Sharing the stories Written in the Stone ⚒ | Owner, MineLife Media | Geological Engineer
What's your best advice for new geos / miners / engineers? I know, broad range there! I was flipping through the good ol' Facebook memories this weekend, and came across this photo, and a little blurb saying what a great experience field camp was and how I was excited to start the next chapter (I was moving to Washington for my first job in a week). And it got me thinking, if I could have told her a piece of advice in that moment, what would it have been? 👉 It's okay to not be liked by everyone? 👉 Learn to say "no" and set boundaries? 👉 Don't be afraid to put yourself out there sooner? Or, opposite, don't put yourself on the internet at all? 👉 Always carry a hand lens in your car or purse? My path has been super winding in the *few* years since this photo was taken. I often get asked what advice I would give my younger self. I think it's a question that many of us get asked a lot, and we usually have some generic answer. I know I do! But when I really sit and think on it like I have been, I honestly don't know what my advice would be. It really depends on the day and what headspace I'm in, and how mean my comments on TikTok and YouTube have been that week! But today, my advice to my younger self would be - "never stop exploring and learning about the world around you. Share that story without trying to build a following and likes, share it in a way that you enjoy and can look back on and be happy about." What's yours? #Geologist #Mining #ShareYourStory #CareerAdvice MineLife Media
Alexander Day
4mo
always have a leatherman
Cindy Collins
4mo
They can learn from you Jessica and expand their network. New people need to know they can reach out to us all in this community. Even when we start as strangers, we tend to want to help each other. After all we have been through many cycles together needing a hand or lending one and are at most one or two contacts away from each other!
Dean Field
4mo
Buy comfortable boots.
Brooke Bibeault
4mo
This one: “It's okay to not be liked by everyone?” YES!!
Listen carefully to what others have to say, pick the advice that works for you, and try to learn something from everyone at all levels, even if it’s learning what NOT to do. Great post Jess! Love your advice!!
Micky Allen
4mo
Jessica Scanlan don't lick the drill core (especially if you have been having problems with the drillers)
Janine Jackson
4mo
Love your honesty! 🙌 Newbies often hear the generic stuff. 'It's okay not to be liked by everyone' is a great reminder. And setting boundaries is SO important.
Robin Swank
4mo
Never never never skip an opportunity to take a field trip to somewhere you know nothing about. Do tell people you’re with about the rocks you see, the faults, fractures, sedimentological features, alteration haloes. It makes for cool future conversations.
Senior Program Manager at Tennessee Valley Authority
4mo1) You will learn more in the field than in the office. 2) Never assume that because you have a degree you know more than the trade worker or equipment operator who has been doing that job for as long as you have been alive. 3) If the field crew teases you early on, that's (usually) a good thing. It's when they don't that you need to worry. 4) Don't go out drinking with drillers after shift. They will put you under the table and then show up the next morning ready to go. 5) You will be asked to do what seems like menial or boring tasks (data entry, editing spreadsheets, etc). This is normal and part of the learning process. And it's the same everywhere. While there are legitimate reasons to look for different employment, it is not a decision to be made lightly. The grass is greener where you water it. 6) When collecting drilling data, there are only two or three people on the face of the earth who know that the rods dropped a tenth of a foot and the washwater briefly changed color at 93.7 feet. But that clay seam that won't get recovered may be more important than all the core in the box. If you don't write it down, fugitive data is lost forever. 7) Don't forget to look up (at slopes, for powerlines, in adits, etc).