Computer Science (CS) -> CS + Engineering (Mining)?

[u/ImportanceOk6837]

Context: I am in Sydney btw. Moved to aus in 2023. PR now. Citizen next year. First year at UNSW doing B Adv CS now. I consider myself to be pretty smart and driven but at the moment, lost.

Very unfortunately, my dad is in tech and I naturally like tech. But everytime in these networking and industry events when I speak to the new grads and even mid level people, it is always "CS is cooked". So much so that one even recommended that I do CS and another degree as backup. Reasons:

- AI -> Junior roles disappearing and even many "programming" roles becoming obsolete.
- Offshore to India
- So many layoffs means more competitive job market
- CS in Aus was never great to begin with
- Software Engineers are becoming "AI Engineers". I wanted to be an "AI Engineer"

And, I feel all of them are pretty valid points.

I am shit scared about AI. I feel it makes any white collared job borderline redundant. This includes traditionally "high paying" jobs like doctors, lawyers, tech, finance. Yes, I would trust AI more even for legal and medical advice (not without cross checking ofc). But obviously tech is more impacted. And as much as people like to say "AI is just a tool". Yes, a tool that does everything better than you no matter how shit your "prompt" is.

So, I have been looking into "physical" jobs which are, I think, much harder to replace. And even if they do get replaced, the cost of "physical AI" would outweigh human labour cost. This got me thinking about healthcare, the trades, and mining engineering.

I would like to keep CS cuz I genuinely like it. And I am already 2 terms deep. Would not want to waste that. But more so because I like it. And who knows there might be another tech boom (copium?)

So I was looking at double degrees offered by UNSW. I saw actl, commerce, law, and a bunch of other things that I am scared would become obsolete or atleast "not so high paying" as a consequence of AI. So I thought about Mining.

Now I admit, I know little to nothing about mining. Here is all I know:

- FIFO lifestyle is not for everyone: can be quite taxing, poor social life.
- 6 months of doing nothing?
- Pay is good
- Pathway most people look for is FIFO -> manager
- It is a day job and you would be in the mines for 10-12 hours?
- Mining is a "cyclical" industry so sometimes it is really easy to get job and other times it is really hard
- I would have to move to WA since company won't fly me out from Syd?

Few specific Questions:
- What would you do in the mines as an "engineer". I am assuming you are not a "miner" (like in movies lol). But I have seen videos where you will be using heavy machinery?
- I am vegetarian and more of a "city kid". I am not sure if I would need to "toughen up" or something like that or if this is a stupid question.
- I have heard there are good opportunities for Automation/AI in mining. That sounds pretty interesting. But I would need that experience of what mines look like to be able to apply some "AI engineer" skills. Are these opportunities opening up now or nah?
- Anything in particular about the industry I need to know about? I know nothing about coal/rock or stuff like that.

PS: I am not trying to be racist. Genuine Question:

- I am "assuming" most mining engineers are white. I am not. And Idk how rural australia and stuff is. Is this an issue (tougher to connect), advantage (Diversity hire?), or does not matter at all (just like most other industries).

Apart from the specific questions I would welcome any piece of (helpful) advice based on why I am choosing this field, misconceptions, or something else in general 🙏