working a low paying Nurses aid job just to get experience.. discovered that i wont ever let my parents go in a nursing home... most of the patient issues care wise, come from the corporations that own them.. such as lack of staff and not enforcing there rules that they lay out in employee hand books.
BARNCA wrote: working a low paying Nurses aid job just to get experience.. discovered that i wont ever let my parents go in a nursing home... most of the patient issues care wise, come from the corporations that own them.. such as lack of staff and not enforcing there rules that they lay out in employee hand books.
And most of the stupid crap you see is government mandated MINIMUMS. To make any money in nursing care in an elder facility, is to cut every corner because the government has made it that way. 
HiTempguy wrote:SVreX wrote: I'd relocate in a heartbeat, but it is tough to open doors when you are out of the area and working extended hours. Hanging on. Barely.Don't know if you'd be willing to do fly-in fly-out, but 2 weeks on 1 week off up here and they are still hiring hand over fist (full benefits in Canada as well, nice clean lodging provided, meals that are healthy and suppers that are better than a low end restruant). Don't know if you have any trades to your name, but 1st year apprentice anythings start at $30/h. Also don't know if your experience is in industrial construction. If you could do it for two years, you'd easily earn over $100k net cash per year... and if you have a certificate in anything, probably more like $45-$50/h.
Wow, if I wasn't married, that would be something to consider doing for a few years.
Come back, buy a house cash, have another house worth in savings, then look for a job you like vs what pays the most.
z31maniac wrote:HiTempguy wrote:Wow, if I wasn't married, that would be something to consider doing for a few years. Come back, buy a house cash, have another house worth in savings, then look for a job you like vs what pays the most.SVreX wrote: I'd relocate in a heartbeat, but it is tough to open doors when you are out of the area and working extended hours. Hanging on. Barely.Don't know if you'd be willing to do fly-in fly-out, but 2 weeks on 1 week off up here and they are still hiring hand over fist (full benefits in Canada as well, nice clean lodging provided, meals that are healthy and suppers that are better than a low end restruant). Don't know if you have any trades to your name, but 1st year apprentice anythings start at $30/h. Also don't know if your experience is in industrial construction. If you could do it for two years, you'd easily earn over $100k net cash per year... and if you have a certificate in anything, probably more like $45-$50/h.
If plane tickets didn't cost a fortune on short notice.....
Ranger50 wrote: Also, depending on where you are, people have just given up looking. I know I have basically giving up looking for employment, even though I desperately need one.
Do you live near Louisville, Evansville, or Cincinnati?
92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: Doing fine here, though i'm in the position of not really wanting to leave because the E36 M3 sammich will taste the same elsewhere. I do not enjoy my job in the slightest. Might not have a choice soon though. A certain bill was upheld recently that puts my job in jeopardy.
What bill?
I'm busy, so busy my projects have been at a standstill practically since May. Worked 24 out of the last 28 days, turned in 107 hours for two weeks.
In reply to moparman76_69:
Nope. Cincy is 4hrs one way away. Loserville is about the same.
HiTempguy wrote:SVreX wrote: I'd relocate in a heartbeat, but it is tough to open doors when you are out of the area and working extended hours. Hanging on. Barely.Don't know if you'd be willing to do fly-in fly-out, but 2 weeks on 1 week off up here and they are still hiring hand over fist (full benefits in Canada as well, nice clean lodging provided, meals that are healthy and suppers that are better than a low end restruant). Don't know if you have any trades to your name, but 1st year apprentice anythings start at $30/h. Also don't know if your experience is in industrial construction. If you could do it for two years, you'd easily earn over $100k net cash per year... and if you have a certificate in anything, probably more like $45-$50/h.
So is being hired with no experience considered a 1st year apprentice? Or do you have to have something prior to that?
All my experience is in security and corrections, so I doubt that qualifies.
Ranger50 wrote:BARNCA wrote: working a low paying Nurses aid job just to get experience.. discovered that i wont ever let my parents go in a nursing home... most of the patient issues care wise, come from the corporations that own them.. such as lack of staff and not enforcing there rules that they lay out in employee hand books.And most of the stupid crap you see is government mandated MINIMUMS. To make any money in nursing care in an elder facility, is to cut every corner because the government has made it that way.
So putting LESS into elder care will make it better? Somehow, that makes zero sense.
