Also called: Mining Geologist, Critical Minerals Geologist
Searches for deposits of copper, lithium, rare earths, and gold needed for batteries and electronics.
You spend weeks at remote camps in Nevada, Alaska, or abroad, mapping rocks, collecting samples, and logging drill cores. Back in town, you build models of where the ore body lies.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in geology; master's for senior roles.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Geology, Mining Engineering, Geochemistry.
Growing about average (about 3% over 10 years). Demand for critical minerals is rising.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. AI picks drill targets from data, but remote fieldwork for battery metals is in demand and stays human.
Classes: Earth science, AP Chemistry, Statistics.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-2042.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.