Post: #328

Scotian, thank you very much for this great thread. I have read through it and the 5000+ posts on that Oil&Gas thread someone here posted and have harvested a great deal of useful info. This is exactly the kind of opportunity/lifestyle I have been looking for and I would have taken a flight the next day after reading this if I wasn't recovering from my leg surgery.

I will likely be fully recovered and head out around Nov/Dec this year, but in the meantime I have a few quick questions that haven't been fully explored here yet:

1. Could you clarify exactly how the fly-in/fly-out system works vs. just living in Ft. Mac. I mean fi/fo sounds great, but can a guy just starting out there at the bottom expect to get that kind of deal or does he have to work his way up to get it (and how long might that take)? Also what are the downsides for fi/fo: ie. maybe 20% less pay vs those living in Ft. Mac, less OT opportunities, etc?

My ideal scenario sounds like it would be a fi/fo deal from Calgary on a 21/7 or 24/4 shift; where I can ski my ass off and party/mack in the city with my little time off (my ideal lifestyle). Is such a position available for a noob like myself? If not then what are some good career paths to this scenario? Also for fi/fo Calgary deals, should I be applying at their office in Calgary or in Ft. Mac?

2. I have bad knees (hence the surgery), and not the best heart. Exactly how strenuous are the basic bottom 'general labour' type jobs out there, say compared to a job moving furniture (the max stress job I can take). Also how icy/muddy does it get out there; are slips/falls very common?

Thanks for your time.