Will AI replace mining and geological engineers, including mining safety engineers?

Unlikely, though parts of the work are changing. About 56m of an 8-hour shift goes to tasks touched by robots. The other 7h 4m (88%) stays with people. Separately, BLS expects about 3.8% more of these jobs by 2035 (all jobs: +3.5%).

None of this job's tasks show regular AI use yet. That can mean the work is hands-on or in person, or simply that it rarely comes up in AI usage data.

For some tasks, yes. Robots have done 2 of this job's tasks in workplaces like this one, about 56m of a typical shift.

• Inspect mining areas for unsafe structures, equipment, and working conditions. (45m a shift; e.g. ExynAero / Exyn autonomous UAV, in use)
• Test air to detect toxic gases and recommend measures to remove them, such as installation of ventilation shafts. (11m a shift; e.g. Spot with Teledyne FLIR MUVE C360 gas monitor, in use)

7h 4m of a typical shift, or 88%, goes to tasks with no AI or robot evidence yet. No AI usage or robot deployment has shown up for these so far. The biggest:

• Prepare technical reports for use by mining, engineering, and management personnel. (51m a shift)
• Supervise, train, and evaluate technicians, technologists, survey personnel, engineers, scientists or other mine personnel. (45m a shift)
• Prepare schedules, reports, and estimates of the costs involved in developing and operating mines. (40m a shift)
• Examine maps, deposits, drilling locations, or mines to determine the location, size, accessibility, contents, value, and potential profitability of mineral, oil, and gas deposits. (40m a shift)
• Design, implement, and monitor the development of mines, facilities, systems, or equipment. (40m a shift)

Much of it comes down to where and how the work happens. In-person, hands-on and high-stakes work is where AI and robots have made the least headway so far. In the official O*NET survey of people in this job:

• 79% talk face to face with others every day

On Indeed, job postings in the Mechanical Engineering sector are at 168% of their February 2020 level (all U.S. postings: 104%), up 43.4% from a year earlier, as of Oct 9, 2026. BLS separately expects about 300 openings a year in this job through 2035. Across all U.S. postings, 7.3% now mention AI skills. Sector postings cover more than this one job and move for many reasons besides AI.

The median pay is about $106,220 a year ($51.07 an hour), 108% above the median for all U.S. jobs ($50,980). Most people in this job earn between $67,490 and $169,990 a year; that range covers the middle 80%. Pay figures are from BLS, May 2025, and vary a lot by state and employer. Pick a state to compare:

BLS projects growth of 3.8% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% growth for all jobs. That's about 6,400 jobs in 2035. It expects about 300 openings a year, mostly from people retiring or changing careers. These projections don't single out AI as a cause.

About 6,080 people in the U.S., roughly 0.00% of all workers (BLS, May 2025). That makes it the 713th largest of the 796 jobs on this site. BLS expects about 6,400 in 2035.

The most common requirement is a bachelor's degree: about 79% of people in the job said so in the official O*NET survey. O*NET rates the job at level 4 of 5 for preparation, which usually means: bachelor's degree. Requirements vary by state and employer, especially for licensed work.

These come from the job's official skill ratings and from the tasks that AI and robots touch least today. Building them keeps you strong in the parts of the work that still need a person:

• Skills that matter more here than in most jobs: Management of Material Resources, Mathematics, Systems Evaluation, Systems Analysis
• Get strong at the parts of the job that stay with people (listed above), which take 7h 4m of a typical shift
• Tools employers list: Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Excel, Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D, Autodesk AutoCAD

Yes. Occupational experts recently added these to the official task list, a sign of how the work itself is shifting. New tasks aren't rated for AI or robots yet:

• Use drone technology for aerial surveys and inspections of mining sites to enhance safety and efficiency.

These use similar skills, with less of a typical shift touched by AI or robots. Matches come from 109 official ratings of skills, knowledge and work activities, and each needs the same or less preparation unless the official list relates the jobs directly:

• Water/Wastewater Engineers (0m touched, $101k median pay)
• Transportation Engineers (7m touched, $101k median pay)
• Nuclear Engineers (0m touched, $134k median pay)
• Fire-Prevention and Protection Engineers (0m touched, $115k median pay)
• Chemical Engineers (0m touched, $125k median pay)

Each task carries its own evidence label. For this job: 2 with robots in real deployments, 16 with no AI or robot evidence found. The minutes per task are estimates, not measured hours, and "no evidence" doesn't prove a task is safe.