Power Engineering in Calgary

[jhfreedom]

So with Accounting - Oil & Gas Production not being a possible designation for me (Will apply though since all the other courses are booked up), I thought I would ask you guys another question.

I do understand that most of you guys here on Beyond work in the business sectors of the industry (Instead of Trades, where lots of Edmontonians are employed in), I thought I might as well fire another question away while I am on it.

How's employment opportunity for Power Engineering (Building operator)? I am fully aware that most of the work is in Northern Alberta but also wanted to know what the possibilities would be in getting a job in Calgary (Or nearby).

I would prefer commercial but industrial wouldn't be too bad if it was close to the city.

Any of you guys know what the going pay rate is?

And if you were to obtain your Class 4 ticket, are there lots of employers in the city that will hire you and help you get your steam time?

I have asked SAIT in regards to this and didn't get a definite answer last time. So I will be asking again and will let you guys know if any of you guys might be interested in it.

In the meanwhile, please feel free to chime in if you know someone that is familiar with the industry.

Thank you once again.

[jhfreedom]

Mods, could you please move this thread over to "Careers" or "General" if possible? I am not getting many hits...

Thanks a bunch!!!

[Darkane]

Originally posted by jhfreedom
So with Accounting - Oil & Gas Production not being a possible designation for me (Will apply though since all the other courses are booked up), I thought I would ask you guys another question.

I do understand that most of you guys here on Beyond work in the business sectors of the industry (Instead of Trades, where lots of Edmontonians are employed in), I thought I might as well fire another question away while I am on it.

How's employment opportunity for Power Engineering (Building operator)? I am fully aware that most of the work is in Northern Alberta but also wanted to know what the possibilities would be in getting a job in Calgary (Or nearby).

I would prefer commercial but industrial wouldn't be too bad if it was close to the city.

Any of you guys know what the going pay rate is?

And if you were to obtain your Class 4 ticket, are there lots of employers in the city that will hire you and help you get your steam time?

I have asked SAIT in regards to this and didn't get a definite answer last time. So I will be asking again and will let you guys know if any of you guys might be interested in it.

In the meanwhile, please feel free to chime in if you know someone that is familiar with the industry.

Thank you once again.

Lots of Building operator work in Calgary.

It's the Oil and Gas that's hard to get into near by Calgary.

Being a Building op won't net you a lot of income right off the bat. The big money is made in the plants be in Just outside of Calgary, Edmonton or Fort Mcmurray.

Edit: Just re-read your post. You will most likely NOT find steam time in Town.

Best bet would be to try and work in a hospital. Steam time is found in Plants.

[Cos]

My buddy works for ADL and took Power Engineering at SAIT. They are a distiller in Calgary. He is an operator of their automated distilling system for making booze.

Lots of Power Engineers work for Atco/TranAlta/Epcor in the generating stations but lots of gens are a long way from Calgary. From what I remember about our tour with Hannah, you have to live in either Hannah or Drumheller in case of emergency so you usually have a distance from the plant you need to live for response time.

[georgemagana]

Just like Darkane said, there are tons of building operator jobs in calgary or any city. In my opinion, if you are gonna get into power enginnering go all the way or dont try and here are my reasons hope they help you

1)Building operators only make like $25/hour.
2) the job is super boring ( all my friends who did it during school hated it)
3) If you stay with the 4th its gonna be super hard to find a job
4) you dont even need to go to sait to be a 4th class and work as a building operator so dont waste your money

And to your second question.. there are tons of jobs for power enginners out there right now. About 50 to 60% of my classmates and me already have jobs lined up after graduation ( in 2 weeks) and there also about 6 o 7 plants within 1 hour of calgary that i know. Im pretty sure there are more plants around the city. If you get the 3rd class and work at a plant around the city you will be making around $33-35/hour, if you go up north, most places will pay you around $40 to start.

Hope this helps

[jhfreedom]

Hey guys, good insights. I have been hearing pretty much the same thing you guys are telling me.

I don't mind going industrial and working in a plant because of family reasons, I would have to be in the city.

In Edmonton, most graduates usually end up working out of town up north to gain experience and come back into close to city limits (For example, Shell Scotford, Dow).

So my other questions were,

1. I do understand that building operators don't make much as industrial. But from my understanding, commercials have better advancement opportunities and are M-F day shifts compared to industrial where shift work and forced OT are present. Isn't that true?

2. In order to become a Building Operator, don't you still need a relevant experience to work in the field? For a guy like myself that is new, such positions are nearly impossible to grab anyways so thought I would just get that Class 4 and work and gain experience and move up.

