Todd Melby

The oil industry and the thousands of workers it's attracted have swallowed up communities like Williston, N.D., where neighborhoods on the edge of town now feel like they're in the center.

The oil boom in North Dakota has attracted tens of thousands of people looking for work. There are a lot of jobs, but it's not a boom for everyone.

Daniel Brock was happily teaching. Then he heard about jobs in the oil fields of North Dakota. Now he's happily working there.

Richard Karpe had his first roughneck job at age 11, on a rig run by his stepfather. He talks about the roughneck life and its hazards.

In any mining boom, some people are there to work in it, others are there to supply them. Need a knife in Williston, N.D.? Talk to Bobcat John.

The oil boom in North Dakota created tens of thousands of jobs with good wages -- in the middle of nowhere. So for workers across the U.S., the boom is an opportunity to get back on their feet, pay off debts, save some money, at a cost -- leaving their families behind.

North Dakota's oil boom has drawn thousands of workers to the state, overwhelming small towns. Rents are sky high. Workers live in barracks called mancamps. And there's not much to do besides work. One promoter brought martial arts fighting to town -- the Williston Basin Blowout.