Do You Have a Mentor? William J. Elliott, CPG 04194
If you are reading this, you are prob- ably already enrolled in a college or university. And, you’ve probably chosen geology (or earth-science in today’s ver- nacular) as a major. Great! Welcome to one of the most exciting and satisfying life-long professions on this planet.
Now, what lies ahead? Signing up for and getting into classes you need to graduate, all-nighters, studying for mid- terms and finals, and finally ordering the physical trappings of a graduating senior. Done? Not quite.
Humans are social animals. We need more in our brains than just the stuff we memorized to pass tough classes. Your diploma only tells prospective employers that you have what it takes to see a job or project through to completion. That is, you started something and saw it through to the end. You didn’t give-up or quit. That is as important to an employer as the book-learning you stuffed into your brain.
So Now, What About Mentoring?
Mentoring can take many forms and evolve over time. Your parents were
mentors – they taught you to look both ways before crossing the street, to eat your vegetables, and to say please and thank you. Your sports coach taught you to keep your eye on the ball and to be a graceful loser. These are all socializa- tions that will benefit you throughout your academic and professional life.
A modified dictionary definition of mentoring goes something like this: Mentoring is a process of informal transmission of knowledge and psycho- social support through a personal trust relationship between a mentor and an apprentice or mentee. Effective mentor- ing includes face-to-face communica- tion during a sustained period of time. Through this process, the mentee is able to absorb knowledge and wisdom from the mentor’s personal experience – information that is rarely available in an academic classroom.
So, don’t drag your feet. If you don’t already have a favorite professor or graduate-assistant who has taken you under-wing, go find one with whom you feel comfortable and start systematically picking his/her brain. Don’t be a pest, but take advantage of the opportunity.
Once you reach the working world, a close business associate will likely be the most help. No matter what you do or where you go in life, having someone to talk with will make your journey easier, more pleasant -- and likely more profitable.
Mr. Elliott graduated in 1966, from San Diego State University with an M.S. degree in geology. After spending five years as an Exploration Geologist with Standard Oil Company of California, he moved on to the world of Engineering Geology. Retirement wouldn’t come until forty-four years later. Following eight years of experience with geotechnical firms in Southern California, he hung out his shingle to begin a thirty-seven year career as an independent Consulting Engineering Geologist. Being on his own was scary, sometimes terrifying, but in the end, long hours, good, hard, honest work done on-time and within budget led to that sometimes elusive intangible gift -- good feelings of self-worth and self- esteem.Would he do it all over again? Yes. With one exception, he would play more between the never ending cycles of crises that define the life of a consultant.
Jim Burnell, CPG-11609
Data released by The Silver Institute shows that worldwide silver consumption stood at 1.07 billion ounces in 2014 (World Silver Survey 2015 – Silver News, June 2015). This repre- sents a 4% decline from 2013, mainly because of a decrease in bullion demand (coins and bars) which had reached a record level in 2015.
Use of silver for jewelry increased 1.5%. Regionally, jewelry silver demand was up 2.2% in the US, 9.3% in Europe, and a whopping 47% in India.
Industrial applications account for the largest demand segment for silver – 56%. China’s silver demand was up 4% for the year, while other developed nations dropped slightly. Primary end-uses of the metal are as a catalyst in the pro- duction of ethylene oxide, photovoltaics, and brazing and alloys. Approximately 15% of total mine production went to the ethylene oxide plants. Demand for silver in photovolta- ics increased last year, reflecting an increase in solar panel
installation. Demand in the electronics and photographic sectors was down slightly.
Demand for silver bullion coins and bars was 107.6 million
ounces. Leading consumers were the US, Canada, India and Spain. Total investment demand, including physical bars, coins, and medals, along with ETF inventories, was 636 mil- lion ounces.
Mine production of silver increased to 877.5 million ounces – up 5% from the previous year. 31% of that came from pri- mary silver mines. The leading silver-producing countries were Mexico, Peru, China, Australia and Chile.
New applications highlighted by The Silver News include silver nanowires for the new iPad screens, silver-coated chips for blood testing, anti-bacterial coatings for hospitals and silver-impregnated water filtration devices.
For those of you quick with math, you can see that once again, silver demand out-paced mine production, a continuing condition in the industry.
www.aipg.org
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