An integral part of the oil and gas industry since the 1920s, directional drilling is the practice of controlling a wellbore’s deviation and direction toward a predetermined underground location or target. Directional drilling is needed for several different applications, here are some drilling jobs:

• Multiple wells from a single location
• Inaccessible surface locations
• Multiple target zones
• Sidetrack
• Fault drilling
• Relief-well drilling
• Salt-dome exploration
• River-crossing applications

To operate a directional drill, you will need to undergo the proper training from a training school. Directional drillers are among the best-compensated positions. They are one of the highest-paid positions in the oilfield. To be a directional driller, you will need to have experience in the oilfields, be mathematically inclined, and be willing to travel frequently. Some directional drillers are gone for as long as 50 weeks a year when they are first starting out in these drilling jobs.

The Work Environment

Directional drillers either work on an offshore rig or on a land rig. There isn’t a typical workday in this role. One of the more critical times while on the job is when you are diverting the well from vertical to horizontal. A bad calculation when deciding when and how you are building an angle can mean the difference in proceeding or having to abandon days of work. A directional driller must be very focused on the job at hand. There are three main types of directional drills:

• Multilateral wells
• Extended reach wells
• Horizontal wells

Because of advanced technology, the computer is where most directional well-planning is done. Thanks to 3D visualization and 3D earth models, geoscientists and engineers have integrated and interactive tools that allow them to optimize, visualize and create wells using reservoir targets.

Drilling Jobs – Salary

According to CNNMoney, oil rig workers make slightly under$100,000 per year, but the annual salary can vary depending on the skills and experience of the worker. Oil drillers made an average salary of $99,175 per year as of 2011, but of course, salaries have increased during the last 7 years. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects more than average growth in the field, so there is expected to be a 16% increase in the number of directional drillers needed from 2016 to 2026. That is 2,500 more jobs for trained directional drillers.

ATS offers specialized training in directional drilling. The program includes classroom and field training to teach the operational skills you need to operate a directional drill safely and efficiently. To learn more about ATS specialized training and drilling jobs, call (800) 678-8149 today. One of our admissions specialists will help you determine if directional drilling is the right career path for your goals.

A career in construction is a great option, it is in demand, and with so much work being done all around the country, allows you to be a part of what is really an ongoing move to rebuild America for the 21^st century. That is something to be proud of, but when choosing a construction job or new career, you always want to make sure you pick something that offers the most opportunity for the future. In our experience, these are the fastest-growing construction jobs in the country, and they offer the best opportunity for anyone looking to build a new, prosperous career.

Equipment Operators

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, Equipment Operators are not just in demand now but are expected to see a 12% growth over the next few years, and that means plenty of work for anyone with the right skills. From excavators to bulldozers, skid steers, dump trucks, and any other kind of heavy machinery operators, there are opportunities right across the country.

As new projects of all sizes are launched, and the infrastructure expenditure to refit the country for a new century continues, construction is a healthy industry with a bright future. Within those projects, the machinery operators that shape the sites and perform the work needed for roads, homes, factories, and other building works are required in increasing numbers. Currently, manufacturers are struggling to keep up with the demand for machinery, showing just how much demand there is right now, and every machine needs an operator.

With well-paid work and good conditions, starting a career as an operator is a great choice, with the right training you can begin your new career much faster than you imagine, and start building that lucrative career.

Construction Workers

Just behind operators, with project growth of 11%, construction workers are in demand too. It should not be surprising, because every site needs construction workers to do all those things machines cannot. A skilled worker can dig trenches, mix and pour concrete, assemble components, and so on, the basics of any construction project.

As the industry grows, so does the need for construction workers, and again, with high demand comes increasing wages and a wider choice of sites to work on. A career as a construction worker is a great opportunity, with room for growth both in demand and position, thanks to easy access to high-quality training.

