Mining engineers find new deposits, plan, design and run mines, oversee
their safety and restore the land when the mining is done. Their purpose is
to extract coal, metals and minerals for use by industry. Others work in equipment
development or as analysts.
Mining engineers use computer simulators to plan mines and sophisticated
software to run mining operations.
"Mining engineers rarely work in the mine environment -- too expensive
to keep underground and too few are available," says mining engineering consultant
Edward Hollop.
"So, students have their choice: coal mining, metal mining, non-metal mining,
mining equipment, space, investment, banking, chemicals and undersea mining
and anywhere their hearts and minds take them."
John Mossop is a professor of mining engineering. He says that despite
the images many people have of mines, this is not a particularly dangerous
career.
"Everything can be dangerous," he says. "Most accidents involve man versus
machine -- you know,...a truck goes off a cliff. When the work was done by
hand, there was more chance of an accident. Even rock falls are not so much
a problem anymore."
Mining engineers have to be prepared to travel. They have to go where the
mines or their related jobs are. But it is not necessarily any more of a nomadic
lifestyle than any other modern career. "People have to be ready to move in
today's workforce," says Mossop. "You may have to move to California or Boston
to get ahead."
Depending on which environment you work in, a mining engineer may have
a traditional office and 40-hour workweek. But at times, this career may mean
extra hours, especially if you're working around a mining site. You may get
your clothes dirty in this setting.
People who are disabled may find it difficult to do this work. "Depending
on your disabilities, there are certain areas that you can't fit in -- exploration,
for example," says Mossop. "But some people can go to work for banks or other
investment institutions as analysts."