Career
Mining and geological engineers, including mining safety engineers
Plan mines and get resources out of the earth safely.
$106,220
Median pay
+3.8%
Job growth, 2025–35
300
Openings a year
Bachelor's degree
Typical education
4 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- 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.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then ideas & analysis?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Prepare technical reports for use by mining, engineering, and management personnel.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Complex Problem Solving, Writing, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
4 years of education after high school (bachelor's degree), for a median of $106,220 a year and 300 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Civil EngineeringSee the degree →
- Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental EngineeringCIP 14.0802
- Mining and Mineral EngineeringCIP 14.2101
- Geological/Geophysical EngineeringCIP 14.3901
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Petroleum Engineers$144,910 · +2.0%
- Civil Engineers$100,840 · +6.4%
- Geological Technicians, Except Hydrologic Technicians$53,350 · +3.6%
- Industrial Engineers$102,440 · +12.4%
- Geothermal Production Managers
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.