Back at the turn of the 20th century, before there was even such a thing as Arizona, much of America's working class struggled in and around the vast network of mines and tunnels in the area that would become the forty-eighth U.S. state. The workers were mining, bringing the country's natural (but deeply hidden) resources to the surface. It was a dirty job, but for many Americans it was the only option other than starving.

 

There's a reason they aren't smiling. Many reasons, actually. (Source)

Unfortunately, while the things that people were finding in mines were incredibly valuable to the companies that owned them, the workers found their worth to be just a little above the dirt they were shoveling. As of 1910, an average of 2,000 workers were dying in the mines every year, and that doesn't include the thousands of others who got sick from fumes, injured in explosions, or kicked out of their houses because they couldn't work (source).

Thankfully, these days we have laws, rules, and regulations that prevent companies from just leaving hazardous waste lying around, or treating a worker like a pick-axe attached to a pulse. 

The mine safety inspector is an integral part of that preventative machine. At an average salary of $44,000, it's not the most highly paid integral part of the machine, but the long-term benefits definitely make venturing into a dark hole in the ground a little more worthwhile (source).

 

Plus graphics are a much better quality in real mines. (Source)

At least it pays better than ensuring Minecraft safety. Griefers may be annoying, and stopping them is definitely a noble cause, but ensuring the safety of actual mine shafts may be just a little bit nobler. Just a smidge.

Rather than protect people from others abusing a game, a mine safety inspector protects the workers of America's miles of tunnels from hazards both accidental and intentional. You're there to say, "That beam looks rickety," or "That mine cart has faulty brakes," or "That open flame next to the gas hose is probably a bad idea."

The work of a mine safety inspector is important, especially because much of America still runs on coal and there's only one place to get it―underground. But to be considered for this position, you're going to have to do a lot more than just walking headfirst into a dark tunnel.

First, you have to have some amount of experience in the mines, whether that's as a laborer, engineer, or safety professional (source). Getting a degree is a big help as well, because for some reason the government counts a year of schooling like it were two years in a mine (apparently a classroom must be scarier than a hole in the ground). 

Finally, you have to be intelligent, detail-oriented, and personable so you know what to look for, can find it, and can talk to other people about it.

 

Good one. (Source)

It can be tedious work, and being stuck underground all day is not for the faint of heart. So why do it? Because your work saves lives. Because miners deserve the same protections as the rest of America's hard-working men and women. And because each and every mine deserves a chance to deliver its payload to the surface, as long as it can be done safely.

After all, a mine is a terrible thing to waste.

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