Author Topic: Gas and Oil Field Traniees, leaving the state.  (Read 464 times)

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Offline Sourdough

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Gas and Oil Field Traniees, leaving the state.
« on: November 28, 2012, 08:39:15 PM »
In preparation for a gas line being built from the North Slope to Valdez or somewhere else in the state.  The State Of Alaska has been training young men and women pipeline construction, and oil and gas field work.  The state is spending millions on training these young people, and they are finding work.  In North Dakota, and other oil and gas producing states.  Seems these young men and women don't have a problem like their older counterparts leaving home and family behind for a good paying job.  I was talking to one of the Instructors a couple of weeks ago.  He was a bit upset that all his students have left the state for work in the lower 48.

As I drove through North  Dakota last year I saw bill board signs looking for workers, with phone numbers.  They could not find enough workers for everything.

Now for a rant:

One of Sky's high school buddies, Carson came by today.  Young man that graduated a year before Sky.  Carson and Sky played Hockey together, I took them every spring break to the cabin and let them play in the deep powder on snow machines.  I taught Carson to shoot and to hunt along with Sky.  Carson was hot, he had just had it out with his Mom and Dad.  Dad is crying about his being laid off, and the only job he can find is just paying the bills.  No disposable income for the family.  Dad, Mom, and youngest Daughter, at home.  Daughter graduated high school a couple of years ago, just too lazy to leave home.  Claims the only job she can find is in a child care facility, low pay.  Mom and Dad won't consider leaving because this is home.  They won't insist daughter move out because she has a baby, and they don't want to lose the grandchild.  Carson and his oldest sister don't have that problem.  Both moved away for jobs.  Another sister older than Carson married an Army Officer  and moved away four years ago.  Carson made over 148K last year working in the oil fields.  His oldest sister made over 120K working as a Paralegal/Contract Monitor/Arbitrator, for an oil company down south as well.  They just can not understand why their parents won't leave.  Carson spent an hour here talking to Sky and I trying to get over being so mad.  He parked his Dad's truck behind my shed, asked if he could leave it there till spring.  Then he told me why.     

I wish they could convince the parents to move, I'm tired of listening to them whine about their poor living conditions, and lack of work.   Two years ago when he was desperate for money, right after he lost his job, he sold me his snow machine.  Last year I bought his 4-wheeler.  He called three weeks ago wanting me to buy his F-250, he needed to buy fuel oil and did not have the money.  Sorry I did not want his truck, I figure if I bought his truck I would enable him to stay longer.  I've been trying to convince him to move myself.  Carson just bought the truck, not because he wants or needs it, but to fill the tank to heat the house.  They have been trying to heat the house with wood and a small wood stove.  They have lost the down stairs bathroom and one bedroom dur to frozen pipes.  If they did not do something soon they are going to lose the house.  (Freeze-up)  So Carson filled the fuel tank this time, with enough to fill it one more time this winter.  I went down and helped Carson cut all the standing dead spruce trees on his Dad's property.  Then we hauled them to the  back of the house with my big snow machine.  Carson and I figure they can cut off the limbs and cut it into usable lengths.  (Maybe his lazy sister will get up off her lazy behind and do something.  One heck of a job for us today at 30 below.  Yes they have fuel oil, but they are going to have to supplement with wood to make the fuel oil last.  Otherwise they will be running out before spring.  When he had to replace his boiler four years ago before he got laid off, I tried to convince him to convert to coal.  Now he wishes he had.  Coal is cheaper than wood, higher BTUs, and a lot less work.

When we finished with the wood Carson and Sky went into town together.  Sky had a class, and Carson was going to spend time in the student center.  The boys were going to go out looking up old friends after Sky got out of class.  Carson asked if he could spend the night later, he is too ticked off at his Dad.

My wife has been complaining that she is in a dead end job, no where for advancement.  I told her to look for a job else where.  She applied for a job in Georgia.  If she gets selected, we are out of here.  Sky is a big boy, he can take care of himself.     
Where is old Joe when we really need him?  Alaska Independence    Calling Illegal Immigrants "Undocumented Aliens" is like calling Drug Dealers "Unlicensed Pharmacists"
What Is A Veteran?
A 'Veteran' -- whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve -- is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America,' for an amount of 'up to, and including his life.' That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country today who no longer understand that fact.

