North Dakota swimming in oil

I was just going to add the same comment as YF with respect to the 80 K.

My brother in law is the guy who on rigs sits in the office and tells the rig where/how to drill (basically the Payzone type guy for anyone who read the linked story).

He has worked in Williston and on the Canadian side of the Bakken, now mainly stays in Alberta.

He books himself out at about 600 per day plus his expenses (mainly mileage driving to the rig). He shares an ATCO type trailer right at the rig.

I don't envy how much he is away from home but basically is working a 2 weeks in/2 weeks out schedule.

If you have your head on your shoulders you can advance pretty quickly and carve out a fairly lucrative life by blue collar standards.