How To Become A Mine Geologist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a mine geologist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Loren Babcock PhD

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a mine geologist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $53.11 an hour? That's $110,475 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 5% and produce 1,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a mine geologist?

Loren Babcock PhD

Professor, School of Earth Sciences and Director, Orton Geological Museum, Ohio State University

It depends on the type of geologic job. There is quite of variety of occupations that involve geology, not all of which have “geology” in the title. Some who are employed in private industry mine for rock or minerals, some drill for fluid resources; others are employed in searching for new Earth resources and developing plans for mining or drilling for them. Some geologists work with water resources: sampling, testing, or exploiting. Some geologists in government or service professions compile information about geologic resources or conduct research. Some geologists track earthquakes, track volcanoes, study rocks brought from the Moon, or ones that fell to Earth as meteorites. Some geologists study rock layers to refine the chronology of Earth history. Others study climate change and its effects on Earth’s landforms and life forms. There are many, many options open to geologists.

ScoreMine GeologistUS Average

Salary

7.9

Avg. Salary $110,475

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.5

Growth rate 5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.59%

Asian 5.45%

Black or African American 0.88%

Hispanic or Latino 6.29%

Unknown 4.68%

White 82.12%

Gender

female 18.75%

male 81.25%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress level

5.5

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.4

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a mine geologist

Explore mine geologist education requirements

Most common mine geologist degrees

Bachelor's

83.5 %

Master's

9.6 %

Diploma

2.7 %

Start to develop specific mine geologist skills

Skills	Percentages
Data Collection	15.19%
Drill Core	12.18%
Autocad	10.67%
Geotechnical	8.34%
Drill Holes	5.18%

Complete relevant mine geologist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New mine geologists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a mine geologist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real mine geologist resumes.

Research mine geologist duties and responsibilities

Manage task training and laboratory/field safety according to MSHA standards.
Perform mine planning outlooks using GIS to determine best mining practices.
Design a monthly reclamation tracking and cost estimation system using GIS.
Present weekly descriptions of mine geotechnical stability programs, mining and milling to all new employees.

Prepare your mine geologist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your mine geologist resume.

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