Crane Operators

Finally, crane operators, who while not quite at the growth expectation of the others at a projected 9%, are still in demand, Qualified crane operators are always in demand in all kinds of construction work, from large projects to home building, not only is it a lucrative career, but with so many options, it can be a varied one too.

Choosing a career as a crane operator makes sense, with skills that are always in demand all year round, providing a good, reliable income for the foreseeable future.

The unemployment rate is at its lowest in 60 years, and what it means for your career

A low unemployment rate is not something we normally see, but it can and does have an impact on our students and their careers after qualifying, so it’s important to look at what the current record-setting lows actually mean.

Its 60 years since the unemployment rate has remained below 4% for a sustained period, so these current levels mark a very different job market to the one we have been used to for the last 30 years. As with anything, supply and demand shape markets, and the job market is no different, with so many employed, the job market is more competitive than it has been for a very long time, and for students graduating from our courses now and in the near future, that is a very good thing indeed.

With so many people at work and so few unemployed, employers face stiff competition for quality employees, and this is especially true of those with desirable skills, including accreditations that are required to perform some jobs. Skills shortages are a very real thing, as employers are struggling to find people with the right skills for the job positions they are desperate to fill, and nowhere is that more evident than in the construction industry.

Of course, what that means for those with the right skills and qualifications, is that they are in demand, and wages are rising as a result. For heavy machinery operators, crane operators, riggers, and other construction positions that require training and accreditation, this means a great time to be building a career. Not only are there plenty of jobs on offer, but the wages being offered are rising, and for the right people, this can be an incredible opportunity.

This is where our training approach pays off. By using both classroom-based study and on-site experience, we train you not just in the theory, but the practical aspects of operating machinery on-site, and when taking on that first job, that experience can prove invaluable. We give you the skills and knowledge to pass accreditation exams, but also the on-site experience that will better prepare you for the first day in your new job, giving you the confidence to take on any position and succeed.

We can’t remember a better time to be building your career as a heavy machinery operator, crane operator, or any other construction industry position. With high demand for the skills, rising wages, and a steady growth in construction all over the country, we help you gain the skills that employers are looking for. Your long-term career could be just a few weeks away with one of our comprehensive, accredited training courses, you can gain skills that will last you a lifetime.

As a heavy machinery operator, there are so many career options and job opportunities that it is often hard to make a choice. While many instantly think of someone working a backhoe or dozer on a construction site when they think of heavy machinery operators, they are far more varied in reality, and one area that offers a lucrative option is that of working in landfills.

This is very different from working on construction sites, or even mining, from the job itself to the machinery used, landfills are unique, but it also offers a great opportunity to build skills and a career. While you will find loaders and dozers at any landfill, the compactor is the machine that stands out at all landfills. If you have ever seen any images of a landfill, it’s normally of a compactor moving across the rubbish.

They are used to distribute and compact rubbish in order to reduce gas emissions, stabilize the material deposited and optimize the capacity of the landfill. While they have a blade at the front similar to a dozer, there are some unique features. The front and rear frames are connected via a flexible joint, to allow the compactor to adapt to what is often extremely uneven ground, and the cab is often isolated from the frame to provide a more comfortable experience and excellent all-around visibility, particularly important on landfill sites. What is most recognizable for compactors though, is the wheels. Spiked metal rims, no rubber, to gain traction and compact the rubbish deposits the machine is driven over. A unique machine that has evolved to be perfect for the job it does.

Operating a different kind of heavy equipment is always a good way to improve skills, but what is life really like in a landfill as an operator? Whether you are in a dozer, loader, or compactor, it is a challenging job, with the environment itself something that many operators struggle with. In summer it’s hot, and the smell can become extremely unpleasant, and in the winter, it leaves the machine exposed to the worst of the weather, with a long day in the cab that can be an issue. For operators, safety is also something to focus on, the environment makes spotters and other workers on foot or in machines incredibly vulnerable, and it takes skill to move the heavy machines around such a site safely.

