Finding A Job In The North Dakota Oil Boom Towns

Many are traveling to the boomtown of Williston North Dakota and landing 6 figure jobs in the oil fields of North Dakota. Though jobs and money are all well and good, it doesn't come without some trade offs and some pain. Two of which are a lack of housing and extremely cold rough winters.

North Dakota has one of the nations lowest unemployment rates generally hovering between 3% and 3.5%. Nationwide the unemployment rate is over 10% while the true unemployement rate not taking into account accounting games and gimmicks by the government is more like 20%. But among small boomtowns in North Dakota in towns like Williston, Belfield, Waterford and others unemployment is only 1.5%.


Many of the highest paying jobs in the area are with oil companies. Workers on average make a yearly salary of around $100,000 often without a college degree and with little to no experience. If your in good health and can pass a drug test your sitting pretty.

Some of the biggest players in the area are Continental Resources, Hess, Halliburton, and Whiting Petroleum but there's tons of other companies and tons of other high paying jobs in the region.

Jobs run the gammit, everything from working on an oil rig to truck drivers hauling equipment and supplies to the fields and oil away from the fields, as well as all the administrative support needed to help out.

But it isn't just the oil companies hiring. The boom has brought such a large number of people every single industry is booming. I've seen some signs at restaurants hiring waitresses for upwards of $20 per hour, an industry that normally pays $3 an hour because waitresses typically get a low hourly salary and rely on tips. From hospitality to retail to construction along with most every other industry, they are pretty much all booming in North Dakota.

Even fast food chains on average have a going rate of $15 per hour. Heck, even the local strip club is booming with dancers making more than $3,000 per night.

Many in the town say "if someone isn't employed it's because they don't want to work."

But before you pack up and move half way across the country here's a few things you need to consider. Many of these employment opportunities, especially so those in the oil industry, require long grueling hours and hard work and physical labor. Anything from getting dirty on the rigs to lifting heavy equipment. Many employees only work on 3-4 hours of sleep per night.


So you can put up with long hours and hard work but your biggest stumbling block may be finding housing. If you fail to lineup a place to live prior to moving to North Dakota you may find yourself homeless upon arrival. The thousands who have poured into town have scooped up all the housing stock. There's a huge housing shortage going on in North Dakota, especially in areas like Williston where someone new to town can expect to have to go several hours outside of town to find a vacant hotel.

This has left many newcommers sleeping in cars or RV's in the local Walmart parking lot or at a campground or rest stop. Not a great place to live anywhere in the country but a heck of a lot worse than Hawaii for example. In North Dakota the winter with it's close to negative 40 degree temperatures can not only make your life uncomfortable but can kill you. Only in North Dakota can you be pulling down a six figure salary and still be homeless.

If you do manage to be one of the fortunate ones to find an apartment for example it can be pricey. The surge in demand has caused rents to triple if not quadruple in some areas. A one bedroom apartment currently going for more than $1500 a month with 2 and 3 bedroom apartments going for over $3,000.


Many don't find a place to live until they find a job. Some oil companies have built in "man camps" or dorms where workers live, sleep, eat, and enjoy recreation.Some are actual buildings where as others are literally shipping containers. Some do provide housing but there's not enough housing for everyone. Because the living conditions are tough many wind up leaving their families back at home so that's another thing that makes this life difficult.

One other issue workers need to take into account is job security. There's no telling how long this boom is going to last. Obama could pull the plug on oil drilling at any minute and is always trying to, remember him telling us he wanted to see gas at over $8 a gallon? Remember when he told us he wanted to tax the coal industry until he drove them out of business? This is an anti business President and he could pull the plug on this drilling at any time.

This could last decades or it could last a few years before a new regulatory environment could put an end to the boom on the spot.