I get a lot of e-mail from geologists and other folk employed in the mining/drilling sectors. Found this e-mail as I was cleaning up a bit, and decided like our SSMITF, I should share this with you:
Just wanted to say that your website is a great break in my day. I have to say that just about everything you say about people in my generation is true. I am a 27 year old petroleum geologist working in Alberta. The oil industry here has a major labor shortage in all sectors, that does not look like it is going to be getting better any time soon. If you have a bachelors degree in geology you can get a job in the field paying 150K a year for about 140 days work. If you have a MSC you can pick up right out of school a 120k a year job in the office with benefits and a healthy bonus structure along with loads of training and work place education. Engineering, accounting and finance jobs are all about the same in terms of pay and benefits etc. I am willing to be that students in University are not told by their counselors etc that these career paths even exist.
However the industry can not find enough qualified graduates to fill these roles. While in school, of about 15 of us in the department only about 3 work in the oil and gas industry. This is despite the oil companies offering internships paying 30$/hr, sending students all around the world on paid field trips. The attitude is that young people don't want to get into the industry having been told for years that working in Universities, for the government, or for environmental companies is a more noble way to contribute to society.
I am starting to run out of sympathy for people out of work in Canada and the USA when I see jobs advertised for unskilled labor in northern Alberta for 75-100k per year. It scares me to think what will happen when the 80% of the people of my generation realize how much wealth the motivated 20% has created for them selves, and decide to try and spread that wealth around.
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