Careers Information

Luke ‘Brian’ Hoey started working for us in 2011 as an Offsider in Western Australia. He is now a Supervisor, running up to 8 drill crews of his own. Luke shares his experiences and some advice from each stage of his career as he progressed from an offsider through to his current management role.

I started working with DDH1 Drilling as an offsider when I was a fresh faced 19-year-old in October 2011. I hadn’t been sheltered from hard work growing up but offsiding took my impression of hard work to the next level.

I worked and used muscles I never even knew existed. When I first started I would often wake up in the middle of the night with my arms cramped up like a t-rex, but after a while the body got used to it and all of a sudden throwing rods around became easy. I used to enjoy treating the more labour-intensive tasks, like rodpulls and running bags, like a sport and took satisfaction out of getting the job done as fast as I possibly could.

The period of being an offsider is, in my opinion, probably the most important part of learning to become a driller

You work with a range of different people with different skill sets. You learn to build and rebuild all the downhole equipment that is essential to drilling, getting to know all the different parts and how they work along the way. You are responsible for the maintenance and preventive maintenance on the rig and all the support equipment and you start to learn the sweet science that is drilling. Along the way you’ll help deal with mechanical issues, down hole problems, logistic problems, communications issues and bad weather. You’ll watch and learn how to deal with those problems and sometimes you’ll see exactly what not to do in those situations. It’s a massive learning experience. It pays to be a sponge and take it all in while you don’t have the responsibility of running your own shift because it will help you out a lot in the long run – or at least it certainly helped me.

Stepping up to become a driller is another ball game. I loved being on the levers, and often wondered how 12 hours went by so quickly

Time management and thinking ahead is crucial, and you now have the responsibility of directing and training a couple of people to ensure your shift is both safe and productive. And just because you’re drilling doesn’t mean you aren’t learning new things. Even after many years you still learn more and more each day. It can be stressful, especially when things like breakdowns or down-hole issues occur but it’s all about taking it in your stride and working to find a solution. There’s also a number of people out there with bucket loads of experience that can help you out of a pickle and they’re only a phone call away. Every situation is an opportunity to learn and build on your experience.

I am now a Supervisor at DDH1 Drilling and that is different again. You take all the experience you have gained in the years of transitioning from an offsider and through the different levels of being a driller and use it to help out the people you are responsible for as much as you can.

There’s a lot of problem solving, and sometimes a lot of the problems aren’t even drilling related. You will start dealing with a whole new range of people and challenges, more employees, different clients, working with other contractors and transport and logistics companies. You also get a bit more of a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes to keep this show on the road. Probably not as ‘fun’ as being an offsider or a driller as you’ve got to be a bit more responsible and set an example but it is very rewarding and I’m still learning something new most days.

In addition to the work it can also be a great time, and you make some really good mates along the way. You get to see parts of Australia that you never would have seen otherwise. You basically get paid to go on a camping trip for a month at a time.

It can certainly be a bit hard working away, being away from your family and friends and missing out on things that you could do if you were home but it is what you make it. Some of the best and funniest experiences I’ve had in my life have been while I’ve been working away with DDH1 Drilling.

There are not many jobs in Australia that you can walk into with little to no experience or qualifications and make over $100K, while only working 8 months of the year. Don’t get me wrong you have to work for it.

The days can be long and the long swings can be hard, not just on yourself but the people waiting at home but the positives outweigh the negatives more often than not. From my own financial perspective, I’m definitely not good with money, but I’ve made enough in my time to have had four different houses, plenty of fun toys, paid for my own wedding and I’m still not broke so I reckon that’s pretty good going.

Drilling and FIFO can be an unpredictable ball game at times, which can make it hard to plan ahead. You will also miss birthdays, sporting events, festivals and other things you would like to be home to attend but sometimes you’ve just got to roll with the punches and get on with it.

Wherever possible, DDH1 Drilling will look after you, not just at work, but they have also been really supportive for me when I’ve had things happening personally as well.