Quote Originally Posted by Eltaire View Post
Both Miner and Botanist low level gathering (i.e 5 or 10) will get you Crystal Shards, based on the region you're in.
They're level 1. As soon as you unlock Miner or Botanist you can start gathering them. (Then, as a couple other people have mentioned, at level 20 there are skills that help with getting them slightly quicker.)