Average Salary

• During its May 2010 analysis of national employment trends, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics categorized mineralogists along with their colleagues in the other specialist areas of geoscience, such as volcanology, seismology and palaeontology. It concluded that the average yearly pay across the professional field was $93,380. This equates to a monthly wage of $7,782, a weekly income of $1,796 and an hourly rate of $44.89. Earners within the top 10 percent bracket received an average of over $160,910 per annum, while their counterparts in the bottom 10 percent earned salaries lower than $43,820.
  
  

Salary by Industry

• For mineralogists, as for other geoscientists, the highest wages are available, at least according to the bureau's survey, within oil and gas extraction, which averaged $132,210. Wage levels were also relatively high within petroleum and coal products manufacturing at $118,910 and in support activities for mining at $106,380. Practitioners employed by the federal executive branch earned an average of $95,580, while individuals working within architectural, engineering and related services took home an average of $80,460 per annum.
  
  

Salary by Geography

• Wage analysis website SalaryExpert.com surveyed pay rates for mineralogists based in some large U.S. cities. At the time of writing, it found that practitioners were paid most in Houston and Dallas, averaging $132,960 and $105,843, respectively. Wages were similar in New York and Chicago -- $66,342 and $66,034, respectively -- while Atlanta was listed at just $56,213. The bureau reported that, across all industry sectors, a geoscientist such as a mineralogist was likely to secure the best compensation rates in Oklahoma, which averaged $129,870 per annum. Massachusetts and District of Columbia had comparable wage rates -- $102,060 and $101,110, respectively -- while, in contrast, Wyoming had an average of $67,710.
  
  

Prospects

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects to see employment opportunities form mineralogists, as for other types of geoscientists and hydrologists, increase by around 18 percent over the period from 2008 to 2018. This is faster than the growth rate predicted for the country as a whole across all occupations, estimated at between 7 and 13 percent through 2018. The primary motivation for the growth will be an increased focus on the discovery of natural resources combined with the need for responsible environmental management. As such, salary levels across the profession should remain competitive in the immediate future.