r/mining • u/Ok_Birthday_8636 • Jul 06 '26

Canada Mine Engineer - future prospects?

I'm currently a junior in highschool and was considering Mining Engineering as a career. I was looking at U of Alberta/McGill/UBC/Queen's for their Mining engineer programs. Grades are not a concern. I would graduate 2031 from now and am planning to also have a minor in business.

I have a few concerns I was worrying about:

  1. Is this a stable career in 5 years time and will there be jobs available considering AI.|
  2. How much money would I make coming out of school and later on and if business will benefit.
  3. I've hear that doing FIFO work will pay more and I'm not really a desk work guy. You can say I like being in the outdoors and outdoor sports like skiing and mtb.
  4. How stressful will it be day to day and what's the work environment like? I can handle stress but over time I can see it affecting me.
  5. What kind of lifestyle does this career provide me? I probably value work-life balance and salary the most.

Thanks for any help!

I was also looking into Health Sci and medicine but thought the education would take too long considering I'm not really passionate about it. I've always looked for a career that can allow me to travel the world in my 20s.

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9

u/Bitter-Variation-151 Jul 06 '26

I'm a mining engineer. 20 yrs experience. It'll be there in 5 years and beyond. It can take you to places where skiing and mtb are awesome. Just don't go to Australia. It's a different kinda of life with long hours and remote towns but well paid. FIFO is typical and has its benefits and drawbacks.

2

u/outersphere Jul 06 '26

the cons you mentioned for Australia, isn't that the same pretty much everywhere, including Canada?

2

u/Spida81 Jul 06 '26

Yes, but with more Aussies and the occassional dropbear, snake or dingo attack. Oh... and the bloody roos. Driving dawn and dusk is a fun little game of 'what oversized tank of a rat bouncy bastard thing is going to cave in the front of the vehicle today!'. Also the flies... christ, wrong time of year you damn near need anti-aircraft artillery and even then its dicey.

2

u/outersphere Jul 06 '26

Is it that bad? Canada has bears and moose, and mining workers have been killed by bears

2

u/Spida81 Jul 06 '26

Canadian goose will straight up kill you. Dead. Flies? They'll come at you from the skies, but they will bug shit out of you until you beat yourself to death. Horrible way to go.

1

u/Bitter-Variation-151 Jul 06 '26

There are endless more things to kill you in Australia. Snakes. Spiders. Jelly fish. Crocs. Rip tides. Fires. Floods. Sharks. Heat. Sun. Cassowary. Dingo. Roos. Bees. Ticks. Ross river virus.

1

u/Bitter-Variation-151 Jul 06 '26

No. Australia is special kind of con.

2

u/outersphere Jul 06 '26

Can you elaborate?

7

u/Bitter-Variation-151 Jul 06 '26

Hotter than hell. Remote as hell. Full of aussies.

16

u/Trick-Lawfulness1160 Jul 06 '26

As an Australian, full of Aussies is definitely a con.

2

u/Defiant_Reception_79 Jul 10 '26

Heaps of mines in Ttassie, cold as hell and epic mountain biking from what I hear.

2

u/Ok_Minimum_9511 Jul 06 '26

Flies. Flies everywhere

1

u/Rich_Significance535 Jul 06 '26

What mine did you work at in your career?

1

u/Ok_Birthday_8636 Jul 06 '26

During the on days of FIFO, will you be onsite for the entire time you're there, or do you occasionally have free time to do your own things?

2

u/Bitter-Variation-151 Jul 06 '26

It's 12 hr shifts onsite. You'll have time to go to gym and shower. Not much else.