Well I am in a constant state of mulling at the moment. Well for the last couple weeks, as I toss back and forth my two possible futures. To be honest, I just can't decide what I should do.

As it stands my wife and I can't afford to even pay attention. I have experiance and computer skills out the wazoo, but not certifications. Nor can we afford for me to get any. So we ( I ) decided it is time to change it. Time to do something to correct this mess we call life. I have applied and applied and applied for jobs, but without a College degree or certifications, 15 years experiance is useless. So I started weighing my options.

It looked like my only option was to Join the Navy. I am fine with that, and if I do join I hope to get into the IT field. Although due to the fact my wife is not a US Citizen, I likely cannot get Top Secret clearance. This would keep me OUT of IT in the Navy. This is not something I want. After letting my boss know I was likely going to join the Navy she took me out to a steak lunch. There we discussed our original plan of me taking over the store. Originally the deal was I work for her for 5-ish years and then take over the store. I have been there 4, and in my time there I have helped the business grow at an exponetial rate. So she obviously does not want to lose me, but does not want to keep me enough to pay me a descent living wage. What she did do, is offer to sell me the business for a really nice price.

A little bit about the business. The Computer shop LM Computers Ltd. has been open for 14 years. We are the largest and oldest shop in a county of about 50k. We also service clients up to 4 counties away. Possibly even further this next year. The business is pretty stable, and shows no sign of going into a decline any time soon. It does not make huge gobs of cash, I would not get rich, but I would be able to save up and buy a house in a couple years. Given the status of the store here locally, the bank should loan me the money no problem. I will find out for certain hopefully in the next couple weeks, but we forsee no problems. I will be slimming down the staff by one or two, out of five. One is deffinately not staying if I buy it, and the other is still undecided.
Leona, the current owner, has agreed to stay on for a much lower pay for at least one year. This is to ensure that I know all the ins and outs, and to ensure our current clients do not leave because of the change in ownership. Small town loyalties can be a scary thing.

The thing that scares me the most about buying the shop, is the current trend that IT seems to be in. Most people do not take their computers in for repairs like they used to, so we had to replace our revenues from residential repairs with contract jobs. I fear that the trend will continue and the decline for repair shops will continue. Plus I would likely only be able to pay myself 2000 - 2500 a month. Mind you this is ALOT more than I make now, but still for a single income family.. not alot. My wife would rather we buy the store, but has said over and over no matter what I decide she is behind me. I worry that the time apart while I am in the Navy would be hard on our already strained marriage.

I honestly do not know what to do. I know that decsions like this are not made over night, but I sure would like to get a little closer to a choice. At least then maybe I could sleep for once.

Befuzzled and confused,

Randy

Computer repair is going to go out the way side like television and radio repair.

The only repair is basically warrenty work. And you want to know a scary thing. I've been reading this book and they had a story about how HP doesn't even repair their computers anymore. They outsourced it to a very unlikely place. UPS!

Yep! UPS people, right off the street with no experience now do warrenty work on HP computers.

But if you got work in computer repair at the moment, it might not be too bad to do that for awhile. Get great business experience and even if the computer repair business goes bust in a few years, at least you got by.

I agree completely about it going by the wayside. I have watched it happen slowly for the last 6 years. This is why I got the shop signed up to do contract work. We handle all the Server and mainframe repairs for places like michelein, and we currently do all repairs for most car dealerships, Doctor's offices, banks, ATM's, and about 30 retail chains in 4 counties. Although I do not know how long compaines like Reynolds and Reynolds are going to keep paying me to go and fix 100 - 300 dollar printers, etc etc etc.
In the last 2 weeks we made 750 bucks fixing 1 printer. Multiple calls for a differant part each time. Each time the problem was fixed, it is just the printer is getting old and everything is breaking in order.

One thing that has been on my mind, is I could own the shop for say another 5-8 years. That would put me in the 35-39 year old range. I could have the shop pay for my certifications, sell it and get a job with a retirement package. However at that point I will likely be considered too old for the Tech industry. Companies seem really picky about hiring older people.