3. So if you can't get Steam Time in the city, you would have to work out of town. No problem with that as long as I can commute between jobs within Calgary. Will end up purchasing something in the far ends of the city then to avoid the traffic rush so I think it'll be pretty much similar to commuting downtown. But they don't hire Class 4s and are willing to give them Steam Time are they?

4. If they aren't willing to give them Steam Time, I am willing to try to bust up the Distance Learning program and go for the Class 3. How hard is it to do on your own if you guys don't mind me asking? I had very good marks in High School (90s in Math, Chemistry, Physics but like a 50 in English 30 lol) but haven't been to school for a long time so I wonder how Distance Learning would be compared to doing it traditionally.

5. If I was to go hard on the Theory part, how long would it take an individual to get it done? For both Class 3 and 4? I did hear that they are somewhat very similar...

6. SAIT also does offer a 5-week lab course in the summer. So if money towards education was not an issue, couldn't I simply just re-take those labs over and over again to gain Steam Time and eventually obtain the Class 3?

7. I do understand that Calgary is a very money driven city. However, $33-35 per hour I would be definitely content with as long as advancement opportunities are present. Eventually, people just go get their Class 2s and work in the office correct? I heard those pay big bucks and you don't do anything but monitor the control panel. Although I hear that it gets old watching multiple screens all day.

Thanks very much for your replies and please do correct me if I have been misinformed by any chance.

P.S: You guys get lots of snow down there? We got a good share of it starting this morning (Around 8-9 ish) and it's still pouring!!!

[georgemagana]

1) Yes im pretty sure building operators have better shifts. If you go out to a plant they work in 4 or 5 week rotations. So u might have a really hard week (workind 6 days) but then you would get 10 days off. Some companies do 7 days in 7 out.

2) It would be easier to get the job if you go to sait( a few friends did it with no experiece) And theres no where to go up as a building operator. You would still be a building operator just making a bit more money

3) Again if you go to sait it would be easier to get a job with the 4th class maybe as a summer student and they will give you steam time for sure. Again theres like 6 or more plants within an hour so you should be good.]

4)a friend of mine did the long distance 3rd class and he said it was easy but you need to be able to study by your own. You might get the 3rd in 5 months but you get no steam time for it. Thats where sait helps you out

5) Totally depends on you. 4 to 8 months maybe.
The 4th class is more about useless math and mechanics and super basic concepts about boilers and a lot of building operator systems and how they work
In the 3rd class you will go in depth on every single basic concept you saw(but no more building operator stuff) in the 4th and a LOT more.

6)Maybe. I heard that 5 week course is super intense and you are in the lab every day for like 10 hours lol

7) 2nd class is not at an office. It is in the control room. I met guys with 20 years of experience in the control room and they still love it.

[jhfreedom]

Hey George, just a few more questions lol!!! At least this would provide future reference to those who are looking into having PE as a career as well.

1. So those 6 or more plants that are within an hour away from the city, they are willing to hire guys with just a Class 4? What about guys with just Class 4 theory and need steam time (Meaning no Class 4 certificate)?

2. And what about those plants? Would they require you to live in the town close to it? Or would they be okay as long as you live close to the outskirts of the city?

There is a Shell 3rd Class PE job posting (IMHO a very good company to work for and close to the city) and if I recall correctly, you just have to be within 60 minutes away from the facility.

3. How much equivalent Steam Time is that SAIT summer lab course? It is a 200 hour course, so I am assuming just 1 month Steam Time? I will look into it and see if they allow you to take the course over and over again to gain Steam Time.

4. You said SAIT helps you out if you don't get your Steam Time when you try to go for your 3rd after obtaining your 4th. What do you mean by that? As far as I know, if you have decided to go the Distance Learning route, you aren't able to enroll in the traditional 2-year program.

5. How long did it take your friend to get his 3rd Class from the time he started? Was he able to find an employer who would give him Steam Time and a possible permanent position?

6. So those facilities just outside of the city are pretty easy to get into once you have your 3rd Class correct?

7. What about employment outlook? Are there lots of people retiring? The coordinator at SAIT mentioned that there are lots of 1st and 2nd Class PE's retiring. Just wanted some more insight from those that are currently in the program.

Thanks so much once again. Love this forum!!!

[georgemagana]

1) No. They will only hire people with the 3rd class for a permanent job but they hire 4th class summer students.

