Originally Posted by Botnst

In the oil patch, real estate is booming. The employment rate is very high and wages have significant upward pressure. there are billboards on I-10 from Mobile to Houston advertising jobs offshore from entry level (roustabout, http://www.infooil.com/jobsbytitle/Roustabout.aspx --> now there's a job for a high school grad looking for high pay and high intensity without firearms!) to captains of seagoing vessels. Think about it -- advertising for captains (engineers, mates, etc with papers) on the interstate. Those are high paying jobs. I have never seen that before.

With oil at $70/bbl, the offshore business is ripe for an ambitious person with skill, dependability, intelligence, and common sense.