There are no EASY answers. Buying or running a business is always a risk. I would say your best course of action now is to buy out the store and run it until it becomes unprofitable.

You are right, without a degree or cert in IT related fields the companies do not even talk to you. At this point they do not even want to talk to people WITH degrees and certs unless you are an exceptional tech or engineer! So much tech has been outsourced to India I don't even want to get started on that rant!

Some of the jobs that I have had that are no more:

Software engineer at Compuserve in Columbus, Ohio
Reason for leaving: bought out by AOL, job became redundant and was eliminated.

Software engineer at EDS:
Reason for leaving: position moved to outsource location in Bangalor. (Oh, George, yeah, you can move to Bangalor. Know any Hindi?) Arrrgggghhhh!

I hope we sometime soon, in the US at least, get some politicians who start to understand that their people (the people they are SUPPOSED to represent) NEED JOBS TO SURVIVE!

If things were not so rocky for charities in the US right now (funding is much harder than it used to be) I would offer you a position here. But right now we are struggling to find money to pay the people we already have. Bushy Bush gave so many tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations they no longer feel obliged to contribute to charities.

I think you can make at least a short term success of the store. Go for it!

Good luck.

You are facing 3 problems with IT repair...and I think its only going to get worse.

#1, diagnostic and repair software has drastically come down in price, so people are doing a lot of software-type repair themselves.

#2 is the lower prices on systems. Zellers or Wallmart (cant remeber which) has a decent system (2 or so Ghz, 512mb, big HD, 19" moniter, keyboard, mouse, pen drive, USB's, software ect) for 350 bucks this week. Most people when faced with a 250-300 repair bill on a old computer will say screw it, spend the little extra, and buy a new one.

#3 is related to #2--the cheap price of used computers. My shop toy is a p1-133 with 2 drives totaling about 10 gig. works just fine for running cad and reading PDF's (the main uses)---cost me 10 bucks. I'm not going to spend moey to repair that, just replace it with another $10-$50 used machine, and those are plentiful.

About the only real future i can see in the industry is contract work for smaller companies/orginizations doing mostly maintainance and network stuff.

Based on this post and your previous one, https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum6/HTML/043509.html
you are no doubt in a tough situation.

Even though joining the armed services seems like it would solve some of your problems, it will likely kill your marriage, and if you really don't support the war or want to fight in it - that will likely put you in a worse situation than you are already in.

I would not buy the business. If you are as good as you say you are, and your employer doesn't pay you well, it may mean that the business isn't very good. I personally wouldn't hang around a job for long if the pay was lousy and my employer wasn't following through with or delaying promises. You had to give your employer an "ultimatum" in order for them to take some action on your part. As others have mentioned, computers are becoming a "throw away" commodity.

It may be time for you to go pound the streets for ANY job you can find with better pay and possible benefits, not nessecarily in the computer field. You may still be able to work on computers on the side. Can / does your wife work? She may not be able to due to medical reasons, but if she can it could help you out.

Tim

Sounds to me like she has been using you and getting away with it. Is it that hard to find good paying IT jobs? I haven’t had to look in a long time but even Nasa takes experience into consideration over a diploma. I don’t have any up to date certs. I have always made it clear that if needed I would go get them but I wasn’t going to spend the money with out any rewards.

A business can drag you down fast if you are not ready, make sure you are protected before you buy.
You need to have the books and contracts gone over by someone outside of the business that doesn’t have any interest in the business. There could be a lot of contracts coming up and not being renewed.
It could be a great deal or she could be bailing before a big fall. It could be a great deal just don’t jump in without looking first.

Do not join the Navy if you have problems at home. Especially if they are money problems, been there done that. Worse thing I could have ever done. I spent 4 years just thinking about the day I was getting out and didn’t care one bit about trying to make it good in the service. When you work hard every day and get the best marks in your class but still have to apply for welfare to pay your bills it kind of takes the wind out of your sails.
Good luck I hope what ever you do works out for you.