However, it is not all bad news, and with landfill work not being as attractive as other options, there is high demand for landfill workers right across the country, and that means good pay and reliable, year-round work.  For those that can get used to the environment, landfill work is important, in-demand, and appreciated, and a great place to build a sustainable, lucrative career.

Working in the heavy machinery industry brings so many options for a varied career, whether it’s operating a crane, building office blocks in the cities, or building roads right across the country, but for some, it can mean a life in the forest, but what machines are used in forestry work if that sounds like your kind of job?

Some may be surprised at just how much heavy machinery is used in forestry work, and how many jobs there are for heavy machinery operators who like the idea of such work.  The machines most commonly used in forestry work fall into two main types, those based on a standard tracked heavy equipment base, using various arms to carry out different tasks, and the wheeled types, which mainly fall into variations of skidders.

First, we can look at the tracked machines:

The Feller Buncher

Designed to quickly fall trees, the feller buncher is based on the standard tracked heavy machinery base and uses a tree-grabbing device on its arm that also contains a high-powered circular saw, or in some cases a shear. It can grab and cut a tree in one motion, and then place the tree on a stack ready for transport.

Delimber

Again, based on a standard tracked heavy machinery base, the delimber is designed to remove branches from felled trees. There are various methods of achieving this, some use chain flails, and others are of a pull-through construction.

Harvester

A Harvester is similar to a Feller Buncher but is adapted to operate for cut-to-length operations, able to fell, delimb and buck trees, that is cut the tree to length with one machine.

Now, we can look at the wheeled machines:

Forwarder

In a tractor and trailer arrangement, a forwarder is designed with a lifting arm to pick up the felled longs and transport them away from the site. Because the logs are lifted off the ground onto the trailer, they are somewhat restricted in the length of the log they can deal with and are primarily found at cut-to-length operations, working in tandem with a harvester.

Skidders

For operations that deal with long logs or full trees, the felled trunks are moved using a skidder. As the name implies, these vehicles are able to deal with long logs because they only lift one end, leaving the other to skid along the ground behind.

There are three common types of skidder, the Clam-bunk, which uses open topped hydraulic jaws to pick up the felled trees, the Line skidder, which uses a winch cable that is manually reeled out and attached to a group of felled trees, or the Grapple Skidder, which has a grapple bucket arm used to grab and lift the trees.

Forestry work is attractive to many as it puts you out in the fresh air, and a training course for heavy machinery can give you plenty of options when it comes to your career.

While some states have fairly consistent climates and avoid the issue, all over the country the effects of a change from the cold, winter temperatures to the very warm summer ones are being seen in the roads that connect our towns and cities together. That calls for road repairs. For the heavy machinery industry, this is regular, reliable construction work that is happening somewhere in the country every year as we see temperatures change.

These projects offer valuable opportunities for heavy machinery workers all over the country, from smaller localized repairs to complete road renewals, the consequences of the shift from winter to summer brings opportunities that all industry workers can benefit from. Good working conditions and summer weather make these particularly appealing sites as well, and for many in the industry are some of the most enjoyable projects out there. Opportunities exist for all kinds of workers but in particular heavy machinery operators find their skills in demand on such projects. With a variety of heavy machinery in use, these challenging but enjoyable projects are well worth seeking out.

What happens is that the road surfaces crack, warp, and even collapse under the stresses that such temperature changes provoke, and while such things are not good for local commuters and those traveling around the country, for the construction industry it is a valuable business source that appears with regularity. Because such movements occur naturally, there is little to combat it, new road designs are always under review however for extremes of temperature the issue of cracking has never been solved.

That is one of the things that makes the heavy machinery industry such a great choice for a career because road repairs like that are not the only regularly occurring construction work out there. From new building works for expanding populations to projects to combat the effects of erosion around our coastlines, the simple movement of time itself brings new opportunities for the construction industry.

