Where do we get coal to fuel our power stations, minerals to make smartphones, gold to make jewelry, and many other precious resources? Hardworking miners are the ones who extract them from the ground. Many people think mining is a thing of the past, but the demand for miners is expected to grow 4% by 2028.
A miner's job is to get resources out of the ground and onto the surface, but the job isn't as simple as just digging holes. Miners need to build structures in order to support tunnel entryways, operate equipment to transport ore, and sometimes even use explosives to clear paths in the rocks quickly.
Most miners do not have a college degree, but that does not mean that the job is easy. Mining requires lots of stamina and physical strength in order to dig in the mines all day. A miner also needs to think quickly and know how to properly use equipment such as explosives because accidents can be deadly.
What is a Miner?
What Does a Miner Do
There are certain skills that many miners have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed communication skills, coordination and mechanical skills.
How To Become a Miner
If you're interested in becoming a miner, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 25.0% of miners have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 6.2% of miners have master's degrees. Even though some miners have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Miner Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of coal miner you might progress to a role such as truck driver eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title general contractor.
Average Salary for a Miner
What Am I Worth?
Roles and Types of Miner
There are several types of miner, including:
Coal Miner
Role:
The job of a coal miner is to extract coal from either surface mines or underground mines. They do this through a variety of methods, which may involve operating heavy machinery, specialized tools, and even explosives. Some coal miners specialize in these different types of extraction through additional training and extensive experience.
At the basic level, the job duties of a coal miner are to mine ore, coals, or rocks, operate explosives, build supportive entryways for transportation, move mining equipment from one area to another, and transport mined coal to designated areas on the mining site.
To become a coal miner, one must have at least a high school diploma or GED. Moreover, they must complete a specialized training and apprenticeship program before becoming a miner. The minimum hours of apprenticeship requirements vary by state, but in general, an aspiring coal miner must complete at least forty hours of classroom instruction and six months of on-the-job training. Since this is a physically-demanding job, a coal miner must also be physically fit and have a good amount of strength, endurance, and dexterity.
On average, a coal miner can earn around $15 an hour or about $30,700 a year on top of benefits and possibly bonuses.
- Average Salary: $47,242
- Degree: High School Diploma
States With The Most Miner Jobs
Number Of Miner Jobs By State
| Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 16 | $47,029 |
| 2 | Pennsylvania | 8 | $44,855 |
| 3 | Virginia | 7 | $41,971 |
| 4 | New York | 6 | $45,380 |
| 5 | West Virginia | 5 | $48,764 |
| 6 | Texas | 4 | $41,289 |
| 7 | Florida | 4 | $38,377 |
| 8 | Oregon | 3 | $46,765 |
| 9 | Arizona | 3 | $44,282 |
| 10 | Louisiana | 3 | $42,895 |
| 11 | Alaska | 2 | $60,595 |
| 12 | Delaware | 2 | $47,823 |
| 13 | Illinois | 2 | $46,105 |
| 14 | Massachusetts | 2 | $45,995 |
| 15 | Michigan | 2 | $42,840 |
| 16 | Utah | 2 | $42,489 |
| 17 | Tennessee | 2 | $39,079 |
| 18 | Georgia | 2 | $38,893 |
| 19 | Idaho | 1 | $43,779 |
| 20 | South Carolina | 1 | $41,361 |
| 21 | Indiana | 1 | $40,271 |
| 22 | Arkansas | 1 | $39,221 |
| 23 | Alabama | 1 | $39,173 |
| 24 | North Carolina | 1 | $39,409 |
| 25 | Missouri | 1 | $39,024 |
| 26 | Nevada | 0 | $48,761 |
| 27 | Kentucky | 0 | $46,688 |
| 28 | Rhode Island | 0 | $47,037 |
| 29 | Connecticut | 0 | $47,893 |
| 30 | Montana | 0 | $45,834 |
| 31 | Ohio | 0 | $44,353 |
| 32 | New Hampshire | 0 | $44,974 |
| 33 | Washington | 0 | $46,877 |
| 34 | South Dakota | 0 | $43,766 |
| 35 | Maryland | 0 | $46,654 |
| 36 | Kansas | 0 | $43,886 |
| 37 | New Jersey | 0 | $45,418 |
| 38 | Vermont | 0 | $44,036 |
| 39 | North Dakota | 0 | $42,652 |
| 40 | Wisconsin | 0 | $42,103 |
| 41 | New Mexico | 0 | $42,250 |
| 42 | Wyoming | 0 | $40,727 |
| 43 | Minnesota | 0 | $42,246 |
| 44 | Hawaii | 0 | $46,077 |
| 45 | Mississippi | 0 | $39,534 |
| 46 | Iowa | 0 | $40,057 |
| 47 | Maine | 0 | $40,261 |
| 48 | Oklahoma | 0 | $39,677 |
| 49 | Colorado | 0 | $39,889 |
| 50 | Nebraska | 0 | $39,250 |
Top Skills For a Miner
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 20.6% of miners listed safety regulations on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and coordination are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Miner Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Miner templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Miner resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Miner diversity
Miner Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among miners, 9.4% of them are women, while 90.6% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among miners is White, which makes up 76.2% of all miners.
- The most common foreign language among miners is Spanish at 66.7%.
Online Courses For Miner That You May Like
1. International Water Law
In recent decades, international law has undergone a series of major developments in order to accommodate the many new facets of freshwater management and protection. The adoption of universal, regional and basin instruments highlights how important it is to study the evolution of international water regulations and to be able to identify the main principles in this field. This course aims to provide the necessary background to understand and examine the regulation applicable to transboundary...
2. Introduction to Self-Driving Cars
Welcome to Introduction to Self-Driving Cars, the first course in University of Toronto’s Self-Driving Cars Specialization. This course will introduce you to the terminology, design considerations and safety assessment of self-driving cars. By the end of this course, you will be able to: - Understand commonly used hardware used for self-driving cars - Identify the main components of the self-driving software stack - Program vehicle modelling and control - Analyze the safety frameworks and...
3. Truck Dispatcher Training (STEP BY STEP, work independently)
FULL COURSE- How to Become a Truck Dispatcher, how to book loads for semi-trucks and start your own Dispatch Company...
How Do Miners Rate Their Jobs?
Top Miner Employers
Most Common Employers For Miner
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevron | $84,265 | $40.51 | 6 |
| 2 | Peabody Energy | $63,799 | $30.67 | 5 |
| 3 | CONSOL Energy | $57,946 | $27.86 | 9 |
| 4 | Newmont | $56,147 | $26.99 | 15 |
| 5 | Martin Marietta | $52,521 | $25.25 | 7 |
| 6 | Alpha Metallurgical Resources | $52,335 | $25.16 | 7 |
| 7 | Hecla Mining | $50,976 | $24.51 | 7 |
| 8 | Stillwater Mining Co | $49,462 | $23.78 | 22 |
| 9 | Atkinson Construction | $46,225 | $22.22 | 6 |
| 10 | ASARCO | $45,053 | $21.66 | 5 |