Randy. A guy here in Spain has opened a shop, using an idea I gave him !! He does part-exchanges on old/repairable PC's/laptops.His blurb is this..'PC/laptop old and tired? Want a new one? Don't throw away your old one in the trash!! We will give you a top discount on a new machine, and added discount on your old machine!!" He also buys up 'returns' from the big superstores..you know, the ones people buy on impulse, and then realise they don't really want it/can't afford it/don't know how to work it/ etc etc. Most are virtually undamaged and unmarked..and he gets them for 50% of the selling price..in other words the Store gets back the amount it cost them in the first place.He then sells them locally for 75% of the list price. He sells the old ones he can repair to local schools/businesses at good prices..then goes back in later, offering to replace the old one with a new one, set it up, and contractually maintain them for a set fee/set period of time.People are basically lazy, and don't want to go back and forth to a repair shop or store with heavy equipment.
The ones he can't repair, or aren't worth repairing, he breaks down into usable replacement components..so he has virtually free spares for repairwork.Been going now for 2 years..isn't getting rich, but his life standard has improved 50%, so he says.His workload is quite demanding, but that applies to any job, I am sure you would agree
Just an idea..might not work for you, but thought I would post it here.
Nick

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Sorry for taking so long to respond. I have been down with the Flu.

The store really does look like the best option at the moment.

Some background as to WHY my options are so limited. My wife wanted to come back to Canada about 5 years ago, so we moved here. Unfortunately not long after moving back, her Bi-Polar Depression took a major turn for the worst. Because of this my wife cannot work, most days she cannot leave the bed, let alone the house. Since she cannot work, we were never able to afford to file my permanet residency papers. In other words I am technically illegal here.
The local police and government all know me well, and know my situation. No one is worried about me being illegal. Fortunately they all like me

However, because I cannot legally work here, my boss has paid me cash money for the last 4 years. It has been very very hard to live on what I make. A lousy 1 grand a month. But we have adapted, and we make it. We can afford the rent, and groceries. We do not drink, we do not go out, we rarely ever eat out. But we eat well, as my wife is a very good cook. Since I make so little money, I cannot just pick up and move us to the states, where I could find a real job. Nope we are stuck here. On the slim side it would take me 2 months pay just to move. And that is REALLY on the slim side. It would more likely take me 4 months of pay to be able to move.

So unless I can get a job in the states with a relocation bonus, I am stuck here. This is certainly NOT where I expected my life to be at 30. At 17 I had everything in the world going for me, how can life change so quickly. I have spent many nights wondering exactly what I did to get in such a bad spot. For the most part I am a good person, I have done some things I am not so proud of, but I always open doors for ladies, pet puppies, and just am generally a nice guy. Maybe it is time to try being a total ass. They always seem to do the best in the real world.

I hope to make it to the bank this week, to see if we really WILL be able to get the loan. If not, well..... I dunno maybe I will sell everything we own and go be poor in Hawaii.

That leads to another problem... if your there illegally, what happens when the government finds out you own a business there?

Had someone I know on the net deported from the US to Canada that has lived here for 35 years as a business owner, married to an american, but never naturalized and apparently was on a visa that had run out or they refused to renew. Lost everything and was given something like 30 days to get out of the country. Check with a lawyer on your situation and the terms for the business.

The wife would own the business. So it would not be an issue. Even if I got deported (but I do have a Visa currently) the wife would still be owner of the business, and still be able to sell it.

