The mining industry is involved with extracting valuable resources that are found underground, including coal, metal, minerals and ore. Mining occurs all over the world; it is conducted wherever these raw materials are found. The modern world depends on mining, because the raw materials that are delivered by mining are crucial to many industries. Many types of manufacturing as well as the automotive and aerospace industries depend on mining. Even computers could not be built without silicon, a mineral whose strange electric properties make modern computers possible.
The mining industry is dominated by large, multinational corporations; this is because it takes a large investment to open a mine. Before mining can even begin, a company must build facilities to house workers and their equipment. Then, these workers and equipment must be transported to a remote location. Finally, mining can begin, but it may take months or years to become profitable. When profits do come, they can be enormous, but there is no guarantee of success.
To be effective and efficient, mining requires a large number of personnel with a wide range of skills. Engineers, geologists, machinery operators, surveyors and construction workers are all required — not to mention the support staff. It truly is a team effort. Some of the most important members of the team are mining and geological engineers. These skilled professionals determine the best places to find desired resources and the safest, most efficient way to remove them. What can you expect from a career as a mining or geological engineer?
Work Environment
Mining and geological engineers usually work full time. Their worksites are often in remote locations, and the job can involve significant travel all over the world. Partly due to these requirements, variable schedules and longer-than-average workweeks may be required occasionally. Most of the work will be done indoors, but engineers do inspect outdoor and underground mining facilities.
Education and Skills
To get started as a mining engineer, you will need a bachelor’s degree in engineering, geology or a related field from an accredited engineering program. You will also need strong critical thinking, problem solving, decision-making and communication skills.
Pay
Worldwide, the median income for a geological engineer is $83,980 per year. This is significantly higher than the median annual wage for all occupations. The highest-paid 10 percent of these professionals earned more than $140,000 per year.
Job Outlook
The current job outlook for mining engineers is good; the industry is currently experiencing growth. Many existing mining and geological engineers are nearing retirement age; this is likely to lead to a large number of available positions in medium term, over the next five to 10 years.
Working as a mining or geological engineer may not be the easiest job in the world, but the pay is better than average and it offers plenty of opportunities to travel to exotic locations around the world.
About the author:
Carol Sabovik is the Marketing Manager of TPC Wire & Cable Corp. in Macedonia, OH. TPC Wire & Cable is a leading supplier of electrical cable products used in harsh industrial environments like mining. TPC works with mines in the U.S. and internationally with cable assembly manufacturing, custom cable products and stocking many specially designed products for the mining industry. TPC’s products are designed and engineered to withstand harsh mining applications and environments including shuttle cars, trucks, pumps, conveyors/elevators, and portable power cables exposed to abrasion, impact and temperature extremes.