Short Term Big Money Stint - Young Investor

[rd_aaron]

Hi, can I just ask a question?

Hopefully yourself or others can pitch in.

How easy is it to just "get a job" in Alberta making that kind of money?

I'm tired of this Ontario crap. I'll get my hands dirty and do some hard physical labour all day for a year if I'm going to get $70k.

I used to work 105 hour weeks. Now I work 37.5 hours per week making only $35k and I'm bored and broke as hell.

Would it be possible for someone like myself to do the same thing you have done?

$70k would be pretty low for a rig worker. I know people who were making over $100k a few years out of high school working on the rigs. Crappy lifestyle though. If you really wanted to make the move I can't see it being too hard to land a job somewhere. The turnover rate is pretty high.

[londoncalling]

Lot's of money to be made in Alberta and Saskatchewan right now. IMO, almost anybody that wants to work out here can find a job with little effort. Kaejs, I think you are a dedicated hard working individual and would be able to land a job out here. As mentioned above, applying for a job and being offered it doesn't mean you have to take it.

[marina628]

You can earn $80,000+ working security in Fort Mcmurray and not get your hands dirty.Some companies give monthly living allowances on top of salary too.

[ddkay]

Seems like tech scene uniformly sucks across Canada, friends of mine went to Calgary for 2 years and were just moving from one temp contract to another with big oil and gas cos before getting home sick and coming back to TO. Should have applied for security or a rig operator I guess.

[ddkay]

KaeJS: http://www.rigtech.ca/live/Rig_Technicians/Trade_Basics

[riseofamillionaire]

Don't forget about taxes. If you're grossing ~100k you'll pay about 30k in taxes (that's about what I gross and pay, with 8k RRSP contributions annually), leaving you 70k. Minus 10k for your spending, and you're looking at 60k max. I don't know what your RRSP limit is, but it's probably a good idea to max it so you minimize the tax hit on the 100k, plus if you won't need the money then it will have a good long time to grow until you retire. Also, max the TFSA. This will be great because you can take out the money if you need it to supplement your part-time work when you're back at school.

Most brokerages don't start giving you low fees until you have 50k with them, so if I were you, I'd start off just using TD e-series index funds. Once you have a larger nest-egg you can get into the individual stocks game.

Also, figure out how much you need for an emergency fund and potential school buffer, and keep that in a high-interest savings account since you want it to be readily available, and not destroyed by any potential stock market crashes.

I agree with this. Also deduct those moving expenses from taxes.

[KaeJS]

Wow.

Thanks to everyone for all the information, kind words and to ddkay for that website.

I will definitely look into this some more and conduct further research.

I used to work 105 hours/week about 1.5 years ago. I loved it. Lots of money and no time to spend it. After a while, you just get used to the lifestyle. I get so entranced in "going to work everyday" that even the slightest bit of fun afterwards is enticing and exciting all over again. It's a real step in the right direction. It helps you appreciate things much more, also, sort of like a "reset" if you know what I mean. I get a sense of accomplishment from it, anyway. Now that I work 37.5 hours a week, I feel like garbage. Always bored and poor and I feel like (I know) my contribution to society is minimal, at best.

Long Hours, Lots of Hours, Getting Dirty and Physical Labour doesn't scare me. Small paycheques do.

But for now, it is time to go out for some Korean Food in downtown TO.

[Barwelle]

Welcome to Alberta son. Your calculations look optimistic, the way I see it:
New Pickup Truck $50 000 (at least!) + lift ($3500)
Weekend slush fund ($900 /month)
+Gas money (going to be quite alot more than for your civic)

Don't forget the truck nuts. ($50?)

Might as well throw some stacks on there too.

[the-royal-mail]

I've also noticed those trucks do not include turn signals.

[Tragically2112]

Wow.

Thanks to everyone for all the information, kind words and to ddkay for that website.

I will definitely look into this some more and conduct further research.

I used to work 105 hours/week about 1.5 years ago. I loved it. Lots of money and no time to spend it. After a while, you just get used to the lifestyle. I get so entranced in "going to work everyday" that even the slightest bit of fun afterwards is enticing and exciting all over again. It's a real step in the right direction. It helps you appreciate things much more, also, sort of like a "reset" if you know what I mean. I get a sense of accomplishment from it, anyway. Now that I work 37.5 hours a week, I feel like garbage. Always bored and poor and I feel like (I know) my contribution to society is minimal, at best.

Long Hours, Lots of Hours, Getting Dirty and Physical Labour doesn't scare me. Small paycheques do.

But for now, it is time to go out for some Korean Food in downtown TO.

If you can learn to drive a big (semi) truck then frac'in is a pretty good job. Most companies will give you driver training and some will pay for your test. There is some, but not too much physical labour. Can be long hours but everyday is different. Lots of driving from small town to small town. Working outside in the cold and mud. Hotels/Camps almost every night during the winter and busy seasons in shitty little towns. You have a guaranteed base salary plus bonus for every 'job' you do. Basically the salary is to keep people around during spring break up when there is not much work.

If one were to move to Alberta to frac I would suggest Grande Prairie if your goal is only money. You can easily start making 70 to 100k if you are a decent worker. You probably would make a bit less in Red Deer but you're close to Calgary & Edmonton and you also don't have to live in GP.

The company I work for will actually fly you from anywhere in Canada and you work like 26 days on and fly you home for 13 days off. If you do this then your salary is usually a little bit lower. I assume most companies offer this too though.