Offline Conan The Librarian

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Re: Gas and Oil Field Traniees, leaving the state.
« Reply #1 on: November 29, 2012, 04:59:57 AM »
I hope things work out the way you want them to. Alaska to Georgia is quite a change, but it's a good state. I really like it. Have had a lot of good times there. There is plenty to do in terms of hunting and fishing and outdoors. Not hide or hair of a caribou or salmon, but there's plenty of other stuff.
 
A few hours in any direction can put you into snow skiing North Carolina, trout fishing, ocean fishing, gulf fishing, deer hunting, hog hunting, great beaches and what is probably a lower cost of living.

Offline Sourdough

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Re: Gas and Oil Field Traniees, leaving the state.
« Reply #2 on: November 29, 2012, 07:03:23 AM »
I'm looking at the lower cost of living, and the Hog, and Coyote hunting.  Got friends and relatives in Texas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia.  So it would not be a bad place for us.  The wife is always worried about her baby sister, who would only be two hours away.  My motorcycle is currently in Florida, and my Mazda Miata is in Tennessee.
Where is old Joe when we really need him?  Alaska Independence    Calling Illegal Immigrants "Undocumented Aliens" is like calling Drug Dealers "Unlicensed Pharmacists"
What Is A Veteran?
A 'Veteran' -- whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve -- is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America,' for an amount of 'up to, and including his life.' That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country today who no longer understand that fact.

Offline Conan The Librarian

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Re: Gas and Oil Field Traniees, leaving the state.
« Reply #3 on: November 29, 2012, 08:59:54 AM »
What I learned about living in Minnesota is that you lose a lot of time to inclement weather in a cold climate. Winter here is from November through March, and about 1/3 of the remaining days are inclement, so we effectively lose about seven months of the year to one form of inclement weather or another.
 
In the south, which I will be returning to, you get a lot more usable days. That's not so important when theres work and kids, but when you remove those things, more usable time outdoors is better.

Offline Sourdough

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Re: Gas and Oil Field Traniees, leaving the state.
« Reply #4 on: November 29, 2012, 10:30:55 AM »
Yea, I get tired of those days when it's 40 below like today.  Wanted to go to the gym today, but when I got up it was 40 below, I decided not to go early this morning like I usually do.  Now it's after 12 and it's still 32 below.  Not going to make the gym today. 

I go to Tennessee, Florida, and sometimes Texas every year during the winter.  Sure make for a better dispossion when I return. 

Think the wife is tired of me leaving her behind every winter.  But she refuses to retire.
Where is old Joe when we really need him?  Alaska Independence    Calling Illegal Immigrants "Undocumented Aliens" is like calling Drug Dealers "Unlicensed Pharmacists"
What Is A Veteran?
A 'Veteran' -- whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve -- is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America,' for an amount of 'up to, and including his life.' That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country today who no longer understand that fact.

Offline Conan The Librarian

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Re: Gas and Oil Field Traniees, leaving the state.
« Reply #5 on: November 29, 2012, 11:40:45 AM »
We've got a lot of friends who have broken bones falling on ice. I have too. Last year I fell hard within ten feet of my front door on a patch of ice I didn't see. My story line with Mrs The Librarian is that I don't want to be an old man taking my life into my own hands and risking everything just going to the mailbox during the winter. And I need to be able to go for a walk every morning at least 340 days per year.
 
As for what keeps me indoors, below +10F I cancel ski outings, at zero I cancel hunting outings, at  minus 30 I cancel any outings except going to work. We do have great indoor gyms here, so that's a major activity for me during winter.

Offline Sourdough

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Re: Gas and Oil Field Traniees, leaving the state.
« Reply #6 on: November 29, 2012, 12:56:18 PM »
Today it was -40 when I got up.  Decided tyo go to the gym later in the day.  At noon it was -32, I'll wait a while.  Now a 15 to 3, it's -28, no gym today.  Florida is looking better and better. 

I honestly hope the wife is selected for the position in Georgia, I'm tired of the cold.  I was given a Handicapped Plackard for my vehicle, not because I can not walk, but because the Doctor is afraid I'll fall on the ice and break something.  I have to take the dog out three or four times a day.  Our drive has a slight slope to it, and this year for the first time I am actually thinking about what I'll do if I fall.  I fell hard last summer out in the road in front of the house and could not get up for about 30 minutes.  Not until the paper delivery man came along and helped me up.  Now that it's winter no one will be comming along.  A person could freeze to death at 40 below in a short time out there. So I make sure I have my cell phone with me.
Where is old Joe when we really need him?  Alaska Independence    Calling Illegal Immigrants "Undocumented Aliens" is like calling Drug Dealers "Unlicensed Pharmacists"
What Is A Veteran?
A 'Veteran' -- whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve -- is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America,' for an amount of 'up to, and including his life.' That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country today who no longer understand that fact.

