This is a personal and unscientific survey of jobs in the oil sands and in Fort McMurray. These few observations are prompted by discussions I have had this week with folk in Fort McMurray this week as I plied my trade on one of the mines.
The first discussion went thus: His wife left him, taking the two kids with her. He is a welder and is pretty devastated by this marriage breakup. I told him to pull himself together, leave Dodge City, head north to the oil sands, and get a job here. With his skills, he will get a job fast, make some money, regain his self-respect, and be a man again.
This is as good an example of the events that propel folk to this town and its opportunities.
The second conversation went thus: With my PhD and the load they put on me to test and come up with practical answers, I really need technical help. Maybe an educated technician who can do the repetitive manual labor involved in running multiple tests. The person should be smart enough to learn (train) fast, able to do accurate work, and smart enough to respond independently to varying conditions—that seems to occur when you are doing science for engineers.
They have been looking for such a person for a while, and no suitable candidate is found.
The third discussion: He has a degree from a South American university in agricultural engineering. Do you think you could find him a job in the oil sands? Aren’t they doing a lot of reclamation there which could employ a person who knows how to make things grow, even though the climate is different from his home country?
We will try to help. But if you can, let me know.
A fourth conversation went thus: My wife now has a company truck. Her department which deals with health and safety has lost three people recently and so she has to be ready to come up to site at a moment’s notice. You know how that occurs on a mine.
Which brings me to comments on an article on the oil sands in the September issue of the magazine Discover. They report:
Oil sands development has begun to pick up, with a projected $13 billion in new investments in 2010, a $2 billion increase from 2009. A recent industry report estimates that oil sands production, which currently stands at around 1.5 million barrels a day, could jump 46 percent by 2015. The United States now import 22 percent of its oil from our northern neighbor, and China has also shown interest in Canada’s sands, taking a $1.t billion, 60 percent stake in two new projects in northern Alberta. In short, the tar sands—like deep oil—will probably remain an important part of the energy picture for the foreseeable future.
Another way of looking at the future of jobs in the oil sands is to read the Calgary Herald which in a newly posted article asks:
As the oilsands continues to be whipsawed by environmental groups generally unencumbered by the facts, one question is consistently being asked around town: Who is the face of the oilsands?
In essence, the article is suggesting this should be a new job with a new person taking on the task of being the spokesperson for the industry. That will be a hard job, but surely well-paid. Not sure how you get the job though.
The point is, however, that there are still great opportunities in Fort McMurray and the oil sands, from protester to president, from technician to engineer. I suggest consulting the websites that list such jobs, and seeking out old friends to help. I tried CareerMine and found a list of 212 jobs.
