Give the bolter a once-over
Look the whole machine over carefully for problems before you start the bolter.
Career profile
Mine Roof Bolter
Roof bolters install the supports that keep an underground mine's ceiling from falling.
Like machinery? As a roof bolter, you run a roof-bolting machine whose work points straight up at the rock over your head.
A day in the life
Spot loose rock overhead
Scan the ceiling and side walls of your work area for hazards like rock that isn't secure.
Drill holes at set spacing
Pull the bolter into position and bore holes the required distance apart for the bolts.
Swap the bit for a bolt
Then trade the drill bit for a bolt and have the bolter push it up into each hole.
Test the bolts for tightness
You measure bolt tightness with a torque wrench wherever the roof-support setup requires it.
Quick facts
High school diploma or equivalent
United States · 2025–2035 source release
$78,540 a year
United States · May 2025
18.9% projected decline
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
High school diploma or equivalentThe usual starting education; you learn the job through workplace training.
Pay
$78,540 a yearNational median for roof bolters, mining: $37.76 an hour.
Outlook
18.9% projected declineAbout 100 openings a year nationally, on average, despite shrinking employment.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You enjoy precise machine control.
- You can stay attentive through repeated checks.
Things to weigh
- Dust and noise need active controls. Roof falls can be fatal; safety routines are a substantial part of the work.
- In low coal seams, overhead clearance limits the room you and the machine have to move.
- Workweeks can exceed 40 hours.
Where AI may help
Some bolters let you drill, insert bonding resin and install bolts from an enclosed cab after loading the bolt rack. This changes how close you work to the moving drill.
What people still lead
You still need to recognize hazardous ground and keep people out from under unsupported roof. Cab controls do not remove those decisions.
What we can’t predict yet
How much positioning and loading future machines will take over remains uncertain, especially across mines with very different clearances.
Pay in context
Earnings
When comparing offers, ask about the hourly rate, scheduled hours and how extra hours are paid.
The national midpoint
Roof bolters, mining had median wages of $78,540 a year, or $37.76 an hour. This is a midpoint across workers, not a starting-pay offer.
The national spread
The 10th-to-90th-percentile range was $63,750–$92,830 a year, or $30.65–$44.63 an hour. These mark positions in the wage distribution, not beginner and experienced pay grades.
A shrinking occupation still has openings
Employment is projected to decline 18.9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 100 openings annually on average. Openings can occur as workers leave even when the total number of jobs falls.
Getting started
Enter mining and learn the bolter
- What the route involves
- Seek an employer that trains new miners. Complete at least 40 hours of required underground new-miner training before work duties, including mine hazards and the safety procedures for your first tasks.
- What it can lead to
- Completing and passing that training prepares you to begin the mine duties it covers and continue learning the job.
- What to check
- A safety course alone does not establish bolter competence. Applicable equipment training includes supervised practice and demonstration of safe operation.
Move into bolting from another underground task
- What the route involves
- If you already work underground, learn the bolter’s procedures through new-task instruction and supervised machine operation.
- What it can lead to
- Demonstrating safe procedures to the operator or its representative lets you perform that task without the immediate supervision required during training.
A high school diploma or equivalent is the typical starting point. Underground safety training and learning the bolter are separate parts of becoming ready for the work.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization.
Get consistent
Build reliable habits in machine checks, hole placement and bolt checks.
Learn another bolter
Expand your capability on different equipment. New or modified machines require instruction when their operating procedures change.
Help train operators
With experience, you may take on task instruction and coach new bolter operators. Federal rules allow people experienced in the task to provide this training; the mine determines who takes that responsibility.
Where you can work
Low-seam coal mines
Low-profile bolters fit beneath low roofs. Limited clearance makes the machine’s height and your working position especially important; uneven floors also affect how the bolter moves.
- Field work
- Physical demands
- Safety-sensitive
Higher-seam coal mines
The roof is farther overhead. Bolters with elevating, swinging booms can reach several installation points from one position, so more of your work involves controlling that extended reach.
- Field work
- Physical demands
- Safety-sensitive
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
Compare the equipment photographs on Fletcher’s LOW RRII and 3035-AD product pages. Sketch where the operator works and where the drill boom moves. Which clearances would you want explained before touching the controls? Notice whether studying those details interests you.
Stay safe: Keep this a desktop exercise; equipment photographs are not operating instructions.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine. Roof Bolters, Mining — 47-5043.00. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data for Occupations Not Covered in Detail — Roof bolters, mining. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — national estimates, SOC 47-5043. Accessed 2026-09-29.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment Projections Table 1.2, 2025–2035 — SOC 47-5043. Accessed 2026-09-29.
- Mine Safety and Health Administration / eCFR. 30 CFR 48.5 — Training of new miners. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- Mine Safety and Health Administration / eCFR. 30 CFR 48.7 — Training for unfamiliar work tasks. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- Mine Safety and Health Administration. Unsupported Roof — Safety Alert. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- J.H. Fletcher & Co.. LOW RRII Coal Roof Bolter. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- J.H. Fletcher & Co.. HDDR Coal Roof Bolter. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- J.H. Fletcher & Co.. 3035-AD Remote Roof Bolter. Accessed 2026-10-09.