Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2005

17-2151 Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers

Determine the location and plan the extraction of coal, metallic ores, nonmetallic minerals, and building materials, such as stone and gravel. Work involves conducting preliminary surveys of deposits or undeveloped mines and planning their development; examining deposits or mines to determine whether they can be worked at a profit; making geological and topographical surveys; evolving methods of mining best suited to character, type, and size of deposits; and supervising mining operations.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
5,680 7.2 % $36.09 $75,070 2.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $20.82 $25.86 $33.69 $43.31 $57.28
Annual Wage (2) $43,290 $53,780 $70,070 $90,090 $119,130

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Oil and gas extraction 1,220 $46.10 $95,900
Architectural and engineering services 990 $30.47 $63,380
Metal ore mining 690 $31.91 $66,360
Coal mining 660 $33.40 $69,470
Nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying 370 $30.52 $63,490

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Oil and gas extraction 1,220 $46.10 $95,900
Management and technical consulting services 300 $43.06 $89,570
Management of companies and enterprises 170 $38.24 $79,550
Federal government (OES designation) 200 $37.49 $77,970
Scientific research and development services 180 $37.00 $76,950

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest published employment concentrations and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all States with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
Wyoming 160 $31.99 $66,540 0.064%
Alaska 90 $41.08 $85,450 0.030%
Nevada 330 $33.01 $68,650 0.028%
West Virginia 190 $31.14 $64,770 0.027%
New Mexico 130 $36.21 $75,320 0.017%

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
Maryland (8) $55.76 $115,980 (8)
Texas 1,120 $44.81 $93,200 0.012%
Alaska 90 $41.08 $85,450 0.030%
Oklahoma 80 $40.90 $85,070 0.005%
Illinois 190 $38.67 $80,430 0.003%

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest published employment concentrations and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all Metropolitan areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Casper, WY 30 $31.84 $66,220 0.083%
Anchorage, AK 60 $44.58 $92,720 0.037%
Charleston, WV 50 $29.41 $61,170 0.035%
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX 700 $50.61 $105,270 0.031%
Pittsburgh, PA 210 $31.74 $66,010 0.019%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX 700 $50.61 $105,270 0.031%
Anchorage, AK 60 $44.58 $92,720 0.037%
Tulsa, OK 40 $41.54 $86,390 0.010%
Denver-Aurora, CO 210 $39.72 $82,610 0.018%
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 40 $38.96 $81,040 0.003%

About May 2005 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files (XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(8) Estimate not released.

Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2005 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2005 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2005 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2005 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2005 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: May 24, 2006