I have not been protesting pipelines my entire life. You state you don't generally believe in estimates or statistics. The 20,000 estimated by TransCanada is USA, shovel ready jobs only. This does not include their indirect jobs estimate, such as the ones you describe.

Check this article out for information relating to Keystone Pipeline jobs --> http://thinkprogress.org/green/2011/12/16/391272/myth-that-keystone-xl-creates-jobs-perpetuated-by-oil-lobby-parroted-by-congresss-oil-recipients/

An excerpt from the research reads: "However, studies conducted independently of TransCanada find much smaller jobs numbers, far from “tens of thousands.” An oil contractor hired by the State Department reported it would create between 5,000 and 6,000 temporary jobs, while an independent study by Cornell University found it would create only 500 to 1,400 temporary jobs. Once the costs of the increased pollution and risk of oil spills is factored in, Cornell found, the jobs impact is likely to be negative. The “118,000 spin-off jobs” number used by TransCanada received two Pinocchios from the Washington Post Fact Checker."