I'm going to take an opposite stand with regard to IT and/or PC repair. I just opened my shop in an area where there had been no repair shop for quite some time. Since opening my doors a few weeks ago, I've been pretty steadily growing in work load. People see my signs and stop in to talk to me. Yes, I agree, the cost of computers and software has come down. But the people who are looking for cheapo systems aren't the clients I'm after anyway. If someone says to me, "hey, I can get a Dell for "X" amount, how much can you build me one for." I tell them I don't build Dells. Then I tell them it's apples and oranges. If they want a cheapo system, then be prepared, that's exactly what they'll get. If they want a premium system with the best parts and best warranty, then I'm the guy, but be prepared to dig deep and stretch big. You'd be surprised how many people are willing to pay 2 to 3 times the price of a mass produced system when you shine a flashlight on the facts.
Here's what I've learned, and I use this to my advantage every day. It helps me to know who I'm talking to. Say a guy brings in his computer, a 3 year old Dell. I say it'll cost 250 to fix it. Now here's where the men are seperated from the boys. you have *some* people who say, "Well gee, for another 250 or 300 I can buy a whole new system". Then you have the one's who say, "Well gee, that *IS* 250 to 300 bucks I'm saving. The trick is to find out which side of that line they're on, and then make the right sale.
I don't really think this forum is the best demographic representation of the average computer user. Most guys on here are extremely technically oriented, and do much of thier own work, PC and otherwise. Many people are far too intimidated to even try to repair their computers.
My best suggeston is to get in touch with a business consultant, or an accountant who can go over the books (she should be willing to open the books to you for evaluation prior to purchase) and they can help you establish trends and patterns, and the true business path. Do what I did before opening: talk to people in your area. Go out and talk to the business owners and other people in your area to get a feel for what the average person thinks.
If you want to survive, the biggest thing is to keep up with technology and be able to dazzle your customers with technobabble. Nothing says competence and "you need me" like being able to rattle off information that's just *this much* (holding my thumb and index fingers real close together) above their heads. If you can't dazzle 'em with brilliance, baffle 'em with bullsh*t.
Good luck, whatever you decide.

quote Originally posted by Taijiguy: If you can't dazzle 'em with brilliance, baffle 'em with bullsh*t..

We have this sign hanging up in our shop currently

Actually the books are open to me, I have been instrumental in running this business for the last 4 years. So it is not like I am going into unchartered waters as far as the books go. I have a very good idea of how much the store makes, and spends. I am the sole reason that the shop does as well as it does currently, because of many points that you mentioned. When I moved to this town, I swear they had not seen a REAL tech before. For a while I really enjoyed being the big fish in the small pond, but that wears off pretty fast.Now I find myself dreaming from time to time of being a small fish in the Ocean.

I do plan to have an outside accountant go over the books, plus the bank is going over them later this week. But as I said I have indepth knowledge of the finacials and workings of this shop. I have run it for the last 4 years. I do know that the business can afford to pay everyone it has now, and pay for it's own loan. I will be losing a couple employee's but they are not so much needed. I am losing our full time accountant, but I can replace her for 50 bucks a month. Which will save me nearly 2k a month. I will likely lose my other Tech, he is nearly useless anyway. I can cover is workload... I do usually anyway. The money saved on those two should allow the store to EASILY purchase a Smart Car as a shop vehicle, and have a Wrap made for it to help gather even more attention to the store.

Once my wife gets over the flu we will start talking to the bank. What they have to say will most likely be the final factor in our choice.

Thanks for allt he responses,

Randy

Randy, and others who have been looking for a financial "leap frog".
An Opportunity
The story deals with an area called the Permian Basin. It will be true of all oil rich areas. Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming, Alaska, Canada, the Gulf Of Mexico, and many more areas.
The boom of the late 70's which the story talks about ending in the early 80's is what got me into "roughnecking". I was a young dumb 19 year old, single, with no kids. Three years later, married with two kids, the boom died. I've taken some pretty good whoopins from life but I will not be beaten. I moved on. Never to trust the "oil patch" again.
As I said, I was young and dumb. I probably deservred some of those life whoopins. Ehh....make no doubt about it, I did .
When I started in the oil fields, I left on borrowed money on a Greyhound bus. On the word of a friend that I could make some good money. I left the safety and security of life as a young man fresh from high school knows it, with a carry on bag (basically the clothes on my back), and traveled what felt like half way around the world. With out a clue as to what I would be doing or what life would be like. Really, all I had was determination. I learned alot about myself and life taught me some more lessons.
As many do, I wish I could start all over again with the knowledge that I have now. Or at least with some guidance and perspective of someone who had that knowledge. If not, I would still do it again.
From my perspective, this is a good time to jump into the oil patch. Everyone is gonna do it.

quote from article above "The money is astounding. I lost a guy who had worked for the city for 10 years in our gas department. He went to work for an oil company at nearly $10 more an hour than I could pay him," Big Lake City Manager Evelyn Ammons said.

