12:52 PM.
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All this oil sands talk makes me wish I went to Fort Mac or somewhere else when I was younger.
My friend worked for Schlumerberger and he said the oil rig engineers made about $250K/year. He worked in some compound that was north of Fort Mac and he eventually got sick of it after 2 years. Similar to what has been stated, he didn't gain any transferable skills (even as an engineer), so he had to start all over when he start working in the lower mainland. I think he saved up some good money though.
7:50 for Canada, but the whole video is informative on the economics and politics of oil.
Hmmm not sure that was very informative regarding Canada... the simple version is this, so long as we are only really exporting to the USA we are tied to WTI prices, once we open up a means of exporting to other countries we are tied to the Brent standard. (Brent pricing accounts for roughly 2/3 of all transactions, WTI is maybe 10%.) Effectively increasing the value of our resource overnight.. though it won't do much to increase what our counterparts to the south are willing to pay.
From wiki;
Quote:
Historically price differences between Brent and other index crudes have been based on physical differences in crude oil specifications and short-term variations in supply and demand. Prior to September 2010, there existed a typical price difference per barrel of between ±3 USD/bbl compared to WTI and OPEC Basket; however, since the autumn of 2010 Brent has been priced much higher than WTI, reaching a difference of more than $11 a barrel by the end of February 2011 (WTI: 104 USD/bbl, LCO: 116 USD/bbl). In February 2011 the divergence reached $16 during a supply glut, record stockpiles, at Cushing, Oklahoma before peaking at above $23 in August 2012. It has since (September 2012) decreased significantly to around $18 after refinery maintenance settled down and supply issues eased slightly.
Many reasons have been given for this widening divergence ranging from a speculative change away from WTI trading (although not supported by trading volumes), Dollar currency movements, regional demand variations, and even politics. The depletion of the North Sea oil fields is one explanation for the divergence in forward prices.
The US Energy Information Administration attributes the price spread between WTI and Brent to an oversupply of crude oil in the interior of North America (WTI price is set at Cushing, Oklahoma) caused by rapidly increasing oil production from Canadian oil sands and tight oil formations such as the Bakken Formation, Niobrara Formation, and Eagle Ford Formation. Oil production in the interior of North America has exceeded the capacity of pipelines to carry it to markets on the Gulf Coast and east coast of North America; as a result, the oil price on the US and Canadian east coast and parts of the US Gulf Coast since 2011 has been set by the price of Brent Crude, while markets in the interior still follow the WTI price. Much US and Canadian crude oil from the interior is now shipped to the coast by railroad, which is much more expensive than pipeline.[7]
I also have to LOL at the Trudeau comment, the libs have zero chance of beating the conservatives, the best they can hope for is a conservative minority government. The only way the conservatives will find themselves on the outside looking in is if the NDP and Libs somehow merge. All the liberal voters in Canada voting for one party might oust the conservatives, but not when they are voting for two different parties.
Anyway, I'm obviously pro pipeline, and I do believe we should open up an export route to Asia using the Northern Gateway... but... I do understand the concerns associated with the massive bump in coastal tanker traffic and I believe the concerns are valid. The stakeholders for that pipeline really need to find some way to ensure that shipping channel is safe, easily navigated, and that extensive consideration be given to a quick and effective incident response plan.
It's not the pipelines that are a problem, they are safe, and certainly much safer than shipping by train (supported by statistics)... the tankers are the concern IMO.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jasonturbo
Follow me on Instagram @jasonturtle if you want to feel better about your life
1. Make small sign. Reading - Hard working, drug free, looking for work. Wear around neck
2. Go to local Fort Mac bar
3. Be friendly, understand you will probably do hard bitch work. Talk to everyone
GO!
seriously though, just go. Stop in Edmonton, apply at oil rig companies.
Everyone I talk to always asks me 'man get me a job'. So many people don't understand, give yourself one week. 3 days in Edmonton and 3 in Fort Mac and apply everywhere. Go in person to apply. I bet 75% of people if they were to do this would get a job.
Giving up myself 25% leeway for the people who go with attitude and just look like useless fucks.
