The Midland, Texas area is in the middle of a huge oil boom. It is both a disaster and a blessing at the same time. For teachers, it’s very very bad and schools in that area can’t hire teachers because the rents are so high.
For workers, it’s a blessing, because there are a plethora of high paying jobs and even Burger King has to pay it’s employees $16 an hour to start. For barbers, you can make $180,000 a year.
Of course, you have to be creative. In the basin area, there are many very small towns that don’t offer the things you take for granted living in a city.
Barbers are earning as much as $180,000 a year in West Texas, one of the hottest job markets in the country, The Wall Street Journal reports.
An oil boom that has taken hold over the Permian Basin is leading to so much economic activity and expansion, the area can barely keep pace. Barbers in Pecos are charging a minimum of $40 for a haircut and are busy for hours without stopping, according to WSJ.
Schools in the regions in and around Midland are struggling to hire teachers because housing prices have risen so high. Some districts have taken to building their own housing on school property to attract educators to move to the area, WSJ reports.
The thousands of oil field workers bring additional foot traffic to the area’s relatively sparse towns and cities. Many restaurants are no longer frequented by local residents. Oil field workers line up outside before the diners open, and restaurants often close for the day because they ran out of food.