As the article says, one need not work the rigs. All the support companies are stretched thin also. I am even thinkling of starting one myself even though I will have to wing it by the seat of my pants (I'm still dumb. Never have I said I was stupid).
Randy, I am not gonna tell ya about the computer world or entrepreneurship. I do see from our community's members that the IT world is a trying occupation. I remember from the news about everyone bemoaning about the dot.com bust. In the non-computer world, things are being outsourced to places like India and everywhere else. I would have never expected to see or even think posible that I would see things on my rig that said "made in China". The sacrilidge.
Even in this, your thread, I see some things I agree with. Remember, I am dumb.

quote Originally posted by Wichita: Computer repair is going to go out the way side like television and radio repair.

quote Originally posted by Jake_Dragon: Sounds to me like she has been using you and getting away with it.

quote Originally posted by Wichita: ........and even if the computer repair business goes bust in a few years, at least you got by.

Anywho, I read this thread when you started it. The article came out while I was away at work with no computer access. I work a week then am off a week. It made me think of you. You and........

quote Originally posted by Jake_Dragon: Sounds to me like she has been using you and getting away with it.

Actually, she has pissed me off. She is gonna bail the industry and set the price you will have to pay for her transportation. I may be wrong but I am not stupid.
If I can help you in any way.................

[This message has been edited by cliffw (edited 08-29-2006).]

Cliff,

Thank you for that link. I have often thought about going to work in the Oil fields. I have friends here who work out at Sable Island, making nearly 70k a year.
The work is hard they tell me, but I have never been afraid of hard work. In my lif eI have worked Construction, Electrical, Roofing, Furniture delivery, And at various plants thru temp agencies. I am not a big guy, standing at 5 foot 5 and 145 pounds, but I have never backed down from hard work. Would I rather sit on my ass and work with my brain instead? Heck yes I would!!! But I will do whatever I can to make a dollar. Even if it means swimming in crude oil.

My main problem is I cannot legallyw ork in Canada, so I cannot get on at the oil rigs around here. I cannot afford to move to the states to find work. So that leaves me in one heck of a pickle. I moved back to Canada with my wife in order to save my marriage. She was supposed to find work, and we would file my papers. But her depression has pretty much crippled her. She cannot work with any kind of consistancy. She may be ok for a week, but then she will be down for a month, unable to leave the house.

Am I sorry that I moved to Canada to save our marriage? Not usually. I love my wife very much. But life is hard. IT is hard not being able to pay the bills every month. It is hard having to save up for 2 months to buy a box springs, it is hard having to scrimp and save just to buy gas for the car. But we have managed and our marriage is slightly better for it. Actually for the most part we have a pretty good marriage, all things considered.

As for the Computer shop, I started here 4 years ago in October (I was checking my records) When I started originally, it was just a couple days a week for grocery money. Then when Leona realized how much I could help the business with my expertise she wanted to hire me full time. She tried to sponser me thru the business but it never went thru. So she and I made a deal originally. The original deal was I would work for her for 5 years for cash money, and then after the 5th year I would be given the business and she would work for me for 1 year for cash money as payment. Many people told me to get it in writing, but being the dumb gulliable trusting soul that I am, I felt I could trust her word. At that time the business was worth about 15k with a yearly proffit of about 10k. Nothing to write home about, but a start.

Now 4 years later, I have built the business up. Last year we made 39k clear proffit and this year we are already at 38k with 4 months to go. The business is now worth 50k. And now she wants 50k to BUY it from her. All in all, while it is rotten I cannot be mad at her. If it was not for her Lisa and I would have starved to death long ago. I do not get paid much, but if I get in a bind she has always helped me out. I can also understand her not wanting to GIVE me the business any longer. Even though it was 100% because of me that the business grew the way it did. I brought us into a whole new level of service and services offered. I opened up doors for us that would otherwise not be available to this shop. It still won't make anyone rich, but at least now it is nearly always busy.

