Issue link: http://resourceworld.uberflip.com/i/832998
J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 1 7 www.resourceworld.com 5 Editor's Comments Ellsworth Dickson Ellsworth Dickson, Editor-in-Chief Email: editor@resourceworld.com T: 604 484 3800 | 1 877 484 3800 Y oung people contemplating a rewarding career, particularly those who live in cities removed from mines, may have overlooked the resource sector. For example, there are the obvious careers such as a geologist, geo- physicist or mining engineer; however, there are dozens of related vocations – more about them later. There are different kinds of geologists such as mine geologists and exploration geologists. Mine geologists are employed at mining operations and work closely with mining engineers to define mineral resources of economic grade and plan how best to extract them. Some mine geologists are able to live in towns and cities such as Kamloops, BC or Timmins, Ontario. Other mining operations are remote and employ- ees live in a camp on a fly-in/fly out basis. Exploration geologists sometimes live in town but often need to live in remote regions of the world. This is a serious life- style consideration. While exploration geology can be an exciting endeavour, bear in mind that it takes a certain kind of person who is happy with that lifestyle. It's great fun to fly around in helicopters seeing wild locales; however, if you are married or a female geologist wanting to start a family, it can be difficult to have a normal life when your job is in the bush. However, there is a way around this problem. After paying your dues in the field for a few years, one can go into administration or consulting. In this way, one will visit remote projects on occasion and then return to the city and your fam- ily. Many of my colleagues have done this and enjoy the best of both worlds. There are numerous universities in Canada and the United States that offer earth science degrees as well as colleges with mining-related diplomas. In fact, one doesn't even need to be a geologist or engineer to work in the mining sector. If you have an entrepreneurial or business aptitude or an interest in capital markets, be a broker specializing in mining issues, work in Investor Relations, be a min- ing company accountant or start a junior exploration company. Kevin Bottomley, President and CEO of King's Bay Gold, is a graduate in market- ing from the British Columbia Institute of Technology. "Every day I wake up and realize there are new challenges that moti- vate me. I came into this industry knowing very little and over the past decade I've grown as a person and become an execu- tive. Being in the capital markets, I get to recognize opportunities and adapt to new situations. That's what is exciting to me." Some colleges, such as the Haileybury School of Mines in Ontario, part of Northern College, of which I am a gradu- ate, offer two and three-year diplomas in mining technology. As the courses offered at Northern College are broad-based, graduates have gone into a variety of min- ing-related jobs. If you have an ability to write about science and engineering in an understandable manner, you can be a min- ing journalist. Then there are the trades in the mining sector such as electrician, heavy equip- ment operator, mechanic, welder, and so on. These mining-related jobs offer some of the highest wages of any trade. As the world's population grows, it will need a great deal of metals and minerals, bringing a host of career opportunities. n Young people may want to check out careers in mining