Pipeline Jobs
With our economy falling into recession, many laborers are scrambling to find whatever jobs they can to make do. A great number of these workers don’t care how bad the conditions of the job are as long as they’re paid a decent wage. That’s why when a high paying job like pipeline work comes along, thousands of applicants try to outdo the other guy in order to land the job. Pipeline work can be messy, isolated, far from home, dangerous, and even life threatening but the job can pay up to several hundred dollars per day. This article will show you where you can find such a job and how to beat the other applicants. It will also give you an idea of what your life as a pipeline worker will be like and how you should best prepare for such a career. Put on your hard hats; this is going to get messy.
What Is A Pipeline
A pipeline is a large steel tube that can run underground, aboveground, or underwater and is used to send oil over extremely long distances. Sure, oil companies can pack up some trucks with the stuff and haul it across the United States, but it’s much cheaper to just propel it through the pipeline system using engines and elaborately constructed ups and downs in the pipes.
Where Pipeline Jobs Are Available
Pipeline jobs are widely available across the United States as new pipelines are constructed every year. Currently, over 200,000 miles of pipelines exist within the United States alone and several hundred thousand more miles elsewhere around the world. Pipelines are extremely expensive to build but once they’re laid down, this network of oil tunnels is a lot cheaper than constantly paying maintenance fees for trucks, ships, and staff. That’s why companies are constantly willing to pay out loads of money in order to hire skilled professionals to build these pipelines. Generally, the best places to find work for pipeline jobs, along with the best salaries, are found in remote areas where oil is extracted from the ground. This usually takes place in Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico, and along the Pacific and Atlantic coastlines. The more dangerous and exotic the area, the more you’ll be paid.
What Will Your Living Conditions Be Like
Oftentimes, the living conditions of a pipeline worker aren’t very desirable. Usually, you’ll be living in some remote Alaskan settlement or off on a coast somewhere, but sometimes you can find pipeline work right in your own town. It all really depends on where they need pipelines laid down. Most likely, your living conditions will be a lot different than what they are now and may involve many hours of hard labor, low food rationing, and possibly areas where wild animals live. If you’re going to be working in a place that’s a long way away from civilization, you can expect there to be either a store provided by the company or a chain of small stores located near the worksite where the prices are extremely high for everything. These stores do this on purpose because they know you have no other choice but to buy your goods from them so they can pretty much set their prices to whatever they want.
How Much Will You Get Paid
Pipeline work isn’t necessarily a long-term career but the time you spend getting down and dirt on those pipes will be well worth it. The salary for pipeline jobs can vary greatly depending on loads of different factors like location and conditions. For example, a guy who is assigned to work in Alaska on a two year contract for a pipeline company may expect to receive up to $100,000 or more per year simply because 1. It’s a long way from home, 2. The weather is extremely cold which is dangerous in itself, 3. You may be exposed to wild animals, 4. You’re on a contract, and 5. The work can be dangerous even if you exclude all other factors. You’d think you’d make more in the military, considering soldiers have to face all of those conditions on a daily basis.
How Should You Prepare
If you’ve already landed a job with a pipeline company then you should start preparing for your new life. Depending on the weather of your new locale, you should dress appropriately and buy new clothes if necessary. Your flight may be taken care of for you by the company but if not then you’ll need to schedule one. If you’re married, you’ll want to make arrangements for your paychecks to be accessible to your wife and children. Also keep in mind that you’re probably not going to see your family again for months at a time so leave them with something to remember you while you’re gone and come up with a reliable means of communication before you leave. National Geographic makes a lovely International Cell Phone that allows you to make unlimited calls, send pictures and texts, and access the Internet from anywhere in the world (even in the middle of the ocean) all for somewhere around $50-$100 a month.
Pipeline work splits families apart for long periods at a time and can even be life-threatening. Don’t take this job just because you’re desperate. If you can find some other job nearby or you have the chance to start up your own company, that would be more advisable rather than moving across the country to take a dangerous job just because it pays more.
