I've tried to research the oil field jobs and haven't found too much except for vague stuff. Do you generally just have to go out there and apply in person?

OP what kind of work are you interested in doing? A lot of people want fast/easy money without breaking their backs. If you want a sustainable "normal" career in something, you're most likely going to have to invest in school or some kind of career training + proven experience.

Construction is still pretty weak throughout most of the US. My gf is a cost estimator in commercial construction making about $80k, but she was out of the field for a year + when her old company went under. She has two bachelor's degrees in unrelated fields and ~12 years experience doing what she does now. And she didn't start at that salary.

There are lots of trades you can get into depending on where your strengths are, but you need to bring something to the table besides "decently smart and 25 years old." You're still at an age where you have a plenty of time to recoup an investment in education or a trade school.

Some of these oil jobs sound like the fisherman jobs up in Alaska. Kept hearing about how awesome they were and how much they paid, but the handful of people I knew that went after them either couldn't get their foot in the door, or didn't last very long doing the entry-level stuff they have you do.

There are exceptions but jobs that don't require real skills generally don't pay well, and the few that do are either very competitive or have some seriously ****ty drawbacks associated with them. My advice is to put career development ahead of a paycheck for the next couple of years and learn something useful. Figure out how to install HVAC or get apprenticed as a plumber, whatever. With some time and experience maybe you can parlay that into your own business. Just don't expect it overnight.

Attempt sales before you go to into trades IMO. You'll find out pretty quickly if you are any good, and if you are good then education is mostly irrelevant aside from some technical sales jobs.

As an oilfield worker myself(I'm 23), making 80k is super standard and 100k+ is pretty easy to do. I sometimes ask myself why I did not start sooner.

Can you write up your story and give some details?

A friend I grew up with got his CDL in his early 20s, still at it after a dozen years or so. He does fairly well now hauling hazmat. He didn't make anywhere near the kind of money you'd need to sock away 50k/year early on though. Even if a person were inclined & able to live out of a company-owned truck you're still going to have some expenses to think about.

Plus there's 3 years of living out of a truck to consider. Nothing wrong with making money but at some point you have to think about what you're giving up to get it too.

Contract work in Afghanistan(or Iraq) is similar. You can make anywhere from 60k-400k a year depending on your skills/clearance/experience etc. Shelter and food is free, and tax free up to 92,000 (minimum 330+ days outside US). You end up banking most of that money.

I had a friend who did this. The money was great and he had no issues with it despite the danger but it was pretty hard on the wife.

Almost every company is winding down operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Very few are hiring anybody, and when they are, they have their pick of the litter of all the guys with lots of Iraq/Afghanistan experience. This advice is few years too late.

These sorts of opportunities usually exist for very limited periods of time. As a kid, I remember adults going to Kuwait after '91 Iraq problems to fix the oil field fires for huge money. And ever since then, there were occasional, high paying opportunities of similar nature.

The question is, what is still hot right now? Or better yet, what is about to get hot?

(Iraq Afghanistan stuff has been cooling off for a few years now. It's a bit like trying to cash in on the poker boom... in 2012)

Sweet talk a few desperate chicks in your closest city then head to ND and start a brothel close to the oil fields.

I will post a story when I get off. I'm always working and its hard as **** to type this on a phone.
For those of you who are pming me, I will answer anything you wa
nt when I get on my computer.

I've been in the oilfield for 5 years now. If you are working in the field you'll be starting at 60k. I would imagine that roughnecking would be easier than roofing just a whole lot dirtier. And there are tons of really technical jobs to be had as well where you learn on the job and don't work quite as hard.

They did not teach me what expectation was in college
Why can't OP own the burrito truck and be the guy making the burritos? The startup costs for this can't be too high...

What classes did you take?

The pre-med ones