How to become an Underground Miner

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 井下采矿工

Also called: Underground Shearer Operator, Longwall Control Operator, Underground Loader Operator, Underground Drill Operator, Underground Coal Miner, Hydraulic Mining Worker, Smart Coal Mining Operator

Operates mining machines at underground faces to drill, break and load ore.

Main tasks

• Drilling holes with electric, pneumatic or hydraulic tools
• Breaking ore with mining machines or water jets
• Loading and moving ore by machine, by hand or by water
• Caving top coal or mining the full seam height on longwall faces
• Advancing face conveyors
• Operating and maintaining mobile substations, switches, communications and control equipment at the face
• Drilling medium depth holes with rock drilling equipment
• Maintaining equipment, clearing faults and recording production data

Ways in

• Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Intelligent Coal Mining Technology (420501). Vocational major 420501 Intelligent Coal Mining Technology (煤矿智能开采技术), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Intelligent Coal Mining.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Mine Electromechanics and Intelligent Equipment (420504). Vocational major 420504 Mine Electromechanics and Intelligent Equipment (矿山机电与智能装备), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Intelligent Coal Mining.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Mine Construction Technology (620502). Vocational major 620502 Mine Construction Technology (矿井建设技术), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Intelligent Coal Mining.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Mine Electromechanics (620504). Vocational major 620504 Mine Electromechanics (矿山机电), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Intelligent Coal Mining.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Mining Technology (620501). Vocational major 620501 Mining Technology (采矿技术), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Intelligent Coal Mining.; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Intelligent Mining Technology (220501). Vocational major 220501 Intelligent Mining Technology (智能采矿技术), 4 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Intelligent Coal Mining.
• National qualification: Licence to practise: Special Operations Personnel. You need this qualification to work in the job. Listed in the national vocational qualifications catalogue (国家职业资格目录, 2021) as Special Operations Personnel (特种作业人员), run by Emergency Management Authorities; Mine Safety Supervision Authorities. Peernovo links it to this occupation.

Pay · AI and this job

• Median pay in China: CN¥81,700 a year (2025).
• Middle half: CN¥53,100 to CN¥125,200. One in ten earn less than CN¥38,100 and one in ten more than CN¥178,000.
• This is the figure for the mid group Mining Workers, not for this job alone.
• National figure: wage prices of enterprise employees from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) enterprise pay survey. The public sector and the self-employed are not covered.
• Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

• The census group Mining Workers holds 0.45% of everyone employed in China; 10.2% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
• 23.1% are under 35, 67.8% are 35 to 54 and 9% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 40 to 44.
• Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.

Related jobs

• Open Cut Mining Equipment Operator
• Open Cut Mine Support Worker
• Ore Haulage and Waste Dump Operator
• Mine Development Miner
• Underground Ground Support Worker
• Underground Locomotive Driver

Not sure this is for you? Take the 2-minute career quiz

Questions people ask

How do I become an Underground Miner?

Ways in include: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Intelligent Coal Mining Technology (420501); Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Mine Electromechanics and Intelligent Equipment (420504).

How much does an Underground Miner earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥81,700 a year (Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), 2025). The public sector and the self-employed are not covered. It is the figure for the mid group Mining Workers.

Will AI change the work of an Underground Miner?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

• Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS): 2025 enterprise pay survey information: wage prices of enterprise employees by occupation mid group, and digital occupations (P10 to P90 annual CNY) (2025 (published 2026-07-08)), retrieved 5 October 2026
• National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Population Census Yearbook 2020, long-form tables 4-6 and 4-7 (employed by occupation mid group, sex, age) (2020 Census long form (10% sample)), retrieved 4 October 2026
• International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Sources: Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition, public consultation draft), Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration for Market Regulation and National Bureau of Statistics; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 2025 enterprise pay survey information; Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, 2025 labour market wage prices; National Bureau of Statistics of China (www.stats.gov.cn), 2020 Population Census yearbook; Ministry of Education, vocational education major profiles (2022 revision) and undergraduate major catalogue (2025); Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, national vocational qualifications catalogue (2021); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Figures processed by Peernovo. English text, translations and the matching of occupations to ISCO-08, majors, degree fields and qualifications by Peernovo.

Descriptions and tasks are Peernovo's own words, written from the facts in the Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition). Job titles and work types are the classification's own.

Updated 5 October 2026