As for locally, we are hiring. Couple of engineering position open in my department, even.
alfadriver wrote:Ranger50 wrote:So putting LESS into elder care will make it better? Somehow, that makes zero sense. As for locally, we are hiring. Couple of engineering position open in my department, even.BARNCA wrote: working a low paying Nurses aid job just to get experience.. discovered that i wont ever let my parents go in a nursing home... most of the patient issues care wise, come from the corporations that own them.. such as lack of staff and not enforcing there rules that they lay out in employee hand books.And most of the stupid crap you see is government mandated MINIMUMS. To make any money in nursing care in an elder facility, is to cut every corner because the government has made it that way.
Welcome to government subsidized care!!! 
Too bad I have been out of using any engineering skills I have learned over the years.
I'm just trying to find a way to get retrained without going into debt. The house is paid for, I thought I'd just pick up some retail job to pay the bills, but no one in that sector seems to be hiring around here. What I did for a living has largely been automated, but OTOH I do know how to operate an automation system. You'd think I could find something similar (wastewater treatment? Robotic assembly line?), but nobody wants to take the chance.
I'm probably just going to keep in touch with the coworkers, and beg for an "in" when something opens up. I really am sick of TV, but a job's a job.
HiTempguy wrote: Oilsaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaands
You wouldn't happen to have a website for them would you?
I'm curious what it would take to do this as an American citizen. Do you need a work visa, or some other permission?
Ranger50 wrote: If plane tickets didn't cost a fortune on short notice.....
"Fly in fly out" = they pay for your flights. Newfies get flown across the FREIKIN country every 2 weeks, that is NOT a cheap flight lemme tell you! The camp I am in has 6000 people in it, about half of those from the rock by my reckoning.
So is being hired with no experience considered a 1st year apprentice? Or do you have to have something prior to that? All my experience is in security and corrections, so I doubt that qualifies.
It really depends on a lot of things... who you are hired by, what work you are doing, etc etc. A 1st year apprentice typically has zero experience (hence, they are first year). I've met a lot up there, so if that is the case, I am under the impression there are lots of jobs available with zero experience required. I'm also not going to say you could lie to get on... but you are basically hired without much of an interview...
They ARE hiring warm bodies with zero experience. Lots of the work is "skilled trade", but it's not like being an electrician. Yes, pipe fitting can be "hard", but they understand that people have to start somewhere, and there is so much work that having new guys around to be the lackey works out well. Safety is their number one concern on any site, nobody gets hurt and they are serious about it.
Find a headhunter, or a hiring firm, or try and apply directly with the contractors (the construction site I am on, KEARL, which is an Imperial Oil/Exxon deal, has 5 massive companies building the plant, Horton CBI, Kiewitt, Fluor, PCL and one other one that escapes me). These are national/multi-national corporations that are getting paid billions on these projects. The original KEARL site, before first oil, they are already expanding it with their KEP expansion, which won't be done until 2019, and if oil stays where it is at, there is a third expansion.
I mean, the life isn't for everyone. But if you are willing to work 2 weeks at a time straight, you get paid for your work. Everyone is there to work, sketchy people aren't allowed on site, most of the camps are dry. It's a good, structured environment to earn money.
Racer1ab wrote: You wouldn't happen to have a website for them would you? I'm curious what it would take to do this as an American citizen. Do you need a work visa, or some other permission?
I go back up on Thursday morning. I will talk to a gentleman from Delaware, I've been fascinated by how this all works. By trade, he is a pipe-fitter. He found his job on a job website, the position was being filled by a hiring agency. Working in Canada is a lot easier for you than a Canadian wanting to work in the US. The oilsands companies also get away with a lot... because there isn't anybody to work. They've streamlined the process as much as possible.
http://www.liveworkalberta.com/find-oil-job-alberta/
http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/ns/lmi/workplace/jobs/abta/abta.shtml
List of companies. You want ones that are doing construction. http://www.canadianoilsandsjobs.com/
search engines
monster.ca
indeed.ca
workopolis.ca
Basically, start googling and start calling. Go down to your local union hall, find out how to get started in a trade as an "apprentice" and go from there. I'll post more info when I receive it. I mean, you can build scaffolding (rough crowd typically), but they are needed.
You say you have security experience? They are in desperate need of people to bolster their security departments at the camps and sites. Again, I'd personally try and find a headhunter/hiring agency. They get paid to hire you, so they want to find you a spot.
Thanks for all the info! I'll do some more digging on my end, but I'd greatly appreciate any additional information you can post up. Or feel free to PM me!
I wouldn't mind changing careers and working a bit harder in a more physically demanding field, but if there is the chance that I can get hired on at a higher pay rate because of my education and experience, I'd be a fool not to pursue it.