This is central to the appeal of the industry for careers because it is at its core an industry that can never become unneeded. For all of us connected to the construction industry, the work itself is interesting and the teamwork and friendships make it enjoyable, but it is the dependability of the need for such work that makes it the career choice it is. Industry is at the center of our way of life, and by just living and thriving, our country generates the work that keeps us busy. That is not going to change in any foreseeable future, making this one of the few industries today that can offer a secure career for life.

Varied and challenging, but always in demand, that ultimately describes the heavy machinery career, but that is also the core of what makes it such a great career for you. Opportunities are always there, in an expanding industry the need for your skills is growing, and as we have discussed, the world around us generates more of that demand simply through the passage of time, it is an industry to build a career in.

The construction industry job market today can be daunting, no matter what your skills the competition is fierce, but more than that, whole industries are rapidly changing, and with those changes come new ways of working, and often fewer jobs, and fewer job security. Knowing where to look for a career that offers some stability is no longer easy, as jobs in many traditional industries seem to disappear before our eyes.

Knowing what to do, what skills will help your career, and providing a reliable source of work is more difficult now than perhaps at any time in the modern world, but there is an answer. We at Associated Training Services believe that the construction industry as a whole and in particular heavy equipment operation offers a dependable option for anyone. Not only that, but we think the ever-changing work, the skill required, and the job satisfaction you get make it a great career too.

But being enjoyable, challenging, and varied is not why the construction industry is a brilliant career choice in the modern job market, that is why you would want to do the job. Look at the country, and you will see why construction is such a good choice. While cars can be made anywhere and shipped around the world, along with most other manufactured goods, the reality is that we always need new roads, new factories, and new construction work, and it cannot be exported across the world, it is a job that is done on-site, and always will be.

There are other challenges for many jobs too, automation is an issue facing many industries today, something that could eventually simply remove millions of jobs that people have taken for granted for the last century or more. However, operating heavy equipment is a skill, it takes a little finesse and situational awareness, teamwork, and adaptability. With each job different, each site different, and each team different, the human touch is essential in many aspects of heavy machinery work.

Our training can give you the skills and confidence you need to forge your career in construction today. In an industry that is seeing increased spending every year, essential for the nation’s survival, construction skills will always be needed. Our comprehensive training opportunities prepare you for the challenges ahead, whether you are looking to be a crane operator, truck driver, digger derrick operator, or heavy equipment operator, we have the expertise to help you learn the skills you need.

Any training is an investment in yourself, but in this changing world, making sure that investment is the right one has never been more important. The construction industry today offers the chance at a stable, reliable career, but more than that, it offers challenging but enjoyable work that brings great job satisfaction and the pleasure of working with a team.

It was 1977. Fresh out of high school, with not a clue of what to do in life. A friend calls; they’re building a highway down south and they are hiring!

Another boiling hot South Texas summer; day after day of 100+ temperatures.   But thanks to youth and being in the best shape of my life, a job outdoors was exciting!

Besides, the pay was a whole lot better than anywhere else.  It was twice the minimum wage back then.

TALK ABOUT EXCITING!

My friend and I show up on the job site; an interstate highway through several South Texas counties. We both got hired; both driving scrapers.  The foreman said, “only the best of the best could handle the scraper.”

And I believed him: 15’ tall and over 30’ long; mountains of steel on giant rubber tires.  A scraper looks a lot like a big truck and trailer, with a cab out front that turns independently of the trailer.  But that is where the comparison ends!

Behind the cab is a huge steel trailer, with an open box like a dump truck in the center.  Below the open box is a side-to-side blade, that the operator raises up and down. And scrape it does…when the operator drops the blade, it scrapes long strips of dirt from the earth and into the open box. From there, the operator drives the scraper to another part of the project, lines the scraper up, and opens the door on the bottom of the box to lay out a line of dirt as he drives along.

I spent 3 days riding shotgun with a trainer, on the roughest seat I had ever felt (he had air-ride)! Then I was on my own…on top of the world!