2) I dont think so. At least Shell doesnt because none of my friends moved away last summer and the ones that got a permanet job for this year (we are just about to get the 3rd class) will stay here in the city so you are good

3) I have no idea about this one :(

4) Sorry i had really bad wording on this one. I meant to say that the advantange of going to SAIT is that you can get hired as a summer student with your 4th class ( SAIT gives you the steam time to get your 4th class ticket) And if you get hired over the summer, the company who hires you will give you the steam time for your 3rd class

5) I never asked him how long it took him and i met him last summer on my summer job so we dont talk anymore so I cant help you on this one BUT yeah he was already working with his 4th and did the 3rd while working and got the steam time at that plant

6) I dont know if easy is the word but the oportunity is there you know. Like everyone in the industry says get the 2nd and you will work wherever you want. So the 3rd helps but with the 2nd is really hard for them not to hire you lol

7) Yes a bunch of people retiring. Mitch ( the coodinator) told us last year that we are the golden generation because all the old guys are retiring and the province is gonna run short on 2nd and mainly 1st classes so we have an easier chance to get a job.

Right now the industry is going up again and theres a few projects that are gonna be ready next year mainly up north and companies like Imperial Oil and Cenovus are gonna need 100s of operatos in places like Christina lake and cold lake so the jobs will be out there for sure

[jhfreedom]

Hey George, still got questions!!!

1. You previously mentioned that about 50-60% in the class have jobs lined up after graduation. If you don't mind me asking, what about the rest 40%? Are they simply underachieving students in your class or do you think that they haven't looked into it further?

2. Out of all you guys that graduated, what proportion of you guys are working around the city and out of town? Do people generally like going out of town because there is much more money to be made?

3. So I am wondering how employment could be easy to obtain (Around the city) if there are only 6-7 plants. If so, how many operators do each plant consist of?

4. Is it very easy to find those operator jobs around the city at the moment if you had your Class 3?

5. So in the employers' views, is it advantageous for the person who took the Traditional course in SAIT compared to someone who did it through Distance Learning?

Or is it just simply advantageous for the person who went through the Traditional way because it is easy for that person to find Steam Time (In addition, all the registration for the Government exams are done for you)?

6. So if you are hired as a summer student, do you still get paid as you learn? And those plants (The ones around the city), will they hire an individual that has completed his 4th Class Theory and want to gain work experience?
What about other times of the year since I will be doing it through Distance Learning?

7. If you could name or PM me those plants around the city, that would be much appreciated. And perhaps a future reference should I not be able to find employment.

For all you other guys who are looking to get into PE like myself, there is a huge thread on 780Tuners so please take a look since it'll answer pretty much all the questions you have.

http://forums.780tuners.com/showthread.php?t=122142&highlight=power+engineering

[Redlined_8000]

Originally posted by jhfreedom
Hey George, still got questions!!!

1. You previously mentioned that about 50-60% in the class have jobs lined up after graduation. If you don't mind me asking, what about the rest 40%? Are they simply underachieving students in your class or do you think that they haven't looked into it further?

Some just cant get jobs and some suck at school..... If your resume is bad they dont call, and sometimes you just get unlucky.

2. Out of all you guys that graduated, what proportion of you guys are working around the city and out of town? Do people generally like going out of town because there is much more money to be made?


maybe 30% ishhhh around city and the rest outside


3. So I am wondering how employment could be easy to obtain (Around the city) if there are only 6-7 plants. If so, how many operators do each plant consist of?

i dont know. depends on the plant.... 2-15 operators lets say

4. Is it very easy to find those operator jobs around the city at the moment if you had your Class 3?

It depends on you!! if you study hard and you know your shit, have a good interview and show good initiative, you will be hired... simple as that

5. So in the employers' views, is it advantageous for the person who took the Traditional course in SAIT compared to someone who did it through Distance Learning?

Or is it just simply advantageous for the person who went through the Traditional way because it is easy for that person to find Steam Time (In addition, all the registration for the Government exams are done for you)?
yes it is advantagous to take it through sait

6. So if you are hired as a summer student, do you still get paid as you learn? And those plants (The ones around the city), will they hire an individual that has completed his 4th Class Theory and want to gain work experience?
What about other times of the year since I will be doing it through Distance Learning?
yup you can get hired and get paid for it. Some people also have practicums where you dont get paid, but still get time

7. If you could name or PM me those plants around the city, that would be much appreciated. And perhaps a future reference should I not be able to find employment.

do it yourself.

For all you other guys who are looking to get into PE like myself, there is a huge thread on 780Tuners so please take a look since it'll answer pretty much all the questions you have.

http://forums.780tuners.com/showthread.php?t=122142&highlight=power+engineering



hope this helps!

I go to school with george by the way