I am often torn between my strong southern up-bringing to always be nice, polite and thankful and my desire to be able to pay the bills and afford some of the luxuries of life. I have to be thankful for what I have, but I would sure like to tell her to shove it sideways somedays too. Mind you she has always made a point of telling me how thankful she is I fell into her lap and how the business would not survive without me, but that does not put food on the table, nor does it help me to buy a home.

If I could find an Oil rig to work for that would pay a signon bonus that owuld move my family and I to the states, I would do it in a hot second. Unfortunately I am in between a rock and a hard place. I make just enough a month to pay the rent and buy groceries. It would litterally take me 100 months to be able to save up almost enough to move. If I quit smoking then I could do it in 50 months. I don't tell you all this for pity, but for understanding of just where it is I come from, and the immovable rock blocking my path.

If anyone has a workable idea of how I can get out of this mess, I am all for it. I am willing to do any kind of work. Unfortunately I can't do it in Canada unless a company can sponser me. Most of them won't even try. I can't get to the states as I just cannot possibly afford it. Even if we sold everything we had, which is not much, we would not be able to pull it off. And to be honest I would rather not sell what we do have, as we have lost everything we own once already.

I will also be the first to admit that my own stupid mistakes and my infidelity is partly what leads us to this point. I have spent the last couple years doing everything I can to make up for and correct the damage I have done. But the one thing I want, is to provide a stable future for my family.

Randy

quote Originally posted by 8Ball: My main problem is I cannot ...........

Randy, your main problem is that you allow the word's "can not" into your vocabulary. No flame intended. When I started I was always told, "you can't do it, you can't stay". I was also always told "there ain't no can'ts in the oil fields". It used to piss me off. Then, I started coming back with "you can't escape a fart wearing a slicker suit". That would shut them up.

quote Originally posted by 8Ball: Last year we made 39k clear proffit and this year we are already at 38k with 4 months to go.

Of that 39k clear profit "we made", how much did you make? I myself made over 39K.

quote Originally posted by 8Ball: I cannot afford to move to the states to find work.

quote Originally posted by cliffw: When I started in the oil fields, I left on borrowed money on a Greyhound bus. On the word of a friend that I could make some good money. I left the safety and security of life as a young man fresh from high school knows it, with a carry on bag (basically the clothes on my back), and traveled what felt like half way around the world. With out a clue as to what I would be doing or what life would be like. Really, all I had was determination.

quote Originally posted by 8Ball: If it was not for her Lisa and I would have starved to death long ago.

"O 'yea of little faith" comes to mind. If it were not for me, I would have starved to death a long time ago. Now, I choose to recognize God but I will not "preach". I would like to say a Bible passage does say "even the birds don't even worry what they are gonna eat".

quote Originally posted by 8Ball: I am not a big guy, standing at 5 foot 5 and 145 pounds, but I have never backed down from hard work.

I am not either. Not by oil field norms. Most guys are stout. I am 5' 10", 170lbs....maybe 220lbs with my hard on ( the day I get back after being gone a week). I am 47 years old. I out work the "young bucks". "Determination" and learned intelligence.

quote Originally posted by 8Ball: The work is hard they tell me.........

Pussies. "Hard" ?
I bet they also use the words "can not", "to hot", "to cold", "to wet", "to dirty", "I'm tired", "fill in the blank". Oh, the inhumanity. Do you know how to spell hard ? W-O-R-K. A guy that can bench press 175lbs mighty find that hard. 220lbs would be what? Hard? What is hard? I really don't believe such a word exists. Well, maybe only in a relative sense. Define "rich".
They said the work was hard ? First thing I was told was that is was dagerous. Pffffhhhtttt. I have seen my share of dumba$$ses get hurt but safety has come a long way.

Ummm....I just got home and am a slow typer. I've got things I want'a do and things have to do .
I'll be back.

quote Originally posted by 8Ball: So what does one have to do anyway, to get a job as a roughneck.