Your friend is a tool. Classic case of somebody who was better off working down here for minimum wage till he learned the value of money.
I blew 2 paycheques before learning to save first and spend 2nd. Not bragging, but even a remote level of fiscal responsibility and foresight would allow someone with even a minute level of intelligence to save quadruple your buddy in 7 years.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hondaracer
5 years being amazingly stingy and saving every penmy I'd say 300,000 would be a tough goal but possible depending on situation from what i know of the circumstances
Maybe if you start out as just a laborer at 18 then this might be true, even then if you are even slightly above average and slightly responsible saving 300k isn't a hard deal.
Think about it after 5 years up north if you aren't a foreman or certified tradesperson you should just quit, because you are wasting your time...
I know I'm splitting hairs with what you're saying but^^^^^ not all money is in being a certified tradesperson/foreman. Although, I assume with foreman you're including all supervisor/tool push positions?
Even then there's consultants, directional hands, tool hands, rig managers, etc. that will make close to 300k/year. Then there's starting your own company. My supervisors buddy put a ridiculously small sum of money down and got close to 1mil business loan to buy a couple fluid bulkers. Stupid money if you own your own trucks.
Disregard if you're talking about higher salary than that.
I know I'm splitting hairs with what you're saying but^^^^^ not all money is in being a certified tradesperson/foreman. Although, I assume with foreman you're including all supervisor/tool push positions?
the main point they're trying to make is that having a trade gives you a transferable skill that you can bring back home and continue making decent money instead of having to finding some shitty warehouse job just to pay the bills.
I know I'm splitting hairs with what you're saying but^^^^^ not all money is in being a certified tradesperson/foreman. Although, I assume with foreman you're including all supervisor/tool push positions?
Even then there's consultants, directional hands, tool hands, rig managers, etc. that will make close to 300k/year. Then there's starting your own company. My supervisors buddy put a ridiculously small sum of money down and got close to 1mil business loan to buy a couple fluid bulkers. Stupid money if you own your own trucks.
Disregard if you're talking about higher salary than that.
My point was more along the lines Knight made.
I just mean that if you are willing to put the time and energy into spending 5 years in the mac, or anywhere for that matter, if you are just starting out the money comes secondary to the experience you gain.
As a younger person on sites, you can move up and gain EXTREMELY valuable experience very quickly, you just have to apply yourself, and stay motivated, and hardworking.
Sure making 300k a year is nice, what's nicer is being able to move anywhere in the world and apply your knowledge, irrelevant of whether that be engineering, design, pipe-fitting, welding, etc.
I see too many people with the mentality of "I'm gonna go to the mac for 2 years as a laborer, to get ahead on my bills, then come and settle down". If those are your plans, then you are probably better off just staying in town, and working at a job you intend to keep and move up the ranks in.
I am very pro for the oldschool idea of building a career in an industry. It just so happens the industry I chose was industrial construction. I don't see the point of people trying to switch into a new industry for a couple years just to make a few bucks. Sure it might be temporarily easy money, but after you factor the fact that you just set your own life and real career path backwards by two years, you were probably better off not bothering.
hoping it picks up next year for alberta. Was so slow this year in BC and id love to travel card up in alberta for half the year. Im an Boilermaker apprentice. Tough being one in BC on the apprentice (Starvation) Board lol.
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The amount of losers up here that are stuck in a rut is very shocking. I would say 1\3 people are paying upwards of 3k a month in alimony/child support to ex spouses and the rest of they money goes up their nose, into the truck, the strippers, etc.
So I hear horizon drilling stopped work in december which is unusual...
Thoughts?
Not all that unusual, depending on the ground conditions of the drill site and access roads it's often a more intelligent approach to wait until the ground has frozen before starting work. As a rule of thumb, in Northern Alberta, if you can't pack frost, you are waiting until at least mid-January before the ground in most areas is pretty stable.
Obviously this depends on the soil type, in some areas the muskeg never really freezes at all.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jasonturbo
Follow me on Instagram @jasonturtle if you want to feel better about your life
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