PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND PRACTICES - COLUMN 153
Topical Index-Table of Contents to the Professional Ethics and Practices Columns
Compiled by David M. Abbott, Jr., CPG-04570, 5055 Tamarac Street, Denver, CO 80238, 303-394-0321, fax 303-394-0543,
dmageol@msn.com
Student Interest Topics
As this issue of the TPG is a student issue, I’m sharing some thoughts that students might find useful.
Business cards are a must for net- working. Several students attended the Social Licensing conference in Denver and were able to connect with some energy company employees to talk about arranging for an energy expo at their university. The company employees had business cards with their contact information while the students did not. You’ll never know when such cards will be handy. They don’t have to be fancy and so you can either buy them cheaply or join with a friend or two to buy the business card stock you can run through your printer. The point is to have them to hand out to those you meet at meetings, etc. In a related matter, use a personal email address on your cards rather than your student address so that you can be reached outside of school or once you’ve graduated.
Income tax deductions for
geoscience equipment: if you earn money from a summer job or by working for a professor, you may be able to deduct the costs of your job-related profes- sional supplies and equipment from your income taxes. Items like hard-toed boots, hard hats, safety vests, hammers, dues to professional associations, costs to attend meetings, etc. will qualify. How much you can deduct depends on whether your income is reported to you on Form W-2 or Form 1099. If your income comes via a 1099, you can use Schedule C to deduct the full costs. If your income is reported on a W-2, then you can only deduct the costs exceeding 2% of your adjusted gross income. Every little bit helps.
Professional flexibility is needed to keep working: the cyclical nature of employment for private sector geoscien- tists is a continuing fact of life. Having a solid geoscience background in a vari- ety of areas will permit you to switch fields as necessary. I know a number of geoscientists who started in the mining business or the oil business who switched to environmental or engineering jobs. In addition to skills you need a good net- work across the geosciences so that you know what’s going on and have contacts across the geosciences. This is something that being active in AIPG provides.
Field Camp: It’s not Optional for the Professional, this is the title of the lead topic in PE&P column 131 in the Jan/Feb 11 TPG. If you haven’t taken or made plans to attend a field camp, do so for the reasons set out in that discussion. As a t-shirt I have reads, “The geologist who sees the most rocks wins.” There’s no substitute for seeing geology in the field. Rocks really hang out in the mountain west and if you haven’t visited, do so. Read Stephanie Jarvis’ (then SA-1495) “Notes from the field” Student’s Voice column in the Sep/Oct 11 TPG and Kristina Pourtabib’s, SA-3410, “A capstone experience” Student’s Voice column in the Sep/Oct 13 TPG on the value and importance of field camp (back issues of the TPG are available on AIPG’s website).
Volunteer: Jean Neubeck’s, CPG-
11438, Editor’s Corner, “Positive Side Effects of Selfishly Volunteering (Yes, I meant Selfish)” in the Oct/Nov/Dec 14 TPG is an excellent discussion of the benefits of volunteering in professional organizations. Start with the geology club at your school. If it’s not an AIPG Student Chapter, form one. Participate in your local Section’s meetings and field
A topically based Index-Table of Contents, “pe&p index.xls” cov ering col- umns, articles, and letters to the editor that have been referred to in the PE&P columns in Excel format is on the AIPG web site in the Ethics section. This Index- Table of Contents is updated as each issue of the TPG is published. You can use it to find those items addressing a particular area of concern. Suggestions for improve- ments should be sent to David Abbott,
dmageol@msn.com
trips and those of other local geoscience organizations. Volunteer to help with these activities and in other ways. Practicing professionals welcome the help and are eager to get to know our younger colleagues. You’ll be surprised at the job counseling and opportunities you’ll be exposed to. This is also known as networking; read Stephanie Jarvis’s, YP-0125, “Transitions” column in the Apr/May/Jun 14 TPG.
Reflections on a Geologic Career is a free publication from AIPG’s website in which a number of geoscientists from across the geoscience profession reflect on what they wish they’d known when they started their careers. If you don’t have a copy, download one and read it.
Questions for
Students and Young Professionals
I prepared Figure 1 showing the age frequency distribution of all AIPG members for whom AIPG has a birth year, a total of 5,554 members. The dis- tribution is not surprising and reflects similar histograms prepared over the years. It is essentially identical to an age frequency histogram I prepared in September 2011. Those over 80 years of age are the remnant of what was a frequency high 35-40 years ago. Those between 51 and 70 years of age were young then and now form the prominent high distribution. Those 30 years of age or less form a new high. These are the students and young professionals who will become the leaders of the geoscience profession and, we hope, of AIPG in the coming years. Currently, 66% of the membership is older than 50 while 20% are 35 and under. The 14% between 35 and 50 are those who managed to stay
www.aipg.org
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