Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers
Architecture and Engineering
The work starts with reading maps, drill results, and deposits to judge where minerals, oil, or gas sit and whether they can be reached at a workable cost. From there, the job is to choose extraction methods and plan underground or surface operations—equipment, labor, and ground support—so the work stays safe, affordable, and environmentally sound. Time is also spent inspecting mine areas to spot unsafe structures, equipment, or conditions, writing reports and cost estimates, watching production rates, and training the technicians and survey crews who carry out the plan. Suits people who like combining site inspection with cost and safety calculations and writing those findings for managers and engineers.
Typical education: Bachelor’s Degree (4-year)
Annual Median Wage in Field (2025)
$106'220
Median Wage Market Position
$106'220
What you might do
- Examine maps and deposits to size up a site
- Choose sites and plan how mining will proceed
- Inspect mines for unsafe ground and equipment
- Select extraction methods that fit the deposit
- Estimate the cost of opening and running mines
- Track mine output to judge how well it runs
Skills that matter
- Inspecting mines for unsafe conditions
- Choosing extraction methods and equipment
- Estimating mine development costs
- Writing reports for mining managers
- Training and evaluating mine personnel
- Reading maps to size mineral deposits
AI & the future of this role
Site modeling and data analysis could increasingly support planning, yet safe mine design still depends on field conditions and regulatory accountability. On-site judgment, safety program leadership, and liability for extraction operations tend to limit full automation of the role.
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Includes O*NET® 30.3 Database information by USDOL/ETA under CC BY 4.0; modified by LostInCareer. Wage/outlook from BLS. Attribution details