I think a lot about training and thought about it again as I read freelancer Aaron Foley’s article this month (page 32) on a gas well simulator at the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport, Pa. These types of simulators aren’t new, of course. Penn College bought this one from a college in Arkansas, restored it and moved it to Pennsylvania. So far, they’ve used it to train about 50 students for various jobs in shale-rich areas (like the Marcellus Shale, which cuts a wide swath through the center of Pennsylvania). Those floorhands and roustabouts make decent money. It’s hard work, but necessary work, to keep the United States on an even keel, energy-wise.
Jobs in water well drilling aren’t what they used to be. Recently, I spoke with one of my water well drilling columnists, and talk always comes around to how “mature” the industry is. That statement carries a lot of water. When we talk “mature,” it has connotations: an aging workforce, a way of doing things that doesn’t change much anymore.