And they pay for your flights back home anywhere, or just in Canada? Are you able to work for a month straight and take off two weeks, or is the work 2 off 1 schedule pretty much standard.
I've actually been looking at getting my CDL and starting trucking, so SWMBO is already prepared for me to have a job where I'd be away for a few weeks at a time.
How are the living quarters at a camp? Is it kind of like living in a dorm with a few roommates or do you have private quarters? Having little money means what I'd do on my downtime probably wouldn't change too much. I probably couldn't bring my mountain bike with me, but I bet the laptop, Kindle and Xbox would keep me occupied during anytime not spent working.
HiTempguy wrote:SVreX wrote: I'd relocate in a heartbeat, but it is tough to open doors when you are out of the area and working extended hours. Hanging on. Barely.Don't know if you'd be willing to do fly-in fly-out, but 2 weeks on 1 week off up here and they are still hiring hand over fist (full benefits in Canada as well, nice clean lodging provided, meals that are healthy and suppers that are better than a low end restruant). Don't know if you have any trades to your name, but 1st year apprentice anythings start at $30/h. Also don't know if your experience is in industrial construction. If you could do it for two years, you'd easily earn over $100k net cash per year... and if you have a certificate in anything, probably more like $45-$50/h.
I would certainly consider it.
I am really a working supervisor with a great deal of project management experience. Excellent at handling plans and schedules. I've picked up virtually every commercial and residential carpentry related trade along the way (90th percentile in capabilities), and I am a good equipment operator. Currently doing small scale industrial, but I'm over the hill for walking iron or continuous huge concrete pours, and my welding is weak. I've done some electrical and a bit of pipe fitting, and I've had no issue getting security clearances, even to work in the arsenal at a military base.
I am a licensed Commercial General Contractor, but have never really held a certificate in anything, or worked in a union.
So, help me understand... You are saying they are paying high wages, include room and board, pay for airfare, offer full Canadian benefits, and still send folks home for 1 of every 3 weeks? Is this an extended opportunity? How long are they projecting this work to continue?
What is the work schedule like?
How long have you been doing this? What type of work is most needed?
I'm interested. Tell me as much as you can, or PM me.
Funny, the chemical company I've been working at has been developing a few products for cleaning tar sands...
SVreX wrote: I'm interested. Tell me as much as you can, or PM me.
Me too.
HiTempguy wrote:Racer1ab wrote: You wouldn't happen to have a website for them would you? I'm curious what it would take to do this as an American citizen. Do you need a work visa, or some other permission?I go back up on Thursday morning. I will talk to a gentleman from Delaware, I've been fascinated by how this all works. By trade, he is a pipe-fitter. He found his job on a job website, the position was being filled by a hiring agency. Working in Canada is a lot easier for you than a Canadian wanting to work in the US. The oilsands companies also get away with a lot... because there isn't anybody to work. They've streamlined the process as much as possible. http://www.liveworkalberta.com/find-oil-job-alberta/ http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/ns/lmi/workplace/jobs/abta/abta.shtml List of companies. You want ones that are doing construction. http://www.canadianoilsandsjobs.com/ search engines monster.ca indeed.ca workopolis.ca Basically, start googling and start calling. Go down to your local union hall, find out how to get started in a trade as an "apprentice" and go from there. I'll post more info when I receive it. I mean, you can build scaffolding (rough crowd typically), but they are needed. You say you have security experience? They are in desperate need of people to bolster their security departments at the camps and sites. Again, I'd personally try and find a headhunter/hiring agency. They get paid to hire you, so they want to find you a spot.
Boy, way to help my cause!
HiTempguy wrote: I mean, the life isn't for everyone. But if you are willing to work 2 weeks at a time straight, you get paid for your work. Everyone is there to work, sketchy people aren't allowed on site, most of the camps are dry. It's a good, structured environment to earn money.
I think this is where my buddy operates cranes at. He flys out of Chicago to Fort McMurray for a month at a time. He usually works a 4-5 month window and spends the rest in Chicago operating cranes.
I'll try and answer everyone's questions without repeating info (and in sensible order).
SVreX wrote: So, help me understand... You are saying they are paying high wages, include room and board, pay for airfare, offer full Canadian benefits, and still send folks home for 1 of every 3 weeks? Is this an extended opportunity? How long are they projecting this work to continue?
