South Dakota Mines Students Discover Career Opportunities at Annual Career Fair

South Dakota Mines annual career fairs are more than just events – they are gateways to opportunity, connecting students across all disciplines with future careers.
Hunter Barnhart knows this firsthand.
The sophomore mining engineering major landed two summer internships by networking with global employers at the university's career fairs.
Mines Career Services will host the spring career fair from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 4, in the King Center. More than 1,000 students across all majors are expected to network with over 150 leading companies in science and engineering, eager to recruit for internships and jobs.
“I believe the amount and quality of internships available are among the most valuable parts of attending South Dakota Mines,” Barnhart said. “In my brief three months at a mine, I learned a ton about the industry and confirmed that I want to work in mining. I am confident that, as a student, I benefited both professionally and personally from my internship. Without the career fair, getting an internship would not have been so easy.”
Last summer, Barnhart worked for Warrior Met, an underground coal mine near Tuscaloosa,
Ala. He rotated through operations, engineering, safety, human resources and the warehouse.
During the fall career fair, he leveraged his previous internship to obtain one with
Freeport McMoRan this summer. “It is one of the top internships available to mining
engineers,” Barnhart said.
Career Services offers students a variety of opportunities to hone their interview and networking skills. This spring, they partnered with Career Fair Plus, an app that allows students advanced access to employer profiles and the ability to submit digital resumes before the event.
“For my preparation, I attended Career Services resume builder and interview workshop, alongside the Kimberly-Clark resume builder session,” Barnhart said. “I then found a list of common interview questions and prepared a few talking points.”
South Dakota Mines' career fairs are regularly some of the largest in the state. For this spring’s event, 32 states will be represented with 54 South Dakota companies and 22 from the Black Hills. Vendors and companies include: 3M, AE2S, Aerostar International, Caterpillar, Daktronics, Emerson, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Freeport-McMoRan, Halliburton, Kiewit, Nucor, Omnitech, Phase Technologies, LLC., United States Steel Corporation and West Plains Engineering, among many others.
"Career fairs play a vital role in connecting our students with job and internship opportunities, setting them on the path to successful careers," said Mines President Brian Tande, Ph.D. "The consistently strong industry presence speaks volumes about the outstanding talent of our students and the commitment of our faculty."
South Dakota Mines graduates remain highly sought after. A total of 97% of the most recent graduating class are employed in their field of study or are in graduate school and have an average starting salary of $73,547.
Internships are a valuable educational experience, as those who participated in an internship had a placement rate of 100% and an average starting salary of $75,449.
Media are welcome to attend the event. Note: South Dakota Mines' career fairs are open to Mines students and alumni only.