<p>I'm considering University of Arizona for mining engineering. I've read that they have a decent mining engineering program and have mines on campus etc. It also has the best geology graduate program in the nation, but otherwise isn't very selective. </p>
<p>The nice part is that I talked to a lady (I think an admissions officer there, was at a college fair representing them) who said I could likely get $10-15k off each year due to my grades and SAT scores alone. I'm out of state, but mining engineering is covered under WUE. It would turn out to be very affordable.</p>
<p>My question is, where can I get a job with a mining engineering degree, and what's salary potential like? Am I going to be working underground the whole time, and which states can I find good work in? Anyone with experience or knowledge, thanks!</p>
<p>Two of DD1’s roommates dated mining engineering kids (in a Southern flagship state school with a very respectable mining engineering program) and they basically said they had their pick of internships and such, graduates there got good job offers, and so on. The field seems to be doing very well or so I was told.</p>
<p>There will be a lot of mining engineers retiring in the next 5-10 years, but be aware that gold and silver over expanded during the boom and are currently contracting. Coal is a dying industry due to aggressive environmental regulation. Uranium showed some life before the tsunami hit Japan, but is disfavored again. Base metals may be your best bet.</p>
<p>Nevada for gold, Arizona for copper, I think there is a revival of iron projects in the upper peninsula. I’ve heard of at least one rare earth project in CA. Work conditions and salary vary widely with commodity, location, etc but generally pretty comparable to chem E kinds of salaries.</p>
<p>UnseenU - interesting, thank you for the information. I’ll look into it. I’m from CA and wouldn’t mind coming back after college, so that’s cool if there actually are jobs available here.</p>
<p>ACThater - will do, thanks for the suggestion!</p>