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Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers

Also called: Mine Engineer, Mining Consultant, Mining Engineer, Project Engineer

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.

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Median pay BLS, 2025$106,220
Openings a year BLS, 2025–35300
Typical education to start BLSBachelor's degree
AI exposure BLS, Aug 2026 High
Projected job growth BLS, 2025–35 +3.8%

What the data says: AI could halve the time on 10 of its 18 tasks, yet jobs are projected to grow 3.8% by 2035. How to think about this →

About this projection

BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”

It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”

On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”

Recent conditions

  • From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 7.9 hires for every 10 job openings in professional and business services, which employs about 46% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.

How to read these

Pay compared with all occupations BLS median wages Pays more than 88% of 825 occupations
lowest-paidhighest-paid

Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates

$70k$158knot published

Median pay in every state
StateMedianMiddle half earnJobs
Alabama$102,530$72,490 to $124,99090
Alaska$124,630$98,870 to $141,080300
Arizona$102,130$97,130 to $124,700690
California$158,130$122,120 to $169,770520
Colorado$96,820$78,180 to $123,650670
Florida$117,500$104,630 to $136,75050
Idaho$123,680$100,520 to $124,540110
Illinois$107,690$93,590 to $131,160not published
Indiana$113,640$92,610 to $131,82060
Kentucky$103,300$83,380 to $127,820230
Michigan$97,310$78,640 to $134,170140
Minnesota$91,610$86,370 to $108,18070
Missourinot publishednot published40
Montana$105,410$98,200 to $106,350110
Nevada$107,500$97,810 to $131,210470
New Mexiconot publishednot published270
New York$82,200$69,880 to $122,35050
North Carolina$70,310$54,580 to $86,400not published
Ohio$86,210$82,020 to $133,02070
Oklahoma$131,660$102,960 to $132,58090
Oregon$96,210$89,020 to $127,96090
Pennsylvania$87,020$70,710 to $116,460not published
South Carolina$98,790$82,240 to $128,43040
Tennessee$100,390$66,270 to $112,990not published
Texas$100,580$89,960 to $131,900160
Utah$125,520$108,170 to $142,160230
Virginia$104,960$78,230 to $131,730150
West Virginia$97,960$79,330 to $120,620440
Wisconsin$95,950$87,790 to $150,40040
Wyoming$119,010$112,150 to $156,510210

Nationally: $106,220. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this

How AI touches the work

What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.

AI could halve the time on 10 of its 18 tasks

6 · AI alone could halve the time 4 · AI + software built on it could 8 · Not much
AI ratingIts main tasks Share of Claude conversations
May 2026
AI alone Prepare technical reports for use by mining, engineering, and management personnel. Not published
Not much Inspect mining areas for unsafe structures, equipment, and working conditions. Not published
AI alone 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. Not published
Not much Design, implement, and monitor the development of mines, facilities, systems, or equipment. Not published
AI alone Examine maps, deposits, drilling locations, or mines to determine the location, size, accessibility, contents, value, and potential profitability of mineral, oil, and gas deposits. Not published
AI alone Prepare schedules, reports, and estimates of the costs involved in developing and operating mines. Not published
See all 18 tasks
AI alone Select or develop mineral location, extraction, and production methods, based on factors such as safety, cost, and deposit characteristics. Not published
AI + software Monitor mine production rates to assess operational effectiveness. Not published
Not much Supervise, train, and evaluate technicians, technologists, survey personnel, engineers, scientists or other mine personnel. Not published
AI + software Implement and coordinate mine safety programs, including the design and maintenance of protective and rescue equipment and safety devices. Not published
Not much Devise solutions to problems of land reclamation and water and air pollution, such as methods of storing excavated soil and returning exhausted mine sites to natural states. Not published
AI + software Design, develop, and implement computer applications for use in mining operations such as mine design, modeling, or mapping or for monitoring mine conditions. under 0.01%
Not much Lay out, direct, and supervise mine construction operations, such as the construction of shafts and tunnels. Not published
Not much Conduct or direct mining experiments to test or prove research findings. Not published
Not much Test air to detect toxic gases and recommend measures to remove them, such as installation of ventilation shafts. Not published
AI alone Select or devise materials-handling methods and equipment to transport ore, waste materials, and mineral products efficiently and economically. Not published
AI + software Evaluate data to develop new mining products, equipment, or processes. Not published
Not much Design mining and mineral treatment equipment and machinery in collaboration with other engineering specialists. Not published

Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 1 of the 18 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.

Where people already use AI

The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 18 tasks fall under 24 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.