SVreX wrote: What is the work schedule like? How long have you been doing this? What type of work is most needed? I'm interested. Tell me as much as you can, or PM me.
Work Schedule - virtually anything. As in, it depends. Some guys are on 6 days on, one day off (stay in camp or get bussed to Ft. Mac to hang out). Some are 14 days on, 7 days fly out. Some 20 and 8.
My experience - I don't "do" this 
. I'm working on a super secret project on some experimental equipment. I basically tell them when I can be there between my racing schedule and other commitments and they fly me up (3,5,8 day trips so far). I've worked on various sites since graduating post secondary though.
Type of work- anything. ANYTHING. These projects are multi-year deals and workers hop between sites like nobody's business. They pay out the butt to try and secure stable employees. I deal with a contract coordinator for a large engineering firm who has very similiar skills/experience to you. He sits in an office all day making sure what needs to happen happens. Basically, imagine a small city, PLUS some of the largest construction projects you've ever seen. It needs to be staffed, and the turnover is constant.
Racer1ab wrote: I've actually been looking at getting my CDL and starting trucking, so SWMBO is already prepared for me to have a job where I'd be away for a few weeks at a time. Having little money means what I'd do on my downtime probably wouldn't change too much. I probably couldn't bring my mountain bike with me, but I bet the laptop, Kindle and Xbox would keep me occupied during anytime not spent working.
Truckers are needed in general in Alberta, you don't need to go up north for that, but they are in desperate need of bus drivers for the camp-site buses. Definitely couldn't bring your bike, but everything else is a good idea. As for being busy... here is a typical daily schedule:
Basically, your job is your life for two weeks. There is entertainment rooms (a small theatre, pool tables, ping pong, and fairly decent excercise equipment).
Just had to follow this up because the guy I had last year who left me for the oil patch dropped by for a visit today. I think he was angling for a job but I didn't bite... yet. So here is what he has been up to. I trained him well and he went as an experienced pipe layer, machine operator truck driver. Last winter he started training as a roughneck until he realized what a miserable existance that was, after which he took on a job as a labourer on a pipe line. He worked 68 days straight and made between 7 and 12K a month all winter. He quickly bought an old pickup because they paid him $120 per day to show up in it so why the hell wouldn't he. He also got 150 per day living allowance so he was up $270.00 before he even started work in the morning. Free room and board in camps that ranged from decent to amazing. But he got laid off in the spring when the ground thawed and he has been commuting back and forth from either hotels in South Alberta, or his Dads house in BC. He calls constantly and finds short term jobs but invariably after the 18 hour drive the job only works out to be a couple days and he is sent either back to a hotel or back to BC. Strangely he has no money and says that he has been pretty much unemployed since April. He doesn't want to go back. And they didn't fly him anywhere.
In reply to bearmtnmartin:
Sounds like the stories us old beach kids heard about the crab fishing and fish canneries in Alaska during the 1980s. "Make a year's wages in three months!" I'm sure there's some truth in it somewhere, but yeah, it probably ain't easy money.
Four hours of sleep pulling a sixteen hour shift right now. High turnover here. Just trained two today and will continue training tomorrow.
I'm expecting a call about a different job soon bringing me to a more exciting atmosphere.
I've started week three here at my new job at the glass company.
Small business is where it's at, there's not three manager's above my boss, there's the two brothers that own the company. Any questions, and I can go straight to the top for answers.
I get paid any time I drive a company vehicle, and I tag along with another guy (90 minute drive) in his company truck, so I'm out no gas. My dad, uncle and cousin all work here as glaziers, my uncle and cousin are working in Glasgow, which is about 2 1/2 hours from Lexington where the shop is, so I bring product down here to home which is halfway, then two days later I drive the truck back empty.
It's a pretty sweet deal, and even though my pay is basically half what you guys have posted, I have no experience and basically without pull from family I'd have had no chance at all. The top out pay is okay, but I'm really hoping to get out on the job site, where the scale pay is usually $30/hr plus. Dad made 70K a few years ago.
Saturday overtime is always optional, and 45 hours is scheduled automatically. They've got at least three year's worth of work lined up, all big buildings that UL is building, high schools, court houses.
Brian (the real Brian) Move back to Lexington, dude.
Btw, for those of you who are struggling, check this out.
N Sperlo wrote: Four hours of sleep pulling a sixteen hour shift right now. High turnover here. Just trained two today and will continue training tomorrow. I'm expecting a call about a different job soon bringing me to a more exciting atmosphere.
Some music while you wait?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyCFGDzc45o
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