Advice Part 4: Don't Work in Oil & Gas

One thing I learned during my time at Maritime Drilling Schools was that perhaps a career in the oil and gas industry wasn't the best choice out there for me (and perhaps for others in my shoes). You see in Canada most of the oil jobs are found in the Alberta Oil Sands...this means that there is not much drilling going on up there, mostly it is mining (that, and other processes, are used to extract the oil). I started digging a bit more to find out about possible opportunities in and around Fort McMurray and found that if you are a heavy equipment operator you'll able to get a job...fast.

So there I was halfway through my MDS course and I was thinking: did I just fuck up? I already started looking for jobs in oil and gas and was coming up short...when you send out countless emails and you either not get a response or if you did it is of the negative kind...you start to worry. I just bet on the wrong horse.

I started to do some research about heavy equipment operator training courses (you need the certs to get the job) and found many schools all across Canada. I narrowed my search to two:

• Transport Training Centres of Canada

• Interior Heavy Equipment Operator School

The above two schools are, I think, the best of the bunch. Sure, the courses are expensive, but if you train on only one piece of equipment it will cost you almost the same as doing the Maritime Drilling Schools course. Also, if you are Canadian and been unemployed for a certain amount of time, the government will pay for the training. Finally, these schools are SO confident that you'll be working as soon as you complete the course, they will give you a loan in case you can't pay it all in one go. This is something Reg MacDonald and Maritime Drilling Schools don't offer...so what does that tell you about Reg and his belief you will be working in oil and gas? I'll let you decide on the answer to that one.

Here is some info from the emails I exchanged with IHE (Interior Heavy Equipment) School:

"The job prospects are very good, we have a 90% success rate within the 3 months that we as a school have held consistently since the beginning of our school in 2005. Last month we had Sureway Construction come to the site and hire 11 graduating students on their day of graduation."

Heck, even Reggie cannot guarantee the above! Hell, he does not even have enough power or contacts or both to invite drilling companies to his school to help out the students with jobs.

Finally, one last thing. These courses are also quite long; therefore, one needs accommodation while taking the course. Let me remind you again in case you forgot:

• It costs $800 to stay at the MacDonald house while training at Maritime Drilling Schools for 20 days!

Now here is a screenshot from information packet from the IHE (Interior Heavy Equipment) School:

 

As you can clearly see they cooperate with hotels / B&B's around their training site and offer such amazing deals...$440 for the MONTH (not 20 days) with WIFI and laundry...I don't need to mention again that the MacDonald house neither has WIFI or laundry. Plus you get breakfast included...and tea or coffee...and snacks!

ALSO:

FREE PPE! Can you believe this? What does Reggie give you? Fucking NOTHING!

So before you jump into the oil and gas industry, think about doing a heavy equipment operator course instead. Training on one piece of equipment is enough...from what I hear the excavator is a great choice...lots of companies need excavator operators...and if you are a good worker I am sure they will train you on the rest so no need to spend more money. And if you don't want to work in Alberta (at the Oil Sands or elsewhere), there are always opportunities at the many mines around Canada, the US...and the world. Good luck!