Dumb water haulers vs Smart water haulers...

Smart water haulers in North dakota don't allow an employer to take advantage of their hard work without fair pay. They know what their skill is worth and expect fair-market pay for hard work. A trucking company takes home anywhere from $60-70 per hour after overhead costs and this means that if they are paying $25 to the driver, they're pocketing the other 35-45 per hour. You have to find an employer willing to share a bigger piece of the pie with the driver. They do exist!

Did you know that a water truck that stays busy throughout the year can earn about $280,000 per year after overhead costs? So this means that after fuel, maintenance, repairs, taxes, insurance, registration, licencing and labor costs, the owner of that truck pockets $280,000. In this scenario, the driver probably made between $60-100k depending on wage. I share this information to help you understand that the owners of the water trucking companies make a lot more money that the drivers do. Nothing wrong with it, because it's the American dream and free enterprise at its finest, but it also means that a driver should never be afraid of asking an employer for a raise, if the driver feels he should be sharing more in the profits.

I understand that the employer is the one who has his money invested in the truck, but I also know that it's the driver who is out there working the long hours, day in and day out in adverse weather and driving conditions. There will always be the unsuspecting employees who get taken advantage of because of their own ignorance, but it doesn't need to be that way. It's true that an employer has the right to offer whatever he wants to offer for pay, but qualified water hauling employees are in high-demand and in short-supply in North dakota right now and don't need to settle for crap wages. There are companies still paying a good wage for good drivers and these are the companies you want to work for.

The oilfield serivice companies that off poor pay have a high employee turn-over rate and this often results in the loss of contracts. If an oilfield services company fails to perform at a high enough standard to meet an oilfield company's fluid hauling needs, it often results in the loss of the contract. More often than not, poor service relates to poor equipment, underpaid employees and the poor management of these resources.

If you're a truck driver trying to get a job in North Dakota as a water hauler, don't settle for anything less that $25 per hour. If the company wants to pay you a percentage, don't work for anyone paying less that 25% of the gross. Gross is after the 20% the leasing company takes, but before the fuel, maintenance, insurance and any other cost the has. Don't buy into the housing scam either. Many companies offer housing as part of the package, but it's usually a complete rip off and less than affordable.

Consider buying my ebook, "The Best Job in North Dakota" and carefully read its pages. Use the questions in Chapter 4 to interview potential employers. The questions are designed to give an employee an advantage during the hiring process. It allows an employee to make an informed and educated decision during the job-hunting process so that they can find the best employers with the best pay and best work. The information serves all levels of truck drivers, but if you already have experience trucking, you're money ahead of the rest.

When you start your new water hauling job in the Bakken Oilfield of North Dakota, you'll be starting at the bottom of the ladder, no matter how long you've been driving truck. You have to pay your dues with each company you work for. This is the norm and isn't going to change. The only way to ensure job-longevity in this field is to do your homework (read my blog, my ebook, etc.). Save yourself time and money by avoiding the driver-mill fly-by-night companies and get in with a company with oilfield staying power.

The best to work for are the ones with the most financial growth potential for their employees (best work, busiest, highest pay, quarterly raises and incentive-based bonuses). Most business models aren't focused on the financial success of their employees, because they're afraid that if they pay them too much, they won't be able to keep them around for very long.

I wish we lived in a world where a trucking company would pay their employees enough to help them get to the next level. The next level is beyond the paycheck to paycheck level. It's the employee driver to the owner-operator level. Could you imagine working a year as an employee driver and then having enough money to become an owner-operator? 

Most water hauling companies think of employees as overhead. This is why so many of them are trying to offer lower and lower wages. Dumb water haulers take these jobs not knowing any better and these companies glut themselves on the ignorant cheap labor. If you have no experience, then you won't have much of a choice, but my advice is for you to get the experience where ever you can get it and then go in search of greener pastures. They exist, you have to find them.

Nobody's going to give you anything for free. You're going to have to blaze your own trail and find your own way, but don't ever let one human being treat you any less than another equal human being. Once your skill level has risen, you need to ask for higher wages and if they don't offer them, move on. I recommend asking your employer for a raise every three months. The worst they can do is say no. There will always be the companies that just look for warm bodies to fill the seats of their semi trucks and won't care if you go elsewhere, because they'll just find some new unsuspecting driver, but there are also the companies that actually give a damn, but if you don't give a damn first, nobody ever will.

If you do ask for a raise, you will need to explain why you deserve the raise. I think every water hauler with experience shouldn't make anything less than $30/hr, but to get this wage, you have to show that your skills and knowledge warrant the wage. Ask for a dollar every three months until you get to the $30/hr wage. This will give you focus and drive to become the best water hauler in the patch.