Mining and geological engineers are about average in terms of happiness.

At CareerExplorer, we conduct an ongoing survey with millions of people and ask them how satisfied they are with their careers. As it turns out, mining and geological engineers rate their career happiness 3.1 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 44% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy mining and geological engineers are to similar careers in the industry. Take a look at the results below:

Salaries and satisfaction ratings in similar careers

Career Satisfaction Avg Salary
Industrial ecologist
3.2
$90k
Security engineer
3.2
$74k
Marine engineer
3.2
$111k
Wind turbine technician
3.2
$65k
Extraction worker
3.2
$51k
Mining and geological engineer
3.1
$98k
Radio mechanic
3.1
$50k
Pump operator
3.1
$32k
Petroleum engineer
3.1
$123k
Solar thermal installer
3.1
$37k

So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:

  • Salary: Are mining and geological engineers happy with their salary?
  • Meaning: Do mining and geological engineers find their jobs meaningful?
  • Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as mining and geological engineers?
  • Work environment: How enjoyable are mining and geological engineer’s work environments?
  • Skills utilization: Are mining and geological engineers making the best use of their abilities?

Are mining and geological engineers happy with their salary?

Mining and geological engineers rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.6/5. The majority of mining and geological engineers are quite happy with their salaries, with very few having complaints about their income level.

We asked mining and geological engineers how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:

3.6 out of 5 stars

60 mining and geological engineers

5 Star
22%

22% of mining and geological engineers rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
40%

40% of mining and geological engineers rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
23%

23% of mining and geological engineers rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
5%

5% of mining and geological engineers rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
10%

10% of mining and geological engineers rated their compensation 1 stars

Do mining and geological engineers find their jobs meaningful?

On average, mining and geological engineers rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.9/5. While most mining and geological engineers aren’t very fulfilled by their work, some people may still manage to find meaning in it.

We asked mining and geological engineers how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:

2.9 out of 5 stars

60 mining and geological engineers

5 Star
10%

10% of mining and geological engineers rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
22%

22% of mining and geological engineers rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
30%

30% of mining and geological engineers rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
22%

22% of mining and geological engineers rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
17%

17% of mining and geological engineers rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as mining and geological engineers?

Mining and geological engineers rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.5/5. The majority of mining and geological engineers find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.

We asked mining and geological engineers how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:

3.5 out of 5 stars

64 mining and geological engineers

5 Star
17%

17% of mining and geological engineers rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
39%

39% of mining and geological engineers rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
20%

20% of mining and geological engineers rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
20%

20% of mining and geological engineers rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
3%

3% of mining and geological engineers rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a mining and geological engineer’s work environment?

As a whole, mining and geological engineers rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.4/5. A solid majority of mining and geological engineers enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a mining and geological engineer.

We asked mining and geological engineers how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:

3.4 out of 5 stars

63 mining and geological engineers

5 Star
13%

13% of mining and geological engineers rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
41%

41% of mining and geological engineers rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
24%

24% of mining and geological engineers rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
17%

17% of mining and geological engineers rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
5%

5% of mining and geological engineers rated their work environment 1 stars

Are mining and geological engineers making the best use of their abilities?

Former mining and geological engineers on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.2/5. Most mining and geological engineers are satisfied with how well their abilities are skills are made of use.

We asked mining and geological engineers how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:

3.2 out of 5 stars

65 mining and geological engineers

5 Star
14%

14% of mining and geological engineers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
29%

29% of mining and geological engineers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
26%

26% of mining and geological engineers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
20%

20% of mining and geological engineers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
11%

11% of mining and geological engineers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars