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Is mining engineering a safe bet?

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Rancho12

Agricultural
Aug 16, 2020
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Hello everyone,,
I'm an engineering student from Canada and I choose my discipline next year. I always thought I'd be going into civil engineering, but recently I've been thinking about going into mining engineering more and more. I met with a mining engineer at a job fair and he genuinely seems to love what he's doing. The idea of working on-site in a mine appeals to me, and the salary isn't too bad either. That being said, I'm a little concerned about the employment and future of the mining industry. Will there be steady growth over the next few years in the mining industry? Does employment for mining engineers follow a cyclical pattern? (High employment during economic "booms" followed by high layoff rates at times of "bust") How hard is it to land a job as a mining engineer? I've heard vastly different responses to these questions when I asked different people, so I wanted to know what you guys thought [ Thanks!!!
 
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Mining is cyclic, not as much at Oil and Gas, but more than most. That said it is an interesting field. You will likely get to wear a lot of hats and be exposed to a lot of areas. Of course you also are going to have to work in very remote locations. And while some of them are Godforsaken, most are very beautify and interesting and not seen by meany people.
I know one guy that worked for 7 mining companies over his carrier all due to bankruptcies and M&A, and the whole time he had the same office.
Of course I work in manufacturing and have been through 6 employers in 40 years with only 2 of those move voluntary.

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The mining cycle consists of a few large companies controlling a majority of the production which then allows for the price to go up of the commodity. At this point a whole bunch of smaller companies start up with the price being high. Then the larger companies flood the market with excess commodities to drive the price of the commodity down and buy up smaller properties that they like.

In terms of jobs working for a large company has a lot of red tape working for a new junior company is like the wild west sometimes. It is relatively easy to get a job as an EIT in the larger companies as they have a dedicated internship program. The junior and intermediate producers sometimes hire new grads but usually are comprised of some 3-5 year EIT's or technicians.
 
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