Bakken Shale Job Links

"How can I get the experience without a job? and how can I get a job without experience?"

Kiddo, you have to start somewhere. As I mentioned last time you're going to have to get to know the Bakken and the people that work there. It's not an easy place to be (year round). It's hard work. Let me tell you. The job board links appear below so feel free to just jump right on down there if that's what you're inclined to do. But, if you want to enjoy the journey and learn something between here an there, read on.

For the longest time people were saying, "We'll never luck into another North Slope play." or "All the big pay has been discovered." Not to mention all the Peak Oil silliness out there. (Don't get me started)

The Bakken Formation is prolific. It's a geopolitical game changer and it's not the only play going in the U.S. If we're not careful we might just stumble into energy independence and the number one energy exporter title. Only time will tell.

 So, for a formation that was first commercialized in the 1950's why is it coming on so strong now? Glad you asked. Hydraulic Fracturing and Horizontal Drilling. See, a critical factor Hubbert's Peak Oil prediction didn't account for was the rate and impact technology would have on recoverable reserves. To give the guy a bone, how could he have anticipated that. I mean, sure the idea of developing better LIDAR or seismic or drill bits or strings or casings or fishing tools made a lot of sense. Down time impacts production curves. But, being able to STEER directly to the pay zones and strategically fracture the reservoirs for maximum gain... well, that really was Dick Tracy watch+telephone kind of talk in the 1950's. M. King Hubbert was right for a good long time. But, he just couldn't predict how much upside modern technology would bring to the table (or when). Now, the Bakken isn't the only game in town either. You have the Barnett, Marcellus, Woodford, Eagle Ford and who knows what else we'll have online if/when the US Government stops over regulating things (ie. offshore and certain "off limits" pay zones are greenlighted for exploration and development).

 

Yeah, yeah. I'm here for the Bakken job links though

The jobs are plentiful and good paying in the Williston area. A friend's son had his Commercial Drivers License (CDL) already - which is effectively a license to print money - and he made it to the Williston area. He tells me he ate at Wendy's and in come two guys wearing really grubby carhart like coveralls. He asks if they know of any jobs for a driver with a CDL in hand and a couple stamps (I think I'm saying that right). They gave him a couple places to start right then and there over burgers and let him know if he signed on at such and such to mention their name and they'd get a bonus too.

 

He slept in his pickup that night. The next morning he cleaned up in the Wendy's bathroom and made his calls by 10:00 a.m. He'd interviewed twice by the end of day and both employers made him tentative jobs on the spot after they'd run DMV and background checks and he passed his substance testing. Now, realize something, he showed up with some testing and credentials in his back pocket. Not much. But it was enough to qualify him. If you're thinking of heading to the oil patch, you gotta consider going in as attractive a candidate as you can be. Get some training under your belt from the AAPG, SEG, SPE or PetroSkills. All are very well regarded. All will put you at the head of the line in an under-qualified pack of knuckle heads.

 

Ah yes, the job links...

 

RigZone. It's the biggy and it's hard to go wrong here.

Indeed is good. It's way more general. But, there are some good search tools. What I really like here is the ability to upload your resume and let it work FOR you do your job hunt in the oil patch.

LinkedIn is also very good. Depending on your account status (paid/not) you'll have access to some super sophisticated tools. You can network your way right into a sweet new gig in nothing flat. Again, it's WHO you know some of the time in addition to WHAT you know.

ShaleJobs is another player. I'm not so sure they don't collect jobs from around the web and repost them. But, it's another good source.

ShaleNet is a nice site and it's well organized and easy to zero in on what you're interested in. 

 

That should get you started. It might be you find yourself on specific exploration companies' web pages. Hey, that's A-Okay! If you're homing in on that specific niche you want to tackle, more power to you. But, what happens next? You get the job offer. You negotiate your package. You have a start date. OH CRAP! Where are you going to live?! Have a family you need to relocate? Well bub, you better have thought about ALLof that before you accept the first offer you hear. Recruiters don't have a shortage of candidates. They have a shortage of time. If you dawdle around they're going to move onto the next person who will communicate quickly with them. Time is money for them. Help them make a quick, easy decision... "Here's what I need to say yes right here and now." Don't be surprised when you get it.

 

KNOW WHAT YOU WANT BEFORE YOU NEGOTIATE.

Bakken Jobs & Training

Energy independence, good paying jobs, secure lifestyle, The American Dream.

Is that too much to ask for? Seems like. I went looking for good paying oil field jobs and guess what I found staring back at me. TONS!

The more I looked the more I found. Some of the better paying jobs required skills I didn't have (I'm a geek not a truck driver or roustabout) or they required experience I didn't have. I had the college degree but didn't have the skills, training or connections. I worked my way into it though. That was back in 2001. I love the USA. I've seen the energy exploration industry from the inside out (and the outside in). I **LOVE** the people I've worked with over the years. They're hard working folk. Some are in it for the money. Some are in it because they know what they do makes a difference. And those are the people I think of most often when I think back on the projects I was a team member on.

So, I'm making this blog specifically for those of you trying to figure out, "How do I get into these good paying oil field jobs?"

1. Do you have skills? Training? You're going to need it. Because when you start applying for jobs in the oil patch you're going to be asked at interview time, "Why you." Get trained. And I don't mean going to college. Go to NExT, or an AAPG Short Course (or three), or PetroSkills or J.M. Campbell.
2. It also helps a lot to know someone. The best way to do that is to become a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists or the Society of Petroleum Engineers or the Society of Exploration Geophysicists. There are lots of local chapters for each of these organizations as well as local societies that specialize. Find one, get involved and in no time you'll have people willing to recommend you.
3. Use online tools such as LinkedIn and Indeed.
4. Read ALL of the trade magazines you can get your hands on. Most University Libraries and many local public libraries will have subscriptions to the magazines such as Oil & Gas Journal. Otherwise, you may find yourself paying for a lot of expensive subscriptions when there's no need to.
5. If you're unemployed and have training dollar available to you I'd highly recommend a one-two punch of joining one (or more) of the associations above and weaving in a highly specialized course or two from the PetroSkills catalog. Their training is awesome and delivered all over the world. You'll get to know others in your specific line of interest and network at the same time. The association courses are great too. They're just less frequent and usually have fewer attendees.
6. Finally, be open to the energy industry. It's not the boogey man it's been made out to be. Without oil, shale, natural gas and coal... we wouldn't have electricity, plastics or transportation. I highly recommend a book called "Thousand Barrels a Second" by Peter Tertzakian. I'd link to it but people might think I'm trying to make money off an affiliate link or something. So, just look that up. It's a fantastic book about the history of energy, the geopolitics of energy and the future of energy. Peter's a helluva neat guy. I met him once at a convention. He's even been on the Daily Show which was a hoot.

All this to say, the energy industry is fascinating, it's strategically more necessary today than the 1970's and will be more strategically necessary 25 years from now. It's a great place to make your career and I highly encourage you to find a way in the door. Even if you're not trained up yet. Get in there and make it happen.

In the next couple of days I'll link to colleges and job boards that are really well regarded in the oil patch. I'll also be posting some interested stuff regarding the Bakken. Just little factoids you wouldn't know unless you were in the industry.

EDIT: I failed to include another Bakken oriented solutions provider in Northern Industrial Training. My bad. Apologies to the fine folks at NIT.