Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers
Science, Technology, Engineering and MathematicsO*NET 17-2151.00United States
Conduct subsurface surveys to identify the characteristics of potential land or mining development sites. May specify the ground support systems, processes, and equipment for safe, economical, and environmentally sound extraction or underground construction activities.
- Median annual earnings
- $106,988
- Projected change
- +3.5%
- Typical education
- Bachelor's degree
- Employment
- 7.5K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
95.7% of the workforce
Growing to 7.76K by 2035
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The work
What mining and geological engineers, including mining safety engineers do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Prepare technical reports for use by mining, engineering, and management personnel.
- Inspect mining areas for unsafe structures, equipment, and working conditions.
- Select or develop mineral location, extraction, and production methods, based on factors such as safety, cost, and deposit characteristics.
- Select locations and plan underground or surface mining operations, specifying processes, labor usage, and equipment that will result in safe, economical, and environmentally sound extraction of minerals and ores.
- Prepare schedules, reports, and estimates of the costs involved in developing and operating mines.
- Monitor mine production rates to assess operational effectiveness.
- Supervise, train, and evaluate technicians, technologists, survey personnel, engineers, scientists or other mine personnel.
- Examine maps, deposits, drilling locations, or mines to determine the location, size, accessibility, contents, value, and potential profitability of mineral, oil, and gas deposits.
- Design, implement, and monitor the development of mines, facilities, systems, or equipment.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $66,093
- 25th percentile
- $84,075
- 50th percentile
- $106,988
- 75th percentile
- $139,058
- 90th percentile
- $175,233
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $106,988 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+3.5%average or slower
20257,497 jobs
2035 projected7,756 jobs
259 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Bachelor's degree
- 95.7%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 3%
- Some college
- 0.6%
- Associate degree
- 0.6%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Geotechnical Engineers1,016 postings
- 02Project Engineers346 postings
- 03Mining Engineers226 postings
- 04Mine Engineers179 postings
- 05Geotechnical Project Engineers165 postings
- 06Civil/Geotechnical Engineers100 postings
- 07Staff Geotechnical Engineers91 postings
- 08Geotechnical Engineers/Project Managers80 postings
- 09Underground Miners77 postings
- 10Principal Engineers65 postings
- 11Mine Planning Engineers61 postings
- 12Civil Project Engineers53 postings
- 13Civil Project Managers46 postings
- 14Environmental Engineers/Project Managers44 postings
- 15Geotechnical Engineering Interns42 postings
- 16Engineering Interns39 postings
- 17Summer Interns39 postings
- 18Environmental Engineers/Scientists/Geologists36 postings
- 19Environmental Engineers/Geologists34 postings
- 20Civil/Environmental Engineers32 postings
Top employers
- 01WSP Global195 postings
- 02Hitachi121 postings
- 03Stantec104 postings
- 04AECOM97 postings
- 05Kiewit Corporation97 postings
- 06CDM Smith79 postings
- 07Mcmillen75 postings
- 08S&Me71 postings
- 09Barrick (HMC) Mining Company59 postings
- 10Nevada Gold Mines51 postings
- 11Barrick Gold Corporation49 postings
- 12Kleinfelder49 postings
- 13Freeport-McMoRan48 postings
- 14Actalent47 postings
- 15Haley & Aldrich43 postings
- 16Jacobs Solutions43 postings
- 17Universal Engineering Sciences40 postings
- 18Rio Tinto Group36 postings
- 19Geosyntec Consultants35 postings
- 20Jobot35 postings
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