SOUTH TEXAS DIRT

Because the dirt was so dry and hard, the scrapers of that time, even though they were massive machines, could not pull the blades through the dirt without some help.  That help was the “push cat”.  The push cat was a bulldozer with no blade; it had a huge metal bumper on the front, and it did what the name suggests…it pushed.  The scraper driver pulled into line, dropped the blade, and waited. First, you heard that big Allison V-12 bulldozer engine wind up, and then you would feel the push cat meet the back of the big metal bumper on the scraper.  It was hold-on time; that big dozer would push you along, and the scraper operator had to watch for the box to fill up with dirt. Then, the round trip began all over again.

It was hot and it was dusty, but it was one of the greatest times of my life!

Today’s scrapers are more powerful, with enclosed cabs and air conditioning on some. Even so, for a kid just out of high school (or anyone looking for a satisfying job), it is an adventure that should not be missed.

Today, there are heavy equipment schools, where you can learn how to operate any kind of heavy equipment.  There were not any schools back in the ’70s.  Check it out…put some adventure into your life!

Heavy equipment operators are essential to modern life. They perform tasks that most of us aren’t willing to do and that most of us aren’t qualified to do. Here are six essential things heavy equipment operators do every day.

1. Build roads – From the time that President Eisenhower started building the Interstate highway system–and even before that–America’s roads have been constructed by men (and women) who power the heavy equipment that make it possible.
2. Dig basements – If you live in the northern part of the United States, you likely have a basement. Someone has to dig it out, for a basement is nothing more than a hole in the ground filled with concrete walls. Heavy equipment operators dig those holes.
3. Dig trenches – Before water and sewer lines can be laid, there has to trench to lay them in. Heavy equipment operators dig those trenches. If you like drinking water and appreciate where your waste goes, thank a heavy equipment operator.
4. Grade parking lots – Have you ever watched a heavy equipment operator smooth out a piece of land? They were likely grading a parking lot. This is one of the many important tasks heavy equipment operators perform every day, and that includes driveways.
5. Haul dirt, rocks, and other materials – Dump trucks carry dirt that heavy equipment operators pull out of a trench, basement hole, or piece of land being excavated.
6. Lift things – Crane operators can lift a man to work on a highway, lift heavy objects like timber and box crates full of cargo, and perform other tasks that involve using heavy equipment to reach new heights.

If you want to become a heavy equipment operator, learn about the ATS heavy equipment school. Enroll Now!

Heavy equipment operators enjoy high job satisfaction across the board. One reason for that could be the excellent pay scale. Beginning operators make above minimum wage in most places, and the median income for a heavy equipment operator is $18.00 an hour. Of course, there are varying factors that influence how much heavy equipment operators are paid on the job. These factors include:

• Location
• Experience
• Employer
• Skill level

Just to name a few.

As heavy equipment operators gain new skills and experience, they make more money. It’s not unheard of for an experienced operator to earn up to $28 an hour. And if the operator is trained as a mobile crane operator, then the pay could be even higher. Add to that a Class-A CDL certification, rigger/signalperson training, and hazardous materials handling, and you’ve got a pretty good career in the works.

How to Become a Heavy Equipment Operator

Salaries are also influenced by location. If you are in Denver, for instance, you could earn 12 percent more than heavy equipment operators in other cities. Residents of Seattle could earn 25 percent more. Las Vegas heavy equipment operators earn on average 23 percent more than heavy equipment operators elsewhere. If you live in Charleston, you’ll likely earn less.

Even still, heavy equipment operators enjoy a lifetime of job satisfaction, and it’s fairly easy to get started. Your first step is to enroll in heavy equipment operator training. When you do, you’ll be paired up with a career counselor to help you develop job search and networking skills as you train for your career. When you graduate, you’ll have a lifetime membership to a job search board. Your heavy equipment operator career is waiting for you right around the corner.