The Rise of American Mining Engineers: A Case Study of the Colorado School of Mines

Mining engineering, like other varieties of engineering, underwent a process of professionalization during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. But professionalization was not necessarily accompanied by increased technical specialization-indeed, the "new," collegeeducated mining engineers took over both technological and nontechnological duties.' The following study of Colorado School of Mines (CSM) mining engineering graduates extends well into the 20th century, hitherto little studied; and, because it is based primarily on records of what mining engineers actually did, rather than what they published in their journals, it enables us to estimate the relative importance that managerial, financial, and technical components had in their work. As it turns out, management incorporating new cost-accounting techniques was a primary part of mining engineers' jobs, although other new technically informed functions required by the changing industrial system-purchase and sales of equipment, financial and legal counsel, and teaching, textbook writing, and a journals industry-also provided employment for the new professionals. Thus this article supports the findings of Edwin Layton and David Noble, who have both noted the importance of nontechnical variables