Find a Job You Really Want In
Yes, coal mining is a good career path. While demand for coal has dropped, it’s far from gone. Coal has long been an extremely useful resource. Additionally, mining techniques continue to improve, making working in a mine less hazardous than it once was.
There are also many careers that aren’t directly involved in the extraction of coal that are less dangerous and well paid. Many of those skills are also transferrable to other types of mining or even other career paths if you decide to change careers.
Coal mining is a well-established career path. Mines are inherently dangerous, meaning that, due to built-in hazard pay, most of the jobs are lucrative – even those that don’t require a college degree.
Here are 16 great jobs in coal mining:
10 of the Best Paying Jobs in Coal Mining
Like almost every career path, the better-paid jobs in coal mining require a four-year degree. Mining is a complicated process that requires a lot of engineering, mathematics, and ingenuity to do efficiently and safely, meaning there are a lot of jobs involved requiring high levels of education.
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Average Annual Salary: $76,000
A geotechnical engineer is a specialized form of a civil engineer. Geotechnical engineers are required to know about geology, soil types, and geography as their main construction projects are tunnels, dams, roadways, and mines. Their main duties are to make sure that the structures they design and oversee are safe and useful.
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Average Annual Salary: $99,000
Mine engineers are involved with the extraction and production side of mines. They come up with the best equipment, layout, and techniques to extract coal efficiently and safely. Of course, they aren’t restricted to coal mines; also potentially being experts in gem, metal, and salt mining techniques and strategies.
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Average Annual Salary: $75,000
While coal isn’t technically a mineral, it’s still something that mineralogists will study. While mineralogy is the study of minerals, those in the field’s area of focus can also include metals, coal, and other valuable materials that are found alongside minerals.
Mineralogists can look into rich deposit sites, study the properties of a material, and help with coming up with techniques for processing and handling.
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Average Annual Salary: $76,000
A geological engineer’s duties have a fair amount of overlap with a mining engineer’s. They are involved in the design of the mine, dealing with how that will affect the surrounding environment, and evaluating the site to make sure it meets regulatory requirements.
Sometimes they work with other types of engineers and experts to come up with the best way to deal with a particular material or geological area.
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Average Annual Salary: $77,000
Geology is the study of the Earth’s crust. Geologists are experts in this, so they know where deposits of coal are likely to be and how easy it’ll be to get to and extract them.
They’re also familiar with the soil composition, so they have a better idea of how structurally sound a mine will end up being. Geologists don’t strictly work in mining, also being employed by the government, museums, and universities.
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Average Annual Salary: $55,000
Surveyors are responsible for surveying, mapping, and assessing an area. Mine surveyors are no different; they just specialize in mines. They assure the accuracy of the mine to the plans, assess risk factors, and chart the surface area.
Mine surveyors will also assess potential mining sites, looking for possible hazards and laying out the planned mining area.
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Average Annual Salary: $45,000
A mine foreman has many similar responsibilities to a construction foreman. It’s a management position, meaning that the mine foreman is responsible for the safety of personnel, the working environment, making sure that the equipment is working in order, and being sure they’re properly equipped and supplied.
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Average Annual Salary: $75,000
While not actually a cartographer, geospatial engineers spend most of their time making maps. They use GIS, GPS, and other mapping techs to get data on the lay of the land.
They’ll use this raw data to draw maps in mapping tools and programs in order to create a digital map of a location. This can be used for construction projects, wilderness areas, like national parks, and other projects.
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Mine Manager
Average Annual Salary: N/A
This position is largely administrative. Mine managers are responsible for taking care of the clerical and administrative tasks of running a mine, like setting up work schedules, tracking supplies, dealing with vendors, and making sure that the mine production is hitting expected goals.
They may also be involved in some HR-type duties, such as helping with employee benefits, bonuses, and health concerns.
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Mining Safety Engineer
Average Annual Salary: N/A
Mining is an inherently dangerous occupation, so it makes sense to have jobs dedicated directly to safety concerns. Mining safety engineers are responsible for making sure that the mine and work area are as safe as reasonably possible.
This means they deal with issues like making sure the mine is properly shored up and flood-resistant, preventing the mine from hitting a poisonous gas pocket, and lowering the risk of occupational illnesses.
While almost none of the above jobs do much in the actual mine itself (with the exception of the mine foreman), they are a big part of the industry. If you’re looking for something more directly related to the mining itself, several of the below jobs are a better place to look.
10 Entry-Level Jobs in Coal Mining
Several careers in the coal mining industry don’t require a college education and can still allow you to support yourself. However, education isn’t going to hurt your prospects, and if you’re looking to be something like a technician or a mechanic, then it will require at least some education.
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Average Annual Salary: $57,000
Coal haulers are responsible for getting the extracted coal to the power plant. While it doesn’t sound glamorous, this job is extremely important economically and infrastructurally.
Coal-powered plants need a constant influx of coal, or they’ll be forced to shut down, which would be a huge strain on the grid, consumers, and the economy. So coal haulers have to keep up with deadlines.
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Average Annual Salary: $47,000
This is the job everyone thinks of when coal mining is mentioned. Coal miners are responsible for going into the mine and extracting the coal. They have many other duties, too, involving safety, transporting the coal to the surface, and looking after their coworkers.
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Average Annual Salary: $60,000
While adding underground as a prefix to a job title makes it sound nefarious, this isn’t. Underground electricians do exactly what their job title implies – they do electrical work underground. This means that they work in mines, setting up electrical systems.