Offline Anna

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Re: Gas and Oil Field Traniees, leaving the state.
« Reply #7 on: November 29, 2012, 02:45:48 PM »
A lot of them are showing up down here in the southern part of this state in their travel trailers.
With the new Bio Fuel plant going in the oil field is going nuts. All along Hwy 62 / 280 commonly known as Nuclear Alley. 

Offline gstewart44

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Re: Gas and Oil Field Traniees, leaving the state.
« Reply #8 on: November 29, 2012, 02:59:56 PM »
what part of Georgia might be lookin at Sourdough??
I'm just tryin' to keep everything in balance, Woodrow. You do more work than you got to, so it's my obligation to do less. (Gus McCrae)

Offline FPH

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Re: Gas and Oil Field Traniees, leaving the state.
« Reply #9 on: November 30, 2012, 03:47:31 AM »
Sure you won't melt in the humidity Frosty.....or Sourdough?  My B-I-L moans and complains when he goes from Colorado to Dallas.  I sure notice the difference going from S. NM to San Antonio.

Offline Sourdough

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Re: Gas and Oil Field Traniees, leaving the state.
« Reply #10 on: November 30, 2012, 07:39:03 AM »
Anna:  Carson told me when he first got there he was looking for a place to stay and all he could find was a travel trailer.  Then he ran into a guy he knew from Fairbanks that had a house, and let him move in with him.  Carson called back and was talking to his older sister Jen.  Jen was working for a law firm here in Fairbanks.  She decided to go down and look around.  Law firms in Fairbanks are not very big.  After Jen got there she ran into an old high school friend who had gone to the engineering school at University Of Alaska Fairbanks, and became a Petroleum Engineer.  Her friend was able to get her on with one of the Oil Companies.  Jen moves around a lot with her work, and spend most of her time traveling.

Their Dad has a mechanical engineering degree, and Mom was a Nurse.  Fairbanks is swamped with Nurses, so she can not find a good paying position.  And with our dead economy there is no work for an Engineer here either.  Hope Carson can convince them to leave.
Where is old Joe when we really need him?  Alaska Independence    Calling Illegal Immigrants "Undocumented Aliens" is like calling Drug Dealers "Unlicensed Pharmacists"
What Is A Veteran?
A 'Veteran' -- whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve -- is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America,' for an amount of 'up to, and including his life.' That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country today who no longer understand that fact.

Offline FPH

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Re: Gas and Oil Field Traniees, leaving the state.
« Reply #11 on: November 30, 2012, 08:18:10 AM »
Talked to a guy hire on around Odessa.  Man camps are full as well as RV sites.

Offline Sourdough

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Re: Gas and Oil Field Traniees, leaving the state.
« Reply #12 on: November 30, 2012, 09:05:20 PM »
I was talking to my Brother who lives in Dallas this weekend.  He told me anyone that wants work can get it either in Texas, Oklahoma, or the Dakotas. 

His son and son's wife were teaching school in Arkansas.  Lockheed/Martin called him for a job and moved them from Eldorado Arkansas to Ft Worth Texas.  A week after arriving she went to work for an Oil Company.   

His daughter went to work as soon as she graduated college last spring.  She got a job in Ft Worth tracking Semis with GPS.  After they moved her Husband got a job as a police dispatcher.

Lots of jobs opening up due to people going to the oil fields.

gstewart44:  Ft Benning
Where is old Joe when we really need him?  Alaska Independence    Calling Illegal Immigrants "Undocumented Aliens" is like calling Drug Dealers "Unlicensed Pharmacists"
What Is A Veteran?
A 'Veteran' -- whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve -- is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America,' for an amount of 'up to, and including his life.' That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country today who no longer understand that fact.

Offline BBF

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Re: Gas and Oil Field Traniees, leaving the state.
« Reply #13 on: December 01, 2012, 05:27:13 AM »
I had  the impression that Obama is shutting all that stuff down to raise the prices, now I read the Fields are on fire( sort of).
What is the point of Life if you can't have fun.