Gen X Oil Workers in Danger of 'Burning Out'

Fuel Fix ^ | September 06, 2013 | Jon Mainwaring|

[knarf]

"People in the middle [of their careers] tend to suffer from not an awful lot of investment because they are steady people, they know their job and are really good at it. What we find is that people don't tend to move on for more money unless something has made them think about money. And the thing that tends to make them think about money is dissatisfaction in a job and that might be because no-one is investing in their development and they don’t feel valued anymore."

An interesting quote.

I met guys that were in their 30's/early 40's that were approaching being millionaires. They didn't seem to want much of anything except to work. I thought it an intriguing perception.

If I was mid 20's and strong/healthy ... I'd sell my soul to the oil/gas industry for about three years, learn some stuff and settle into a very comfortable life.

The money would go into buying an island somewhere and I'd go off and be a missionary or something.

[thackney]

Not many in the 20’s have the discipline to set aside that much of their salary.

[knarf]

After you've bought the truck and the girl ... you can only drink so much without losing your job ... what else can you do with more money than you'd ever thought of having?

But then ... I'm looking out through older eyes, also.

[proxy_user]

Are they talking about line workers, or guys with college degrees in petroleum engineering?

[Black Agnes]

You’re leaving out all the stuff the girl buys.

Once you’ve ‘bought’ the girl, she’s ‘bought’ your paycheck.

My kid brother just broke up with (Thank you God) a girl that managed to ‘help’ him spend over $100K in a year. $1200 shoes (several pairs at a time), vacations to tropical paradise locations (several of these), tuition for her kids, toys for her kids, trip to Disney for her kids, 2 or 3 thousand dollars a month on clothes, bought her a car, etc. It was Lifestyles of The Rich and Famous! On an oilhand’s (really good, but not Donald Trump!) salary.

My family’s been in the oilfield for nearly 65 years. The difference between who has money when they retire and who doesn’t is nearly always up to the woman. I’ve seen one exception to this. In that case the oilhand had a gambling problem.

If he’s got a happy marriage and she’s not spending him to the poorhouse he’s usually a very happy boy...

[Black Agnes]

In the field, the guys that make the most dollars are directional drillers and company men.

Nowadays it’s ‘preferred’ to have some sort of college degree for those jobs but not required by any means.

The PetE degree holders are usually office minions somewhere.

I’ve got a cousin who, with only a highschool diploma, is a directional driller making $200K+/yr. In his mid 30’s. And has been making that kind of money for over a decade. Spending a hundred grand on a degree and using his early 20’s to get that would have seriously cost him money long term.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

This article makes this phenomenon sound like its something new. There have been boom industries through out our history and people work like crazy in them, and some of the workers spend every cent they make, and then burn out. The smart ones realize that the good times won’t keep rolling and save some money.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

I was in the energy field service biz a long time. While a colleague was buying race cars and gorgeous leather jackets, I was socking it away for the future. I’ve often wondered how he turned out.

[Black Agnes]

There’s a lot of boom and bust, that’s for sure.

The best outcome from my observation is having a thrifty wife who holds the checkbook so he can worry about work and not finances.

My immediate family keeps Ford in business.

[thackney]

After you've bought the truck and the girl ... you can only drink so much without losing your job ... what else can you do with more money than you'd ever thought of having?

Besides the obvious money spender; travel, bigger and bigger boats...

[freerepublicchat]

Gen X grew up under Reagan and they work hard.

Gen Y grew up under Clinton and they're on the dole.

It's frightening to consider what Gen Obama will become.

[LS]

So now, unable to stop the shift toward shale, they will try to demonize it as “inhuman” to the workers. Nice try.

[rdcbn]

So now, unable to stop the shift toward shale, they will try to demonize it as “inhuman” to the workers. Nice try.

---

Those poor, poor workers forced to live a six figure salary , high bonus life style doing pretty hard but cool work.

They are the new proletariat/s

There is a reason they are working hard enough to be in danger of burning out.

I have been in their position and it’s a good place to be.

Wouldn’t mind being there now too, actually

[Republican Extremist]

I’ve been thinking about a career change, and moving out west to get in on the Bakken Boom, but I have no contacts. Does anyone here have any information they can pass on?

[a fool in paradise]

Gen X Ping

[B4Ranch]

>>Not many in the 20’s have the discipline to set aside that much of their salary.<<

If they are shown the benefits of compounding many of them will do just fine.

[thackney]

The hard part can be convincing someone who only worked in the boom that the bust is coming. in this industry it is not enough to save only for retirement.

[B4Ranch]

That’s so, so true.

[qam1]

Xer Ping

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