---
title: "Mining and Geological Engineer, Including Mining Safety Engineers"
description: "Conduct subsurface surveys to identify the characteristics of potential land or mining development sites. May specify the ground support systems…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/mining-and-geological-engineer"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Mining and Geological Engineer, Including Mining Safety Engineers

**Category:** Architecture and Engineering · **SOC code:** 17-2151 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 17-2151.00

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. May inspect areas for unsafe geological conditions, equipment, and working conditions. May design, implement, and coordinate mine safety programs.

Also advertised as: Mine Engineer; Mining Consultant; Mining Engineer; Planning Engineer; Project Engineer; Safety Engineer; Safety Representative.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $106,220 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $51.07/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $67,490 to $169,990, with the middle half between $85,280 and $136,590
- **Total US employment:** 6,080
- **Typical entry education:** Bachelor's
- **Preparation required:** Medium preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +3.8% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 300 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 25/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 6,080 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $67,490 |
| 25th | $85,280 |
| 50th (median) | $106,220 |
| 75th | $136,590 |
| 90th | $169,990 |
| Mean (average) | $115,410 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CA | $158,130 | $142,820 | 520 |
| OK | $131,660 | $149,881 | 90 |
| UT | $125,520 | $126,962 | 230 |
| AK | $124,630 | $121,758 | 300 |
| ID | $123,680 | $129,516 | 110 |
| WY | $119,010 | $128,394 | 210 |
| FL | $117,500 | $113,621 | 50 |
| IN | $113,640 | $121,763 | 60 |
| IL | $107,690 | $107,735 | Not published by BLS |
| NV | $107,500 | $107,523 | 470 |
| MT | $105,410 | $111,374 | 110 |
| VA | $104,960 | $103,814 | 150 |
| KY | $103,300 | $114,575 | 230 |
| AL | $102,530 | $115,432 | 90 |
| AZ | $102,130 | $101,443 | 690 |

13 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 28 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/mining-and-geological-engineer/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/mining-and-geological-engineer.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 6,200 in the 2025–2035 base year to 6,400 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 200 jobs, or +3.8%. About as fast as average: 3.8% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 300 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** Bachelor's degree (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Medium preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** None.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| Bachelor's Degree | 79.1% |
| Post-Baccalaureate Certificate | 16.7% |
| Master's Degree | 3.0% |
| Some College Courses | 0.6% |
| Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree | 0.6% |

## What the work involves

- Prepare technical reports for use by mining, engineering, and management personnel.
- Design, implement, and monitor the development of mines, facilities, systems, or equipment.
- Examine maps, deposits, drilling locations, or mines to determine the location, size, accessibility, contents, value, and potential profitability of mineral, oil, and gas deposits.
- Prepare schedules, reports, and estimates of the costs involved in developing and operating mines.
- 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.
- 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.
- Monitor mine production rates to assess operational effectiveness.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Reading Comprehension — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Science — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Complex Problem Solving — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Systems Analysis — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Systems Evaluation — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Instructing — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operations Analysis — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Engineering and Technology — importance 4.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 4.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Production and Processing — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Design — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Administration and Management — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Oral Comprehension — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Comprehension — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Expression — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Expression — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Problem Sensitivity — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Deductive Reasoning — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Realistic (R), Investigative (I), Conventional (C).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 6.08 |
| I — Investigative | 5.58 |
| C — Conventional | 4.64 |
| E — Enterprising | 2.75 |
| S — Social | 1.84 |
| A — Artistic | 1.55 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ISTJ | 91.6 |
| ISTP | 83.8 |
| INTJ | 80.0 |
| ESTJ | 70.3 |
| ISFJ | 64.7 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ. The bank also flags this occupation as introvert-friendly, meaning O\*NET work-context ratings put it low on public contact and performing for the public.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Petroleum Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/petroleum-engineer) — median $144,910
- [Civil Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/civil-engineer) — median $100,840
- [Geological Technician, Except Hydrologic Technicians](https://nuecareer.com/careers/geological-technician) — median $53,350
- [Industrial Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/industrial-engineer) — median $102,440
- [Geothermal Production Manager](https://nuecareer.com/careers/geothermal-production-manager) — median $126,060
- [Chemical Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/chemical-engineer) — median $125,040
- [Environmental Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/environmental-engineer) — median $107,110
- [Water/Wastewater Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/water-wastewater-engineer) — median $100,840
- [Geoscientist, Except Hydrologists and Geographers](https://nuecareer.com/careers/geoscientist) — median $101,920
- [Civil Engineering Technologist and Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/civil-engineering-technologist-and-technician) — median $64,950

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/mining-and-geological-engineer