Markets are funny beasts, the moment you think you have it figured out, something comes along that makes you rethink your strategy.

Mike Tyson once said “Everyone has a plan ‘till they get punched in the mouth” The dynamic nature of the mining industry makes it not to dissimilar to boxing, in FY12 we got the first uppercut which sent us into a tail spin and for some it was a TKO. The strong ones staggered back to their feet and kept slogging away for a few rounds. FY17 saw the second uppercut come along as a wakeup call to get moving again.

Mining Engineers and other technical professionals are back in demand, skills are becoming more valuable as well as valued. Professionals are now starting to have choice and opportunity as to where they work next. So how can you best position yourself for the next few rounds in your career?

Building your career experience and diversity is important; doing the same job for 10 years is not the same as having 10 years across multiple jobs. Your value to a potential employer is really a measure of the sum of your collective years of experience. Does the next job you are looking at help build your skills across a range of commodities and mining methods?

For the last decade we have built a great team at MEC by hiring, training and developing some of the best mining engineers I have seen in my 20 years in mining. The opportunities and challenges our team members face as part of their roles makes them invaluable to our clients and also positions them for other great career opportunities.

Like most businesses, MEC is on the hunt for more mining engineers to join our team; people who are hungry to expand their skills and experience and love diversity of challenges; people who value creating value with the work they deliver; and people who are passionate about making a difference to the operations and projects they work on.

Now that the mining industry has turned the corner and is rapidly ramping up, where are you looking for your next career opportunity?

Written by Simon Cohn