Mining engineer
Plan and oversee the extraction of minerals from open-cut, underground and surface mining operations.
Salary
Cited figures only: median full-time weekly earnings for the ANZSCO unit group Mining Engineers (2336) from Your Career (Jobs and Skills Australia), and where available the QILT graduate starting salary for the matching study area.
| Figure | AUD | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Median full-time weekly earnings | $3365 | Your Career (2026-09-23) |
Jobs, demand and who does this work
Figures for the ANZSCO occupation Mining Engineer (excluding Petroleum) (233611), the closest official match for mining engineer, from Your Career (Jobs and Skills Australia data, sourced 2026-09-23).
- People employed
- 5,900
- Future demand
- Strong
- Work full-time
- 89%
- Average full-time hours
- 52 a week
- Women
- 14%
- Median age
- 38
Where the jobs are (share of workers)
| NSW | 13.1% |
| VIC | 5.1% |
| QLD | 28.4% |
| WA | 46.7% |
| SA | 5.2% |
| TAS | 0.9% |
| ACT | 0.1% |
| NT | 0.4% |
Highest qualification held by workers
| Postgraduate qualification | 26.8% |
| Bachelor degree | 59.3% |
| Diploma or advanced diploma | 5.1% |
| Certificate I-IV | 3.9% |
| Year 12 | 2.8% |
| Below Year 12 | 0.7% |
What a mining engineer actually does
Mining engineers work mostly on site at open-cut or underground mines. Most start their careers in the Pilbara, Hunter Valley, Bowen Basin or Kalgoorlie on fly-in fly-out rosters. A site day starts with a pre-shift meeting reviewing safety hazards and the previous shift, then walking the pit or the longwall, working with surveyors and geologists to update the mine plan, and writing technical reports in the afternoon. Software tools like Surpac, Datamine, Deswik and Vulcan dominate the planning side. Production engineers focus on the next month of drill-and-blast or coal cutting. Long-term planners build life-of-mine schedules. Hours run on rosters such as 8-and-6 or 2-and-1 with 12-hour shifts during swings. Money is good but the work asks a lot in time away from home.
Typical tasks
- Develop mine plans and schedules.
- Manage drill-and-blast and haulage operations.
- Lead safety and risk management on site.
Skills you'll use
- Mine planning software including Surpac, Datamine, Deswik or Vulcan
- Drill and blast design and explosives engineering
- Geotechnical risk assessment for slopes and ground support
- Australian mining legislation and the Coal Mining Health and Safety regimes
- Production scheduling and resource estimation
- Cost modelling for cash cost and life-of-mine economics
- Coordinating with geologists, surveyors and metallurgists
How to become one
- 1Finish Year 12 with English, Maths Methods or Specialist and ideally Physics or Chemistry
- 2Complete a 4-year Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) with a mining major accredited by Engineers Australia
- 3Apply for graduate programmes at BHP, Rio Tinto, Fortescue, Glencore, South32 and the major mid-tier miners in your third year. Vacation work matters more in mining than in most engineering streams
- 4Spend your first 2-3 years rotating through pit, planning, drill-and-blast and ventilation
- 5Work toward your Statutory Quarry or Mine Manager certificate of competency. The path differs by state and mineral, but each state requires a workplace-based examination
- 6Build Chartered Engineer status with Engineers Australia or AusIMM membership over your first 5-8 years
Where you can work
- Tier-one miners including BHP, Rio Tinto, Fortescue, Glencore and South32
- Mid-tier and emerging miners across the Pilbara, Goldfields and Bowen Basin
- Mining consultancies offering planning, geotechnical and rehabilitation advice
- Contract mining companies running drill-and-blast and haulage operations
- Equipment manufacturers running OEM technical services
- State mining regulators including the Resources Safety and Health Queensland office
- Junior explorers and project developers
Career progression
Typical stages and roles. Years of experience are a rough guide; pay at each stage depends on the employer, award or agreement.
- Graduate0-2 yearsTypical roles: Graduate mining engineer, Production engineer, Mine planning engineer
- Engineer3-6 yearsTypical roles: Mining engineer, Drill and blast engineer, Senior planning engineer
- Senior7-12 yearsTypical roles: Senior mining engineer, Superintendent, Technical services manager
- Manager12+ yearsTypical roles: Mine manager, General manager, Group technical director
Is this for you?
You might love this if
- You are happy spending years working in remote Australia
- You like making big decisions about plant, people and dollars
- You can manage a team that includes operators, contractors and other professionals
- You enjoy a roster lifestyle and can disconnect on your time off
- You want a career with strong earnings and rapid responsibility
This might not suit you if
- You want to live full-time in a capital city
- You dislike heavy machinery, dust and shift work
- You are not comfortable with high-consequence safety environments
- You want predictable Monday-to-Friday hours and weekends
Ways in
Uni and TAFE routes for mining engineer. We only list pathways that actually lead to this occupation.
University
Bachelor degrees that lead to this career.
TAFE / VET
Nationally accredited Certificate and Diploma qualifications.
No direct TAFE pathway to this career.
Sources
ExamExplained does not publish predictive salary figures. For current Australian earnings data check Your Career (yourcareer.gov.au) directly. Career classifications follow the ABS ANZSCO 2022 release.