Tasks AI could speed up10 of 18 tasksEloundou et al. ratings (2023)
Its activities among the 50 people ask AI for help with most5 of 24 activities
  • #4 Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise
  • #8 Read documents or materials to inform work processes
  • #20 Present research or technical information
  • and 2 more, in the table below
Microsoft Copilot (2024), ranked among all 332 activities. The cut-off of 50 is ours.
Work activity This occupation's tasks under it People asked AI for help
in 10,000 conversations		 AI did it for them
in 10,000 conversations
Determine operational methods or procedures 45#37 22#46
Select materials or equipment for operations or projects 45#38 19#49
Monitor operations to ensure adequate performance 3.59#153 0.73#180
Design industrial systems or equipment 0.47#273 0.18#248
Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise 408#4 247#8
Read documents or materials to inform work processes 197#8 47#28
Present research or technical information 100#20 339#6
Plan work activities 21#55 14#57
Show all 24 activities
Develop operational or technical procedures or standards 13#79 9.18#68
Evaluate designs, specifications, or other technical data 11#85 4.31#100
Design computer or information systems or applications 11#87 2.42#122
Research organizational behavior, processes, or performance 9.53#90 1.14#159
Investigate organizational or operational problems 7.23#108 2.15#125
Schedule operational activities 4.88#128 2.89#116
Resolve personnel or operational problems 4.79#129 2.96#114
Estimate project development or operational costs 4.43#137 2.69#118
Prepare reports of operational or procedural activities 4.23#140 2.99#113
Inspect facilities or equipment 2.73#174 0.73#181
Design structures or facilities 1.61#209 0.53#197
Train others on operational or work procedures 1.60#211 29#38
Coordinate regulatory compliance activities 1.52#213 1.05#166
Advise others on workplace health or safety issues 0.74#252 5.54#82
Supervise personnel activities 0.56#266 0.05#283
Direct construction or extraction activities 0.06#321 0.03#293
Task: AI alone Task: AI + software Task: not much #: rank among all 332 activities Microsoft measured (#1 = most common; activities that never came up share last place, shown as “tied”)
Where the two sources differ: “Coordinate regulatory compliance activities” holds 1 task rated AI + software, yet people asked AI for help with it in 1.52 of every 10,000 conversations, #213 of 332.

How people in this work use Claude

What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations

  • An app or website26%
  • A script or snippet15%
  • Data or a spreadsheet12%
  • A document or report8%
  • Code fixes or debugging8%

How they worked with Claude

50% handed the task off50% worked on it together

65% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.

How to read this

Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for mining and geological engineers, including mining safety engineers specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.

The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.

More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude

High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs

BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.

AI exposure and projected job growth, 831 occupationsLow exposure: 134 of 213 occupations projected to grow. Moderate exposure: 151 of 206 occupations projected to grow. High exposure: 165 of 206 occupations projected to grow. Very high exposure: 141 of 206 occupations projected to grow.-20%-15%-10%-5%0%+5%+10%+15%+20%+25%Low134 of 213 growingModerate151 of 206 growingHigh165 of 206 growingVery high141 of 206 growing11 occupations outside −20% to +25% are drawn at the edge. Click a dot to see that occupation.Mining and geological engineers, including mining safety engineers: +3.8%Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety EngineersAI exposure and projected job growth, 831 occupationsLow exposure: 134 of 213 occupations projected to grow. Moderate exposure: 151 of 206 occupations projected to grow. High exposure: 165 of 206 occupations projected to grow. Very high exposure: 141 of 206 occupations projected to grow.-20%-15%-10%-5%0%+5%+10%+15%+20%+25%Low134 of 213Moderate151 of 206High165 of 206Very high141 of 20611 occupations outside −20% to +25% are drawn at the edge. Tap a dot.Mining and geological engineers, including mining safety engineers: +3.8%Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers

Career moves into and out of this occupation

From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.

Where people moved next

of 1,197 moves out

  1. 1 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 7%
  2. 2 General and Operations Managers High +5.0% 6%
  3. 3 Chief Executives Very high +3.2% 6%
  4. 4 Architectural and Engineering Managers High +5.5% 4%
  5. 5 Environmental Engineers Very high +6.3% 4%

Where people moved in from

of 1,261 moves in

  1. 1 General and Operations Managers High +5.0% 7%
  2. 2 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 7%
  3. 3 Construction Managers High +9.1% 6%
  4. 4 Environmental Engineers Very high +6.3% 5%
  5. 5 Computer Occupations, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%

Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).

Education and training for the occupation

Education people in it hold

O*NET survey of workers in this occupation

  • 1% some college
  • 1% associate's
  • 79% bachelor's
  • 17% post-bachelor's certificate
  • 3% master's

O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 20 people answered.

Programs that prepare people for it (NCES)
3 programs: Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, Mining and Mineral Engineering and Geological/Geophysical Engineering.

Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023

98.2% this occupation

45.3% all occupations

By kindThis occupationAll occupations
a certification9.6%5.8%
an educational certificate<0.5%2.8%
a licensenot published

Share of jobs whose employer requires it. BLS doesn't say which credential. How to read this

Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor

  • Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
  • Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
  • License Finder ↗ licenses by state
  • Apprenticeship Finder ↗ DOL lists 2 registered apprenticeships in this occupation (MINE INSPECT. (Gov) Metal-Nonmetal; MINE INSPECTOR (Gov) Coal). Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers” there.

These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide

See where your own career could go Start by uploading your resume Browse careers

BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS

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