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Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers

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.
  • Summary

  • Details

  • Work Activities

    • Monitor mine production rates to assess operational effectiveness.
    • Supervise, train, and evaluate technicians, technologists, survey personnel, engineers, scientists or other mine personnel.
    • Design, implement, and monitor the development of mines, facilities, systems, or equipment.
    • Design, implement, and monitor the development of mines, facilities, systems, or equipment.
    • 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.
    • Evaluate data to develop new mining products, equipment, or processes.
    • Conduct or direct mining experiments to test or prove research findings.
    • Examine maps, deposits, drilling locations, or mines to determine the location, size, accessibility, contents, value, and potential profitability of mineral, oil, and gas deposits.
    • Lay out, direct, and supervise mine construction operations, such as the construction of shafts and tunnels.
    • Select or devise materials-handling methods and equipment to transport ore, waste materials, and mineral products efficiently and economically.
    • 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.
    • Select or develop mineral location, extraction, and production methods, based on factors such as safety, cost, and deposit characteristics.
    • 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.
    • Prepare schedules, reports, and estimates of the costs involved in developing and operating mines.
    • Test air to detect toxic gases and recommend measures to remove them, such as installation of ventilation shafts.
    • Select or devise materials-handling methods and equipment to transport ore, waste materials, and mineral products efficiently and economically.
    • Conduct or direct mining experiments to test or prove research findings.
    • 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.
    • Design, implement, and monitor the development of mines, facilities, systems, or equipment.
    • Design mining and mineral treatment equipment and machinery in collaboration with other engineering specialists.
    • Conduct or direct mining experiments to test or prove research findings.
    • 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.
    • Supervise, train, and evaluate technicians, technologists, survey personnel, engineers, scientists or other mine personnel.
    • 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.
    • Prepare technical reports for use by mining, engineering, and management personnel.
    • Prepare schedules, reports, and estimates of the costs involved in developing and operating mines.
    • Prepare schedules, reports, and estimates of the costs involved in developing and operating mines.

    Skills

    • Technology Design
      • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
    • Installation
      • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
    • Complex Problem Solving
      • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
    • Speaking
      • Talking to others.
    • Monitoring
      • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
    • Service Orientation
      • Looking for ways to help people.
    • Time Management
      • Managing your time and the time of other people.
    • Writing
      • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
    • Systems Analysis
      • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
    • Active Listening
      • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
    • Negotiation
      • Bringing people together to solve differences.
    • Troubleshooting
      • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
    • Instructing
      • Teaching people how to do something.
    • Repairing
      • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
    • Quality Control Analysis
      • Testing how well a product or service works.
    • Judgment and Decision Making
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
    • Systems Evaluation
      • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
    • Critical Thinking
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
    • Equipment Maintenance
      • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
    • Operations Analysis
      • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
    • Equipment Selection
      • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
    • Programming
      • Writing computer programs.
    • Operations Monitoring
      • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
    • Mathematics
      • Using math to solve problems.
    • Social Perceptiveness
      • Understanding people's reactions.
    • Coordination
      • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
    • Persuasion
      • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
    • Management of Material Resources
      • Managing equipment and materials.
    • Active Learning
      • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
    • Reading Comprehension
      • Reading work-related information.
    • Management of Financial Resources
      • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
    • Management of Personnel Resources
      • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
    • Learning Strategies
      • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
    • Science
      • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
    • Operation and Control
      • Using equipment or systems.

    Abilities

    • Mathematical Reasoning
      • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
    • Multilimb Coordination
      • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
    • Near Vision
      • Seeing details up close.
    • Sound Localization
      • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
    • Speech Clarity
      • Speaking clearly.
    • Peripheral Vision
      • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
    • Inductive Reasoning
      • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
    • Information Ordering
      • Ordering or arranging things.
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
      • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
    • Problem Sensitivity
      • Noticing when problems happen.
    • Speed of Limb Movement
      • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
    • Gross Body Coordination
      • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
    • Time Sharing
      • Doing two or more things at the same time.
    • Originality
      • Creating new and original ideas.
    • Wrist-Finger Speed
      • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
    • Depth Perception
      • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
    • Selective Attention
      • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
    • Finger Dexterity
      • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
    • Written Expression
      • Communicating by writing.
    • Speech Recognition
      • Recognizing spoken words.
    • Stamina
      • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
    • Category Flexibility
      • Grouping things in different ways.
    • Speed of Closure
      • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
    • Glare Sensitivity
      • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
    • Deductive Reasoning
      • Using rules to solve problems.
    • Memorization
      • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
    • Dynamic Flexibility
      • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Flexibility of Closure
      • Seeing hidden patterns.
    • Written Comprehension
      • Reading and understanding what is written.
    • Dynamic Strength
      • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
    • Oral Comprehension
      • Listening and understanding what people say.
    • Fluency of Ideas
      • Coming up with lots of ideas.
    • Oral Expression
      • Communicating by speaking.
    • Trunk Strength
      • Using your lower back and stomach.
    • Visual Color Discrimination
      • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
    • Number Facility
      • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
    • Response Orientation
      • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
    • Spatial Orientation
      • Knowing where things are around you.
    • Control Precision
      • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
    • Static Strength
      • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
    • Gross Body Equilibrium
      • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
    • Hearing Sensitivity
      • Telling the difference between sounds.
    • Far Vision
      • Seeing details that are far away.
    • Explosive Strength
      • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
    • Auditory Attention
      • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
    • Reaction Time
      • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
    • Extent Flexibility
      • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Rate Control
      • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
    • Night Vision
      • Seeing at night or under low light.
    • Perceptual Speed
      • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
    • Visualization
      • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
    • Manual Dexterity
      • Holding or moving items with your hands.

    Knowledge

    • Food Production
      • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
    • Sales and Marketing
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
    • Administrative
      • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
    • Mathematics
      • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    • 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.
    • Education and Training
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
    • Medicine and Dentistry
      • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
    • Building and Construction
      • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
    • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
    • Production and Processing
      • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
    • Transportation
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
    • Mechanical
      • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • English Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
    • Communications and Media
      • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
    • Personnel and Human Resources
      • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
    • Therapy and Counseling
      • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
    • Law and Government
      • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
    • Computers and Electronics
      • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    • Psychology
      • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
    • Geography
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
    • History and Archeology
      • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
    • 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.
    • Biology
      • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
    • Foreign Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
    • Philosophy and Theology
      • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
    • Design
      • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
    • Customer and Personal Service
      • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
    • Economics and Accounting
      • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
    • 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.
    • Fine Arts
      • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
    • Telecommunications
      • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    Education

    Education
    Bachelor's degree
    Work Experience
    No work experience
    Training
    No on-the-job training

    Pay

    U.S. Annual Salary
    101020/yr
    U.S. Hourly Wage
    48.57/hr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    40
    Yearly Projected Openings
    0

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:
    • Analytical Thinking
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Cooperation
    • Integrity
    • Independence

    Tools

    • Clinometers
    • Desktop computers
    • Gas detectors
    • Geological compasses
    • Global positioning system GPS receiver
    • Hammers
    • High capacity removable media drives
    • Notebook computers
    • Personal computers
    • Plotter printers
    • Pocket calculator
    • Scanners
    • Tape measures

    Technology

    • Analytical or scientific software
    • Clustering software
    • Computer aided design CAD software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Document management software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Financial analysis software
    • Geographic information system
    • Map creation software
    • Network security or virtual private network VPN management software
    • Office suite software
    • Operating system software
    • Presentation software
    • Project management software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software