In my opinion, you're better off trying to get into oil and gas. Everything in oil is priced off an approx. $35 barrel of oil. When oil rises above that it is a bonus for the guys high up. As a result, oil and gas is a more stable industry to work in. Oil has risen up slightly compared to a month or two ago, back up at around $50/barrel. Also, there's a lot of different jobs in mining and oil. They all pay big dollars. You may want to consider some of the different possibilities... But I am with the other guys on this, now isn't the best time to try and get into either of these industries. People I know working in bigger oil companies say that things will pick up in the second half of this year, or early next year, for oil. Dunno about mining. A mate of mine got made redundant a few months back, and has since moved into water and waste water treatment.