Through the eyes of a geologist

- The bitterling fish - Unio bivalve - A pregnant woman Unio sucks in the bitterling fish eggs via siphons. The eggs mature whilst similarly the Unio itself breeds. Unio releases the larvea, which symbiotically sticks to the fish. The bitterling fish can then be used as a pregnancy test. If a woman is pregnant, the ovipositors of the bitterling fish protude. Learn something new every day!

Today was my first practical as a second year undergraduate for the module of Major Events in the History of Life. It was called 'To see a world in a grain of sand...' and has completely opened my eyes. Using sand from Dogs Bay, Galaway, and a stereomicroscope, I observed the skeltal remains of micro-organisms and matched them up in order to name and identify what exact microfossil was. I was able to distinguished sponge spicules, gastropods, sea urchin spines, foraminifera in the form of Textulaira, Gaudryina, Cibicides and Elphidium, and ostracods too - all of which were below 1mm in size, so very challenging when 'picking' individual specimens from the Dogs Bay sand slide. Grace enjoying a challenge Luke concentrating Myself in utter awe Dogs Bay sand I think I have found my niche!

Having attended the PCSB Society talk yesterday (the university's main geology society), I was given a great insight into the career of Dougal Jerram. To some of you, he may be known as Dr. Volcano, named by  BBC the One Show, but he has had a history of educational television episodes aired, revolving around geology.  Whilst speaking about current affairs, he was sharing his experience with Eyjafjallajokull, which caused mayhem to worldwide airports not just the UK. Having not known at the time, people were then placing bets on which volcano was next to erupt. I didn't even know volcano betting existed! So now I'm currently waiting for the next big eruption to place my bet. Watch this space... Dougal was able to share with us a clip of his Grand Canyon expedition which was filmed in August 2013, and will be aired 2014. It looks very exciting but that is unfortunately all I can say. So keep your eyes peeled for a new series on the BBC.

Today I went to a session at university regarding being prepped for the Festival of Careers 2013. Having gone to a prep session last year, I was disappointed to see no Geology companies. Having listened to feedback, this year CGG will be visiting the University of Leicester on 7 th November on the Engineering, Science and IT day. Today I have learnt that there are 400,000 graduates from UK universities every year. I was quite surprised to hear that for every graduate role, a company receives on average 85 applications. Whether or not 85 had the desired qualities, this still shows the competitiveness graduates are now facing and how it is vital to now stand out in a crowd. My objectives of attending the careers festival this year will be primarily to make contacts with companies that appeal to my interests – I will primarily be researching the geological companies first, but will keep my horizons open as I never know what the future entails. I hope to gain an insight into the c...

Click for my video demonstrating my journey through the  Leicester Award for Online Networking It is something I'd recommend to all - old and new, Leicester students as my perception of social media has completely changed! I thought I was 'in the know' with regards to technology, but only now do I realise the importance of taking advantage of the internet.

I've always had an interest in world development. If I hadn't of fell in love with and chosen to study Geology at university, I would have definitely taken the option to study international development. I'm actively researching how I could possibly interlink these as a career. I follow Geology for Global Development  regularly, and find the work they do ever so interesting. I'm hopefully attending their national conference in October as I'd love to meet people of similar interests but still within the geology field of work. Their website actually took me to The Association of Geoscientists for Internation Development  which I've now become a member of. It costs merely £3 for a student in the UK which I personally think it worth paying if you have such an interest as I think it's important to be globally aware.

I've recently been introduced to Weebly - where you are able to create your own online CV. I'd been inspired from a few (links below) and thought I'd give a go at my own attempt. My inspiration: http://kristin.fm/sm/index.html http://ulrikeschulz.weebly.com/index.html Let me know what you think of mine: Jo Miles Online Résumé