I am not sure in your area. I'll answer generally.
You need to be ready to go. When called you need to be able to say your on the way. With the shortage of personnel they have had an extra man, a trainee. That would be a more coordinated arrival at the job site. To be ready to go you will already need to have steel toed boots. I know you are budget conscious so some cheapies will do but you will want to throw them away as soon as you can. To the man, everyone wears Red Wing boots. The Pecos pull-ons the most popular. About $150.00 but worth their weight in gold. Most companies supply gloves, hard hats, and safety glasses (ANSI Z-87 rated) but you might need them. Many companies have washer and dryers but you might need enough cloths for the "hitch" (work week). This would be two sets of clothes. One for the street and one for work. The ones for work will get dirty. DIRTY. I use two different duffle bags.
The rigs I work on, with their seven twelve hour days (hitch), have crew quarters. With washer/dryers, stove, microwave, fridgerator, bunks, and satalite TV. It may or may not have pots and pans. I have a foot locker with food stuffs.
Now you are ready to look for a job.
They used to hire on the rigs here. Now it is mainly out of the "office". If you get hired from the office they will send you to a rig. The location can vary greatly. Someone on a rig can send you to the office to be on their crew. Knowing someone is important if you want to pick your rig. Whether you really know them or not. By not really knowing them I mean just going to a rig and asking if they are short handed. If they are, they will send you to the office.
Finding the rigs...hmmm. I don't know your location nor the rigs in your area. Nor the office locations. There are different rig locator guides. Hmmm........
This is not as simple as I thought. I can provide a lot of more valuable information. Typeing is a chore for me so let me keep it simple for now.
You can Google "oil and gas drilling contractors" and get company contact information. A few calls can get you information. I am sure e-mail will get 'er done also. First thing you need to know is if they are hiring inexperienced workers. Nabors Drilling was paying people to go to "roughneck school", putting them up in motels, and then having them as an extra hand (trainee).
Heck, this is a start. Let me know and I will go further. I can not anticipate every question.
Randy, I don't know what to say. Get into roughnecking and I would imagine you would lose the opportunity you have four years invested in. I have not answered your thread's question. Most likely compounded it. I will say that if you are gonna do something different, roughnecking should be tried first. I will tell you that roughnecking is not for just anyone. Even if it is not for you, you can suck it up for a few years and get a financial jump start.
I will for warn you. The oil field booms and busts. Just because you make good money, do not spend like you do.

quote Originally posted by cliffw: Never to trust the "oil patch" again.

Which were my thoughts then. And I was wrong. I never treated it as a career. I should have. I was dumb. I did not know better. I do now and am willing to share.

Cliff,

I don't work in the oil patch but the oil field is big business here. I have worked in it part time back years ago (in the '70's) pumping and floorhand, just fill in stuff. I have a LOT of friends that make their living in the oil patch. Pumpers, roughnecks, pulling units, steamers, even some in the seismograph industry.

I would just like to tell Randy and anyone else interested in going into the oilfield industry to really read what Cliff wrote. From my experience and talking to my friends, he's pretty much telling you just exactly what you're getting into. Do keep in mind, though, that you will be OUTDOORS ALL THE TIME WHEN ON THE JOB, for the most part. And those hours are LONG. The rig doesn't shut down because it's snowing, or 115°F, it keeps on drilling. The wells don't stop pumping because there's been 5 inches of rain and it's still raining.

You absolutely HAVE to love working outside, if you don't like that, then don't even think about it. It's also very much a "team sport". Any one person can get others killed at almost every time. Everybody has their job to do and you have to TRUST THEM TO DO IT. If you have trust issues with co-workers, then this isn't something you want to get into.

You also have to be able to take your share of being the butt of jokes. There is an initiation process for the "new guy" and you have to be able to deal with that kind of thing (which from your posts I think you'd be OK with), at least on the crews around here. They are a tight knit group that depend on one another. They work hard, and play hard. Curiously, many of them don't play together on their down time. Maybe it's different in Cliff's area, but my feeling is they spend so much time together on the job they need time apart (and they also need time with their families, who they've been away from).

John Stricker

quote Originally posted by cliffw: Depends. It will be getting easier. I will visit back (see the end of my last post).

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[This message has been edited by cliffw (edited 08-30-2006).]