Post: #1

Greetings!

I am a prospective student for the Haul Truck Operator Program and I am commencing the course in Sept 2015. I will be moving from Toronto and wanted to know what the job market and crude price predictions will be like around that time. Do you guys think Sept will be a good time to go ahead with the program.

Also, if anyone know who the sponsor of the course is, please let me know.

People going for the same course in June and the fall intake, I've started this conversation so that we all get some great information about the Course as well as the city and job market if you are moving from out of town.

Thanks in advance

Cheers!

Post: #2

(06-17-2015 09:27 AM)seahawk333 Wrote:  I will be moving from Toronto and wanted to know what the job market and crude price predictions will be like around that time.

Not great. Its very competitive right now and you would want some good relevant experience.

Do you have more info: where it is on, how much, how long, what are your job opportunities when you are finished?

Post: #3

Know someone who did this course a few years ago. Earnings good initially, but only when factoring in overtime. Regular hourly wage is nothing special. About C$150K, including overtime, first year he said. Kind of hanging on now I think. If the oil price is low when your contract ends there is 0% chance of being rehired. Not likely you'll get a permanent position either. So if you do something like this bank your money and don't be too spendthrift.

Post: #4

(06-17-2015 09:27 AM)seahawk333 Wrote:  Greetings!

I am a prospective student for the Haul Truck Operator Program and I am commencing the course in Sept 2015. I will be moving from Toronto and wanted to know what the job market and crude price predictions will be like around that time. Do you guys think Sept will be a good time to go ahead with the program.

Also, if anyone know who the sponsor of the course is, please let me know.

People going for the same course in June and the fall intake, I've started this conversation so that we all get some great information about the Course as well as the city and job market if you are moving from out of town.

Thanks in advance

Cheers!

I Googled the Keyano haul truck operator course and on the main page in black bold letters it says HAUL TRUCK OPERATOR, underneath that it says, again, in black bold letters SPONSORED BY then it has the logos of the sponsors: NACG, Shell, Suncor, Syncrude.

As far as the city goes, by all measures, Fort McMurray is an expensive shit hole and I would not consider moving there if I was unskilled and didn't have a company paying for my lodging and food (LOA). It can be a difficult place to live in as there isn't much to do besides drink heavily, go to the strippers and do lots of drugs, which is what I usually do when I"m up there.

$7000 is a lot of fucking money for a one-month course but we've already chatted about this via PM and you seemed convinced that its a good idea to take the course so I hope that you keep us posted on your quest for oil sands riches.

Post: #5

dude dont waste your money,your safer spend it on a class one

Post: #6

check out this thread, they cover it extensively. It's originally about oilfield services, like well testing and drilling, but a good chunk of it deals with the heavy hauler job in ft mac. It's mostly at the end though and the later pages.

https://www.reality-check.ca/threads/oil...6/page-190

Post: #7

Get your class one and a hiab ticket instead .

Post: #8

Thanks for the inputs Atlantic.

The course is at Keyano College. The fees is around 6500, it is for a month. They offer co-op with their partner mines but not guaranteed. Below is the link.

http://www.keyano.ca/Academics/Programs/...ckOperator

Thanks,
SH333

(06-17-2015 02:05 PM)Atlantic Wrote:  

(06-17-2015 09:27 AM)seahawk333 Wrote:  I will be moving from Toronto and wanted to know what the job market and crude price predictions will be like around that time.

Not great. Its very competitive right now and you would want some good relevant experience.

Do you have more info: where it is on, how much, how long, what are your job opportunities when you are finished?

Post: #9

Thanks Jack of All Trades and NeVerGymLess,

You you please help me with some more information on Class one and Hiab?

Thanks

Post: #10

Thanks Scotian. I am going to re think on this whole thing now. Thankce once again for all your inputs.

Post: #11

Thanks for the link ,

I am going to read more about it. I am really confused right now. Don;t know what to do.

(06-17-2015 11:27 PM)Jack Of All Trades Wrote:  check out this thread, they cover it extensively. It's originally about oilfield services, like well testing and drilling, but a good chunk of it deals with the heavy hauler job in ft mac. It's mostly at the end though and the later pages.

https://www.reality-check.ca/threads/oil...6/page-190

Post: #12

I don't know anything about this specific Haul Truck course and whether or not it is a ripoff. However, if you DO get a haul truck course/licence and the oil patch is not hiring you can go and haul logs for forestry companies. Its an equally difficult, boring job with crazy hours but the pay is good and something you can get into with no post high school education.

They are always hiring because you have to stay off of the drugs, booze and be able to show up on time which it seems is a pretty high barrier to entry for most prospective truck drivers.

The TV show "American Loggers" is a pretty good depiction of the typical bullshit a log truck driver is faced with.

Post: #13

Another thing that you have to consider is the lifestyle and even cultural change that you'll experience when you move out to Alberta, most guys seem able to adapt well enough but there's some guys who just don't. If you grew up in multi-cultural, politically correct Toronto and worked in an office environment then it may not be too easy because the oil patch culture is very different. Also, as I mentioned above about Fort McMurray, that city and most of the small, industrial towns in Alberta aren't very nice places to live, even Edmonton and Calgary aren't great. Myself, I will never live in Alberta year-round again, the only way I'll spend anytime here is when I"m working and I know that I'll be fucking off somewhere else in a few months.

Post: #14

(06-23-2015 12:28 PM)Dr. Howard Wrote:  They are always hiring because you have to stay off of the drugs, booze and be able to show up on time which it seems is a pretty high barrier to entry for most prospective truck drivers.

Post: #15

(06-23-2015 12:17 PM)seahawk333 Wrote:  Thanks Jack of All Trades and NeVerGymLess,

You you please help me with some more information on Class one and Hiab?

Thanks

You can google it and you should find a training course . My old work payed for both of my tickets , Like $7000 worth of training . I work for a smaller company now and Suncor owns it in Vancouver BC for 29.50 for fuel delivery. Union gag , get double time , benefits , ect . Only reason I got this job is because I ran a tri drive hiab , I told my new employer I had to do a lot of problem solving on my own and was in high stress situations all the time . So they gave me a chance . The best part it's a $80,000 job with all the overtime ( 60 hour work weeks ) and I get to live in the lower mainland still . Don't have to move to butt fuck no where and work hard for 6 months for $65,000.

Post: #16

Good to know. I will google that for sure.

(06-28-2015 01:45 PM)NeVerGymLess Wrote:  

(06-23-2015 12:17 PM)seahawk333 Wrote:  Thanks Jack of All Trades and NeVerGymLess,

You you please help me with some more information on Class one and Hiab?

Thanks

You can google it and you should find a training course . My old work payed for both of my tickets , Like $7000 worth of training . I work for a smaller company now and Suncor owns it in Vancouver BC for 29.50 for fuel delivery. Union gag , get double time , benefits , ect . Only reason I got this job is because I ran a tri drive hiab , I told my new employer I had to do a lot of problem solving on my own and was in high stress situations all the time . So they gave me a chance . The best part it's a $80,000 job with all the overtime ( 60 hour work weeks ) and I get to live in the lower mainland still . Don't have to move to butt fuck no where and work hard for 6 months for $65,000.

Post: #17

This course is actually the worst time to be obtaining it now.....heard on the cbc radio about a week ago that they are investing into automated mining trucks and gonna try to deplete the drivers.....for the oil sands which will be a good savings for them what I was hearing