Employee Story
Daniel Rear
From Offsider to Field Supervisor
My name is Daniel Rear, and I am a Drilling Field Supervisor – Water Well working in Western Australia.
I first found my way into drilling when I was 20. A friend I hadn’t seen for a while told me about the drilling work he had been doing and explained what it involved. That piqued my interest, and two weeks later I was living out of a swag and working on a drill rig in Western Australia. I never looked back.
I joined Boart Longyear as an offsider on a dual tube flooded reverse rig and had the opportunity to learn from some incredibly experienced people. Brian Matthews was my driller, with Bernard Snyckers and Glenn Bonacchi as supervisors. Their knowledge of water well drilling, and their willingness to explain, teach, and share that knowledge, gave me a strong foundation and showed me how much there was to learn in the industry.
Over the following years, I continued developing as a driller before being given the opportunity to move into a supervisory role. For me, supervision was a chance to support the crews in a different way: to advocate for what they need, help remove some of the frustrations I had experienced as a driller and create the same kinds of development opportunities that others had given me.
Today, I work in the Pilbara supporting water well and dewatering operations in challenging ground conditions. The work continues to give me new problems to solve and new things to learn, which is a big part of what has kept me interested in drilling and in developing as a supervisor.
Above all, the people have made the difference. I have been fortunate to work with people I can learn from, share knowledge with and genuinely enjoy working alongside. That makes the job about more than the work itself.
For anyone considering a career with Boart Longyear, I would say you get out what you put in. You do not need to arrive knowing everything. Come in with a good attitude, be willing to learn and take the opportunities in front of you. If you want to develop, there are people here willing to invest the time and help you succeed.