The Next Big Thing...

vantexan

Well-Known Member
...is happening now. What will be the next big driver of our economy? I'm betting it's energy, and not "green" energy. Besides the huge oil sands area in Canada, we have the rapidly developing oil fields of western North Dakota and eastern Montana. There are huge oil shale deposits in western Colorado, northeastern Utah, and southwestern Wyoming. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates there are trillions of barrels of oil in the oil shale, of which about 800 billion barrels are recoverable. That's twice the reserves of Saudi Arabia! And in south Texas huge natural gas fields are being developed. So much natural gas there and elsewhere that it's estimated to provide 200 years of energy if we switched our cars to running on natural gas.

Wherever you find energy development you'll see a need for Express services. I've just won a route in a remote area out west. The town has a super Walmart, a 5 screen multiplex, a Golden Corral, and air service to Denver. The town has 9000 residents with about 35,000 people, including the town, in the county. Oil field work has driven the growth and provided the amenities. I'll be on my own, the station is 170 miles to the west.

If you are in a position to do so consider finding a route in a growing area that's driven by oil and gas drilling. That will secure your future for decades.
 

snackdad

Well-Known Member
Congratulations Van, sounds nice. Sounds further removed from the overwhelming BS at the stations during the AM and PM sorts. The best part of my job is working alone and making the decisions that affect the outcome and safety of my day and ability to keep my customers happy. I wish you the best on your new route. Be safe.
 

vantexan

Well-Known Member
Congratulations Van, sounds nice. Sounds further removed from the overwhelming BS at the stations during the AM and PM sorts. The best part of my job is working alone and making the decisions that affect the outcome and safety of my day and ability to keep my customers happy. I wish you the best on your new route. Be safe.

Thanks, are you a domicile too? I've done it before, and it's very much like working for yourself. Considering what they did to the pension I've had to face the reality of working longer, maybe until 60. The only way I think I'd make another 10 years is as a domicile. Station life sucks.
 

vantexan

Well-Known Member
Can you please explain what a domicile is? Is it similar to our satellite operations?

There are areas, mostly out west, that are too far from a station to be cost effective to send more than one courier to cover them. So the company places an employee there, either by transfer or local hiring. A courier from the station brings that courier his freight, powerpad, supplies. The station courier usually does deliveries in a fairly condensed area, pickups if the area has pickup service, and heads back to the station. The domiciled courier, at least in the places I've worked, goes to even farther outlying areas with no pickup service, hangs on to his powerpad to swap out the next morning. Local conditions might require different ways of doing things. I've been a courier in remote Colorado, on the Mexican border in Texas, and on I-10 in southern New Mexico.
 

vantexan

Well-Known Member
Sounds a lot like the Williston/Dickinson/Minot area.

Unfortunately it's a little too like them. I'm learning the hard way that the catch to this energy boom is every available living situation, apartments, trailer parks, RV parks, houses,rooms, has been grabbed by oil workers and what's left has been priced out of my poor pay range. Probably won't be going after all.

There's an opening this week for a swing in TX at what's called an unmanned station. No front counter, no located mgr. They have 10 people including the swing and the cost of living is very low. Town has with next door small town, about 23,000. I decided to put in for it until I read the posting notes. Besides being the swing I would also be the feeder agent, the dangerous goods specialist, the international specialist, do the Genesis report, and be available every day including Saturday. They want a swing/mgr/csa/jack-of-all-trades at swing pay. Unbelievable...
 

Mom

Active Member
The Williston Ground terminal had several vacant, available routes just sitting there for quite some time...contractors bailed because there is no way to keep drivers on when water trucks pay $30/hr to suit on standby. I guess they ran temps until some idiot took the contracts. Minot saw the same thing...once ISP hit, all but two contractors disappeared. One guy went from 1 route/truck to 9 routes/11 trucks overnight, and I guess drives 1.5 of them. Again...no possible way to recruit FedEx (Ground)qualified drivers out there when bank tellers are making $25/hr and a 1984 Rollohome rents for $2500/mo. Strippers are banking, though.
 

vantexan

Well-Known Member
The Williston Ground terminal had several vacant, available routes just sitting there for quite some time...contractors bailed because there is no way to keep drivers on when water trucks pay $30/hr to suit on standby. I guess they ran temps until some idiot took the contracts. Minot saw the same thing...once ISP hit, all but two contractors disappeared. One guy went from 1 route/truck to 9 routes/11 trucks overnight, and I guess drives 1.5 of them. Again...no possible way to recruit FedEx (Ground)qualified drivers out there when bank tellers are making $25/hr and a 1984 Rollohome rents for $2500/mo. Strippers are banking, though.

I've seen quite a few FT Express openings in Williston lately. The pay went from our lowest payscale to our second lowest payscale. Yeah, that'll retain them. If I am going to be outside in a North Dakota winter I'm going to take the highest paying job I can find.
 

Mom

Active Member
Yeah...and in the Bakken patch, even McDonalds is paying $15/hr, fully benefitted. That place is full of warm stuff to stand next to.

I don't know how that compares to the Express payscale though...just another comparison example, I guess.
 

SmithBarney

Well-Known Member
One thing to consider is why there are FedEx openings in these towns..
Because big oil, pays big bucks.
Look at ND, plenty of openings
Look at Jackson Hole Wyoming, Oil pays much better than FedEx(most employees can't afford to live/work in the Jackson area

And many more, most of these places pay a ton better, now some may say Oil might be short lived.
Some are very willing to take that chance, when you are making 2 - 4 times what you make as a
courier, and most CRR's with less than 10 years know that FedEx is only a job and not a viable career choice.
Of course oil work is hard work, and isn't for everyone.
 
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