They aren’t confined to mines, however, and will run other electrical work underground, such as on communication systems.
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Coal Crusher Operator
Average Annual Salary: N/A
A coal crusher or coal breaker is a large machine that will take pieces of coal and break them into smaller pieces. The size will vary depending on what the coal is going to be used for and the composition of the coal in the first place.
As an operator, you have to be familiar with the machine, how to run it, and how to maintain it, as well as know the relevant safety precautions.
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Underground Roof Bolter
Average Annual Salary: N/A
While an underground roof may sound oxymoronic, underground roof bolters are essential for safety. A roof bolter helps shore up supports by adding bolts to them.
There’s more to the job than that, of course, as the locations of the bolts are specified, and the roof bolter has to make sure that they’re properly installed and at the proper tension. They also need to be familiar with the equipment, such as drills, presses, and bolting machines.
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Average Annual Salary: $47,000
Coal gasification is the process of creating synthetic gas, also known as syngas, from coal seams. Syngas has many different commercial uses, either through conversion or extraction.
As a coal gasification technician, you would be involved in the production of this substance. This will mainly consist of monitoring the equipment used for this process as part of a team. You’ll be required to understand the process and how to properly use the equipment.
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Average Annual Salary: $62,000
Geological technicians aid engineers, scientists, and miners in the extraction of mining materials. Being a technician position, it’s more hands-on than the engineering or scientific positions and often requires interfacing with the equipment and the mine directly.
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Average Annual Salary: $61,000
Geospatial analysts analyze and interpret images and geographical data, then compile it. This job has several different applications, including agriculture, military intelligence, construction projects, and, of course, mining. Most of the job will be spent in an office, combing over data and compiling reports.
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Average Annual Salary: $41,000
A coal feeder is a machine that regulates how much coal is moved through it and how quickly. As an operator, you’d need to be familiar with the machine, its operation, and how to maintain it.
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Underground Mine Machinery Mechanic
Average Annual Salary: $44,000
Miners work with a lot of machinery, meaning that they need someone on hand to repair and maintain it. Underground mine machinery mechanics use their expertise on engines and machines to make sure that the equipment is properly maintained, used, and repaired.
Mining involves a lot of physical labor, meaning that if you actually work in the mines, you’re going to be doing a lot of physical work under difficult conditions. Because of that, though, people who work in the field are generally well compensated.
Why Choose a Career in Coal Mining?
Coal mining is a long-established career field with a lot of different parts to it. Even if you are disinclined toward physical labor or risk, there are careers in the industry that you can find. However, all of them do require some similar traits. Here are some things to consider if you’re looking for a career in coal mining.
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You’re interested in the Earth and caves. Mining is, in many ways, creating an artificial cave. While it’s quite different from spelunking, rock formations, and geography, location all affect it. Interest in it is helpful, no matter what part of mining you’re involved in.
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Safety’s a focus for you. Even if you’re not the one going into the mine, safety is a huge focus for miners. Regulations and the workers’ attention to one another all combine to make it so that making it as safe as possible is a huge focus.
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Geography and mapping hold your attention. Mapping areas is important on its own, but when it comes to mining and finding coal, then it’s essential. You need to know the area and the composition of the rock and soil in order to know whether it’s profitable and reasonable to mine there.
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You aren’t afraid of going into a mine. Mines are dangerous. Some people are claustrophobic, and others hate the dark – there are myriad reasons why going into a mine would be a “hard no” for people.
But even if you aren’t a coal miner or part of a mining crew, there’s a good chance working in the coal industry will require you to end up in a mine at some point. You have to be prepared for it.
Coal mining involves a wide group of career paths. However, if the above list sounds like you, then you should consider looking into it more closely to see what might interest you.
Education and Certification Requirements for a Career in Coal Mining
A degree isn’t necessary for every job in the coal mining industry, but they’re a good idea if you’re going for the safer, higher-paid positions. Here are some options to consider.
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Geology. This is the study of the Earth’s crust. This can be useful for many of the careers here, including a geologist, geological engineer, and mineralogist.
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Geography. Geography is the study of terrain. It’d be a good choice for mine surveyor and geospatial analyst.
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Engineering. This is a generic degree that’ll help you get into engineering. If you want to specialize, you can also do that.
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Mining Engineering. If you want to be a mining engineer or mining safety engineer.
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Geological Engineering. If you want to be a geological engineer
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Civil Engineering. If you’re interested in geospatial engineering.
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As for certifications, here are some things to look into.
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The majority of companies and states require underground miners to obtain certification.
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Electricians need to pass training and be certified.
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The majority of heavy equipment operators need a certification.
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Surveyors are required to be certified.
What Do People Working in Coal Mining Do?
People working in coal mining locate, extract, and transport coal. Coal mining is an old profession and one that made several towns prosperous. Now, there are many more careers that go along with it, both in terms of finding the coal, figuring out the best way to mine it, and how to do it safely.
Studying and mapping the terrain is a major part of successfully and profitably mining coal, which is why so many surveyors, analysts, and geologists are involved. Others are involved in the construction and keeping up of the mine itself.
Author
Di has been a writer for more than half her life. Most of her writing so far has been fiction, and she’s gotten short stories published in online magazines Kzine and Silver Blade, as well as a flash fiction piece in the Bookends review. Di graduated from Mary Baldwin College (now University) with a degree in Psychology and Sociology.
