Home state: Oregon
Occupation: Truck driver, Missouri Basin Well Services
Pay: $90,000 per year
During high school I polished aluminum wheels, dump truck wheels and boats. When I got out of school I bought a water truck and delivered water. I've always been really into cars and trucks, so three and a half years ago I sold everything I owned, bought a $100 toolbox from Walmart and opened an auto repair shop with my wife, where I mostly polished semis and did auto detailing.
I had the shop for a few years and it did great, but I still only pulled in about $30,000 in take-home pay. And then when the economy took a s***, I lost everything. I stopped getting business, and people didn't pay me for the work I had already done for them. The bank repossessed my car after I missed one month of payments, and my wife and I ended up moving in with her parents.
I had heard about the boom in North Dakota, and there were lots of jobs that I was qualified for since I've also been around autos. I started driving trucks here this year, and was lucky enough to find a room in a house for $350 a month.
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