Also called: Hoistman, Shaft Hoist Engineer
Runs the giant elevator that drops miners and ore cages thousands of feet down a mine shaft and back.
From a control room at the top of the shaft, you lower a cage of miners nearly a mile underground, watching depth dials and listening to bell signals from below. Between shifts you raise skips full of ore. Every day starts with tests of the brakes and safety systems.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 1 year after high school. High school plus mine experience and hoist operator training.
Ways in: On-the-job training, Certification. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Mining Technology.
Growing about average. Deep hard-rock, salt and potash mines keep hoisting.
Medium risk for 10 years. Ore hoisting is increasingly automated; moving people safely and checking systems keeps a trained operator.
Classes: Physics, Shop class, Algebra, Electronics class.
Official data: O*NET occupation 53-7041.
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