Underground Miner

Run loaders and shuttle cars a mile underground. Good money, no degree, real danger.

Typical pay: $74,500a year
Time to qualify: up to 1 yearpaid while you train, from day one
Demand: Limited
License needed: Yesregulated job

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Quick answers

How much does an underground miner make in the United States?

The median pay is about $74,500 a year. Across everyone in the job it runs from about $52,030 at the lower end to about $87,730 at the upper end. The source is listed under Sources at the end of this page.

How long does it take to become an underground miner in the United States?

Up to 1 year, on the usual route, and you are paid while you train from the first day.

What does it cost to become an underground miner?

$350 to $4,700 all in for tuition, fees, exams and kit. Living costs are not counted.

Do you need a license to work as an underground miner in the United States?

Yes. It is a regulated job, so you need a license or registration before you can work.

What is the job outlook for an underground miner in the United States?

Limited demand nationally, from government outlook data. Demand varies by region, so check your area.

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Underground Miner salary in the United States

What you earn and what it costs to get there.

What underground machine operators make

Median

$74,500

Bottom tenth

$52,030

Top tenth

$87,730

The national median is $74,500 a year. The bottom tenth earn $52,030 or less and the top tenth $87,730 or more (2025 federal wage survey). The federal survey counts you under a long title, Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining, which covers shuttle car drivers, loader operators and hoist operators. Roof bolters (median $78,540) and continuous mining machine operators (median $61,810) are counted separately.

The lower end

$52,030 to $61,410

What the bottom tenth to bottom quarter of underground loading and moving machine operators earn, 2025

New miners usually start in this part of the range, as a general inside laborer, shoveling belt lines and hanging cable, before anyone lets you drive a machine. Pay climbs fast once you are qualified on equipment.

Where pay is highest

$112,110 a year

The median in Wyoming, the highest of the states with data

Alaska is next at $93,130 and Nevada at $82,920. The lowest is Oklahoma, at $44,760. State medians from the 2025 federal wage survey, before overtime and night shift premiums.

What it costs to get there

New miner training: Usually paid for by the mine that hires you
State miner certification card: Roughly $25 to $75 in application fees, state by state
Boots, hard hat, gloves and coveralls: $300 to $600 to start, some mines supply them
Community college mining technology certificate (optional): Roughly $4,000 a year at in-state rates, and the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) can bring that down with a Pell Grant

Roughly, all in

$350 to $4,700

Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel

The low end is the normal route: the mine that hires you pays for new miner training, so your spend is the state miner certification card at $25 to $75 and your own boots, hard hat, gloves and coveralls at $300 to $600, and some mines supply even that. The high end is an optional community college mining technology certificate at roughly $4,000 a year at in state rates, plus gear and the certification card. A Pell Grant, which is never repaid, can cover that certificate. This is a job paying over $70,000 that you can reach with no education debt at all.

This is a job paying over $70,000 that you can reach with no college debt at all. The usual route is to be hired, trained and paid from day one.

Benefits

Union contracts
The United Mine Workers of America bargains wages, pensions and retiree health care at organized mines.
Black lung benefits
A federal program pays monthly benefits to coal miners disabled by black lung disease, funded by a tax on coal.
Health insurance from day one
Mines compete for bodies, so coverage usually starts fast.
Production bonuses
Many mines pay a monthly bonus tied to tons produced by your crew.

How to become an underground miner in the United States

The exact path from high school to qualified.

The path to becoming an underground miner, step by step

There is no school to finish first. You get hired, then trained.

1
Finish high school
Grade 12
A diploma or an equivalency certificate is what most mines ask for. Mechanical and electrical shop classes help you get picked.
2
Get hired
Weeks to months
Apply directly at mine offices and at the big operators. A clean driving record, a drug test and being willing to work nights matter more than grades.
3
New miner training
At least 40 hours
Federal rules under the Mine Safety and Health Administration require at least 40 hours of new miner training before you are assigned to work, with the self-rescue course done before you first go underground.
4
State certification
Days to weeks
Coal states run their own card systems. West Virginia, for example, runs 40 hour and 80 hour certified training courses through its state mining office.
5
Qualify on equipment
6 months to 2 years
Task training on each machine you run, signed off by the mine. Shuttle car, scoop, roof bolter, continuous miner, each is its own sign off.

High school courses that help you become an underground miner

Shop and small engines
You will fix your own machine underground more often than you expect.
Electrical technology
Mine equipment runs on high voltage cable. Knowing it keeps you alive and gets you promoted.
Welding
Mines need people who can weld repairs underground.
Math
Grades, distances, tonnage and pay are all arithmetic you should be able to check yourself.

Time and money, at a glance

Years after high school: Under 1
Entry requirement: Diploma or equivalency, plus a physical and a drug test
Total tuition: Usually $0
Paid while training?: Yes, from your first day

The training rules are federal, the cards are state

Every underground mine in the country answers to the Mine Safety and Health Administration, part of the Department of Labor. It sets new miner training, annual refresher training and task training, and its inspectors are underground constantly. On top of that, coal states like West Virginia, Kentucky and Pennsylvania issue their own miner certification cards through a state mining office. You need both. Nobody can legally put you on a machine underground without them.

What helps you get ahead as an underground miner

Things you don't need, but that help.

Tickets that open more jobs

Mine electrician certification
A separate state exam on mine electrical systems.
Mine foreman or fire boss card
A state exam that moves you into supervision and salary.
Mine rescue team
Extra training, extra pay, and the crew everyone respects.
Commercial driver's license
Lets you move equipment on the surface and gives you a job to fall back on.

Nice-to-haves

A registered apprenticeship
Some operators register mining apprenticeships with the Department of Labor, which means structured raises on a schedule.
Not being claustrophobic
Low coal seams mean crawling and working on your knees for a whole shift.
A family connection
Mining hiring is still word of mouth in a lot of towns. Say yes to anyone who offers to walk your application in.

What being an underground miner is really like

Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.

A typical shift

You arrive an hour before the shift, check the board and take the mantrip in, which can be a 30 minute ride. Ten hours underground with no daylight: running a machine, moving cable, shoveling the belt, watching the roof and the gas readings. You eat lunch sitting on a piece of equipment. Then the ride out, a shower at the bathhouse, and home. Many miners drive an hour each way on top of that.

The honest pros and cons of being an underground miner

The good

Over $70,000 a year with no college debt
Hired and paid from your first week
Skills that move between mines and states
A tight crew who look after each other

The hard parts

Roof falls, machinery and gas are real ways to get killed
Dust disease can take your lungs decades later
Mines close when the price of coal or ore drops
No daylight, long shifts, and overtime you cannot really refuse

Work life

Typical hours: 50 to 60 a week, rotating shifts
Remote work: None
Physical demand: Very high
Unionized: Some mines, mostly through the United Mine Workers of America

Similar paths

Things nobody tells you about being an underground miner

Things people don't tell you.

A very small, shrinking job

Only about 5,900 people work as underground loading and moving machine operators (2025). The federal projection is a decline to 2035, with about 400 openings a year.

No diploma needed by many

When O*NET (Occupational Information Network) surveyed people in this job, 53% said a new hire needs a high school diploma and 40% said less than that.

How an underground miner compares

Every list is built from the same numbers shown above, so you can see where this career sits next to the others.

More skilled trades careers in the US

Mining, oil and gas first, then the rest of the field. See every career in skilled trades.

Where these numbers come from

Last checked October 2026. Pay figures are typical full-time annual amounts in United States dollars, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data and published pay scales. They vary by state, employer and experience. Tuition is for in-state students at public schools unless the card says otherwise. How every figure on this site is sourced and checked.