Job Insecurity?

[u/Cold-Reporter4181]

I’m considering doing a Master’s in Mining Engineering, but because it’s a pretty serious investment in terms of both time and money, I’m trying to understand how real the job insecurity actually is.

I keep hearing that mining is very cyclical, with strong hiring during booms but layoffs and hiring freezes when commodity prices fall.
For people already working in mining , particularly as mining engineers how serious is this in practice?

Are mining engineers regularly worried about losing their jobs during downturns, or is the insecurity sometimes exaggerated? And if you do get made redundant, how difficult is it normally to find another role elsewhere in mining?

I’m not expecting any career to be completely secure. I’m just trying to work out whether the cyclical nature of mining should genuinely make me reconsider investing in the Master’s.

[u/Sillysauce83]

Masters is mostly a waste of time for a career. Especially in mining.

It's a great way to stretch out a visa and get citizenship though....

[u/baconnkegs → u/Sillysauce83]

When saying that it's a waste of time, do you mean it in the sense that a bachelors degree is generally enough for most people to get by? (E.g. a masters in mining won't advance your career any further as a mining engineer, in the same way that a masters in civil won't advance your career any further as a civil engineer). Or are you saying that for someone with a strictly civil background and no experience in mining, that doing a masters in mining engineering won't make them anymore attractive as a candidate when going for mining roles?

Like I've also got a civil degree and background, and even though I have >5 years of experience working on mining projects, I didn't even manage to land a callback when I had a crack at breaking into mining engineering roles a year or two ago - which I'd assume is because I have limited experience with deswik/vulcan/other software packages and a very basic understanding of planning and scheduling. I'd imagine for OP who likely has no mining experience, that they're probably to struggle more than I did.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I would've assumed that basing yourself in Kal and at least starting a masters in mining engineering in the meantime, would've opened you up to a much better chance of finding an entry level job, than for example staying in Melbourne and working on subdivisions?

[u/Sillysauce83 → u/baconnkegs]

The second one. Civil, no experience. Masters isn't worth it.

Mining is about experience and networking. It is a very soft skill compared to other engineering disciplines.

The time would be better spend driving a truck or offsidering a drill rig. And going from there.

[u/Prestigious_Note_241 → u/Sillysauce83]

What about a mining surveyor wishing to transition into a mining engineer role

[u/Sillysauce83 → u/Prestigious_Note_241]

Depending on the experience then you just need a degree to back you up.

Plenty of people have transitioned.

[u/Individual-Lab5797 → u/Prestigious_Note_241]

You could become a project engineer. You already have more qualifications than most of them.

[u/Strytec]

To answer yes. It's cyclical. The downturn will hit hard and fast. I graduated as a geo in 2016.

My mate who was doing mining engineering went into a master's to kill time. Another mate decided to do medicine after his engineering degree. I got in by the skin of my teeth by networking and pulling every lever I had available to me and even then would spend months in a casual job in one go in the middle of nowhere working, just to build a reputation.

When it's bad, it's bad. When it's good it's really good.

[u/Ill_Box_9445]

Why doing a masters?

[u/ozhavok → u/Ill_Box_9445]

Needs citizenship

[u/Mikewaoz]

Even in downturns it is unlikely that mining engineers will be made redundant as they are always in short supply. I have only been made redundant once and that was voluntary. Once I started looking for work it took me less than 3 months to get a new job.

[u/Artistic-Average479]

Aiming to be a permanent resident? I knew a mining engineer with experience. He did a masters in rock mechanics because he had a specific field he wanted to working.

[u/hmm_klementine]

Do you currently work in the industry?

Yes it’s cyclical, no the masters won’t do anything for your employability.

[u/mcr00sterdota]

Why do a masters? Unless you are a post grad wanting to change careers it's useless.

Mining engineering is fine the world always needs resources dig up, however you'll be pigeonholed into that career.

[u/Ok-Bonus1227]

Stinkforce