Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers
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Job Definition
Determine the location and plan the extraction of coal, metallic ores, nonmetallic minerals, and building materials, such as stone and gravel. Work involves conducting preliminary surveys of deposits or undeveloped mines and planning their development; examining deposits or mines to determine whether they can be worked at a profit; making geological and topographical surveys; evolving methods of mining best suited to character, type, and size of deposits; and supervising mining operations.
Job Zone

Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

Most of these occupations require a four - year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Interests
Realistic - Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Investigative - Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
Conventional - Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Knowledge
Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.
Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Skills
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.
Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
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.
Mathematics - Using mathematics to solve problems.
Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Tasks
Implement and coordinate mine safety programs, including the design and maintenance of protective and rescue equipment and safety devices.
Test air to detect toxic gases and recommend measures to remove them, such as installation of ventilation shafts.
Design, develop, and implement computer applications for use in mining operations such as mine design, modeling, or mapping or for monitoring mine conditions.
Select or devise materials-handling methods and equipment to transport ore, waste materials, and mineral products efficiently and economically.
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.
Lay out, direct, and supervise mine construction operations, such as the construction of shafts and tunnels.
Evaluate data to develop new mining products, equipment, or processes.
Conduct or direct mining experiments to test or prove research findings.
Design mining and mineral treatment equipment and machinery in collaboration with other engineering specialists.
Monitor mine production rates to assess operational effectiveness.
Inspect mining areas for unsafe structures, equipment, and working conditions.
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.
Examine maps, deposits, drilling locations, or mines to determine the location, size, accessibility, contents, value, and potential profitability of mineral, oil, and gas deposits.
Supervise and coordinate the work of technicians, technologists, survey personnel, engineers, scientists and other mine personnel.
Prepare schedules, reports, and estimates of the costs involved in developing and operating mines.
Wages

In 2008, the California average annual wage was $91,240.00.

Most people employed in this occupation were paid between $58,440.00 and $123,590.00.

Outlook

During 2004, there were approximately 310 people employed in this field in California. It is projected that there will be 290 employed in 2014. This occupation will have about -2 openings due to growth and about 9 replacement openings for approximately 7 total annual openings. This occupation experienced moderate decline.

Colleges and Training
Below are college programs that are generally associated with this occupation. To view colleges that offer these programs, click on the titles below.
Mining and Mineral Engineering - A program that prepares individuals to apply mathematical and scientific principles to the design, development and operational evaluation of mineral extraction, processing and refining systems, including open pit and shaft mines, prospecting and site analysis equipment and instruments, environmental and safety systems, mine equipment and facilities, mineral processing and refining methods and systems, and logistics and communications systems.
Similar Occupations
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Civil Engineers - Perform engineering duties in planning, designing, and overseeing construction and maintenance of building structures, and facilities, such as roads, railroads, airports, bridges, harbors, channels, dams, irrigation projects, pipelines, power plants, water and sewage systems, and waste disposal units. Includes architectural, structural, traffic, ocean, and geo-technical engineers.
Industrial Safety and Health Engineers - Plan, implement, and coordinate safety programs, requiring application of engineering principles and technology, to prevent or correct unsafe environmental working conditions.
Marine Engineers - Design, develop, and take responsibility for the installation of ship machinery and related equipment including propulsion machines and power supply systems.
Petroleum Engineers - Devise methods to improve oil and gas well production and determine the need for new or modified tool designs. Oversee drilling and offer technical advice to achieve economical and satisfactory progress.
Electrical Drafters - Develop specifications and instructions for installation of voltage transformers, overhead or underground cables, and related electrical equipment used to conduct electrical energy from transmission lines or high-voltage distribution lines to consumers.
Civil Engineering Technicians - Apply theory and principles of civil engineering in planning, designing, and overseeing construction and maintenance of structures and facilities under the direction of engineering staff or physical scientists.
Mechanical Engineering Technicians - Apply theory and principles of mechanical engineering to modify, develop, and test machinery and equipment under direction of engineering staff or physical scientists.
Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers - Study the composition, structure, and other physical aspects of the earth. May use geological, physics, and mathematics knowledge in exploration for oil, gas, minerals, or underground water; or in waste disposal, land reclamation, or other environmental problems. May study the earth's internal composition, atmospheres, oceans, and its magnetic, electrical, and gravitational forces. Includes mineralogists, crystallographers, paleontologists, stratigraphers, geodesists, and seismologists.
Notes
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