Yeah, there's definitely lots of variability in both the per diem rates and how people spend it. I'd work 4 weeks on/2 weeks off (and travel some more), which I

Yeah, there's definitely lots of variability in both the per diem rates and how people spend it. I'd work 4 weeks on/2 weeks off (and travel some more), which I valued more than being back in my apartment every night. We rented a 3BR for practically nothing and ate out just about every night (food was cheaper there than at home). I basically lived off of the per diem and put the actual salary away for the off-season. Most of the people I worked with, myself included, were young and (more importantly) single and traveling all over the country was a plus. One of the electrical foreman used to work in Antarctica, and I forget what insane amount of money he made there, but I'd definitely have jumped on that even for half the pay. Re: Hourly vs. Annual - I'm speaking more to the fact that it's non-linear, because of the per diem and lots of overtime. I'm not sure I'd call it glamorous, but I'd definitely do it again if I didn't have a family to consider. (My wife used to do commercial fishing, which is perhaps even more un-glamorous, but there's something satisfying about coming home after a few weeks with more money than you know what to do with - at least in your early/mid 20's.)