The 2006 survey of students in the School found an increase in the mean and median starting salary packages to $93,942 and $99,713 respectively compared to previous years (see 2005 & 2004 survey results).

This reflects the high demand for Mining Engineers which has been strong across all mineral commodity sectors.

In GradStats, a report of the annual survey conducted by Graduate Careers Australia released in December 2006, it was reported the median annual starting salary for

• bachelor degree graduates in their first full-time employment was $40.8k
• all engineering disciplines across Australia was $46k
• the highest median salary reported in the survey was $68k for dentistry graduates

The preference of students was highest in the hardrock metalliferous sector with 64% of the student destinations followed by the coal sector at 24%. Several students also sought employment in the mining service sector.

Reflecting the growing number of mining projects that offer the option of fly-in/fly-out (FIFO) roster arrangements, a significant number of graduates (35%) will commute between the mines and capital cities or regional centres during their rostered time off compared to the number graduates who will live in a rural or mining community.