You maybe making 100k a year out west but you also got to remember that the cost of living up there also goes up which evens itself out.

reason why they make over six figures is probly because they are high pressure welders
im in school for power engineering & our teacher told us that a high pressure welder costs something like 5400$ a hour to hire if a high pressure line or vessel needs work done

all my buddys that are taking welding i tell them to get the high pressure ticket

and as for alberta a guy that was in my program just got a job there making about 10k every rotation if he maxes the ot in his 10 day rotation

Most companies out there are so starved for workers (at least ironworkers) that they pay all your living expenses and/or you can live in a "camp", optional.

I could handle it for a month or two though.



Lots of companies giving living allowance on top of that, in Sask house prices aren't as bad as Alberta yet... And it's still cheaper then Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa etc

that's my plan once the winter dies down I think. I'd like to go for 1-2 months and come back with ~5-10gs in the bank. If I didn't have a gf it'd be real easy to go for a few months and not blink an eye.

When people say out west they mean Fort Mac. Go look at real estate costs up there, its insane. If you like the idea of being an ironworker you can go for it, but if you just think it'll be an easy way to make money I'd avoid it.

Living out allowance jobs can be big money too. Some of the better ones at $150-200 ( before wages ) a day and if you find somewhere cheap to live you will roll in some nice paychecks.

Everyone I know that goes to work in fort mac doesnt buy a house up there... you live in a camp and cycle in and out shifts (2 weeks there, 1 week home for example)

And there are plenty of well paying jobs besides fort mac

Working oilfield where im at Pipe welders (B Pressure ticketed) out here are making 90-110 an hour, contracting their own rig ofc. A structural welder out here gets 70-80 with their own rig, 40-50 running a companies rig.


Shop rates are like 36/hr for CWB journeyman... Shop work is a shit place to be.

This post was edited by Thoriden on Nov 12 2013 09:41pm

Lol we've had people come from the states/western Canada expecting to make big money in the "oil patch".

They get slapped in the face with reality pretty quickly. Not usually very happy about it either.

Here in Calgary, Alberta, you get paid for skill and ability. There are no easy 100k a year to start jobs here just because it's oil and gas. Most trades can make 6 figures, but you have to be good, and you have to work at it.



This is funny.

I have two buddies that are B pressure welders (The highest pressure welding cert you can attain). One works for a shop, makes about $45/hour. The other has his own rig and makes about $100/hour, but he has to pay for his own fuel for the rig and welder, consumables, gasses, etc etc. Ends up costing about $30/hour when all is said and done to run the rig.