there are many ways that you can see the situation of the camp environment.
first of all for anyone who has never seen this, it is definately a expierence to say the least.
The 'Trick' so to speak to get the camp job is rather easy, but also complicated.
The first thing you need to know is what companies are doing the jobs on the specific sites. Thats who you approach for work. also you keep in contact with for a callout when they are in need of people or other jobs and projects.
Some camp jobs also include air travel through a private charter ect..
some work scheds are like 20 days work 10h or 12h straight.. with 8 days off.. or you may have like a 10 days work and 4 days off if you live within the same region and they can give you a short flight. (this is not always the situation... but is most likely)
you need in most circumstances, something called CSTS, as a minimum, and also a Clean DA.
they take preference to what are refered to as 'Skilled Trades' or commonly refered to as 'CRAFT WORKERS'
Labour works a little differently, and there are entry, intermediate and Skilled.
Labour workers can be called to do basically anything, pending on what you can do. they are prehaps the most unique of the workers.
I have worked as Administration, assisted with New Hires, work in the office, work in the field as labour, or also as a light equipment operator. Also to note, my main background is IT and Communications electronics of 20 years.
Labour is many things. Things which need to be done in order for other aspects to function correctly in the work environment. Trades people mostly do not do the jobs of labor workers.
now to explain something, about the job mentioned prevoisly in the thread of the 'Water bottles.. in a camp..'
you have to imagine the physical size of some of these camps. they are large. some are small maby 500 people, some are very large 3500-5000 per camp.
either which way, lugging around water bottles is not easy work... sounds easy.. but trust me, they got their hands full. especially in the middle of winter if the camp have over flow accomidations. whats over flow... thats when you got another set of camps near to your main camp because you already got 4000 men in it. so you put another 500 in trailers in the back...
if your in a camp job, your employer is paying for it. I have had camp situations of 160$ a day, and also 5000$ month plus.
Camp is Camp, its not home, but you make the best of it.
in the middle of nowhere... basically, but you have some things..
Sometimes you might have telephone, internet, cable or satellite tv. it keeps you connected to the world and home. sometimes you have nothing but a bed, and a couple of bathrooms shared with 40 guys. or sometimes like whats called a 'Jack and Jill' which is a 2 room situation, with a shared toilet and shower.
when you work all day, your tired, but they do have various recreation as well..
for me my days started every morning at 3:45 and I went to bed at around 7 or 8
The best advice i can give is to get lots of sleep or as much as possible.
I have done this type of work many times, various contracts, and various job descriptions.
It all pays well, but that has a price also. very high taxes, and other fees that come out of it.
I was actually off work for many months, and seeking work locally.. but I got off the phone earlier today and got another upcoming job.
The Best advice i can give anyone is, Be Prepared to work. Peroid.
Because if you do not do your job, there is always someone else waiting to take your position.
I have worked also in the Hiring process, with the faxmachine going all the time with resumes coming in. They are all sorted to Trade Description and filed.
References from companies that the company you work for is always a good thing. That means they know you and what kind of work you do.
to get the job or get your foot in the door, you gotta be in contact with the companies HR on a regular occasion... but not too often. they can easily tell you if something is coming up or not.
when there is work, there is work.
when its slow, its slow, and no work.
The more skills you have, the more work you can generally get.
work is hard, days are long, and i can assure you, that little camp room is a godsend at the end of the day, and a hot meal from the kitchen in the camp.
you see, camp jobs are work. not like regular 9 to 5 40h week work...
It is a much heavier and more demanding work load.
Thats why the Pay is so good.
you do twice the work, Work 70-80h a week, for double the pay, but then also double the taxes.
what you make and what you clear is a completely different issue.
so your 25$ a hour job now becomes 37$/h after 8 hours
2500$ now becomes around 1300$ clear.
its big jobs, big money, big taxes.
but yes you do make good money.
now as for 'living in camp' and saving money.. sure, that kinda works. but then you have your days off. if you stay in your camp room, YOU have to pay for those days, not your company.
so thats 1280$ for 8 days considering 160$ a day. you just finished your shift. trust me, you better have another option for your days off other than staying in camp. oh and the near by hotels are blocked up.. so you can forget that one.
you gotta FLY OUT... your going to the next closest city.
your going to stay some place, do some shopping, and prehaps visit some people and make a fiew calls back home ect...
Then it all starts over again.
its a hard way to have a life, but you work hard and play hard.
guys go away, have families and children back home, they gotta pay a large morg on their homes. and payments for that big truck, that they are not even home to drive.
not to mention the time you spend away from your families and relationships.
is it worth it.
that depends.
it depends on what you want in life.
if you fail to plan, you will always fail.
if you make money, you will definately spend it at one point or another.
you cant have much of a life with out money.
so who wins.
your kids will have the best of everything, your wife will have the best of clothes and always have what ever she needs.
you can have a fiew toys, because your wife now has everything she wants
and pay off your house quicker.
your relationship with your family will consist of a expensive phone bill.
is it worth it, that depends.
The real trick is not to bite off more than you can chew back home. but that can be hard to do if you have a family.
it is hard on relationships and families
but its harder when they have no money.
So the people that you hear about with the magical dream jobs, its really sugar coated.
just being there is hard enough truthfully, but its easy to handle, and you can get accustomed to it quickly.
in order to work in these places you have to work. be prepared to work, be prepared to do almost anything required. in a safe manner.
This is not disney land, its most likely a industrial environment.
Stuff happens... Stuff..
people get killed in accidents on sites, crushed to death, or falls.
on my last project the site had 7 deaths.
but 60 people died in 6 months on the crazy Fort McMoney highway.
The Oil Boom and Big Money, Drives People Crazy with greed.
money money money.
they do not see anything else other than the money.
then of course that house that you worked so hard to pay off or build, is gone.
because you were away so long, your wife decides she whants a divorce, and shes taking the house and kids, or she is now sleeping with someone one of her friends introduced her to. I have heard a fiew stories like this.
there is a positive note, but its for a positive person.
One that Works Hard, Saves Money, and has a Very Solid Relationship.
Anyone who follows what I just typed and understand it, you will have a successiful Camp Job in Alberta.
if your not there to work, be prepared to find your way back home.
because your only getting one ride out, and it goes to the closest bus stop.
honestly, in order to fully understand this entire environment, you would have to work it.
some jobs can be harder than others, some may have more responsibility.
a job with water bottles may sound amusing.
but when you have say 100 areas that need water bottles in a single day, maby even twice a day, trust me.. they got their hands full.
someone has to do it, because if not, you now have 2500 guys who have to walk 8 minutes to the common area for a drink of water or juice.
nothing is more of a silly situation than to see a empty water cooler, at 1am because you were thirsty. and dragged your tired legs down the other end of the trailer to the water cooler..
every job is important and has a specifc role, its all cog in the wheel.
now try to deal with 400-500 incoming faxes daily, 200 just come in over night, not to mention the continious phone calls and your voice mail is backing up. because people want work, but the jobs are filled at the moment. then you also have a report to have finished by 8am.
I gotta go Sleep... im going back to work in a fiew days.