# guiding daughter in choice of future career



## olivia (25 Aug 2008)

My daughter, going into Leaving Cert year, really doesn’t know what she wants to do - she thinks she would like primary teaching but may not make the points for that.  I am not sure we have the insights or knowledge to guide her and wonder if there is anyone in the West of Ireland, we/she could talk to.  She does have careers guidance at school but we feel she needs something more one-to-one and in-depth (though this may not be the case).  Can any one advise us?


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## ClubMan (25 Aug 2008)

Why do you/she think that the career guidance at school is not sufficient? Surely she can ask for some one on one attention there?


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## aoc (25 Aug 2008)

~You can do primary teaching in thurles for about 320 points.... sounds low i know but a boy i know just got offered it for this coming year...... is that too far away for you??

hardest decision ever........ best of luck!!


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## DrMoriarty (25 Aug 2008)

ClubMan said:


> Why do you/she think that the career guidance at school is not sufficient? Surely she can ask for some one on one attention there?


I'd echo that. There are some useful information pieces, articles and links to other resources gathered together [broken link removed], but they won't replace face-to-face advice from a suitably qualified career guidance teacher who (presumably?) knows her a little bit.

She should also try to attend the 'open days' organised early in the academic year at the various institutions she might be interested in applying to — has she asked about this at school yet?

Finally, bear in mind that her main objective for this year should be to keep her head down and aim to do the best she can in the L. Cert. without stressing too much about her plans for later. The course choices she puts down in her initial CAO application can all be changed right up until 1st July (see their website for details).



aoc said:


> You can do primary teaching in thurles for about 320 points....


Are you sure you're not confusing [broken link removed] with ? The points for primary school teaching are about 475 this year, as far as I'm aware.


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## aoc (25 Aug 2008)

sorry............. just remembered its actually secondary teaching he's going to do....... still not bad points tho....


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## ClubMan (25 Aug 2008)

Personally I would not consider it any sort of crisis (not saying that the original poster does either) for a school leaver not to know what they wanted to do for most or the rest of their life. It's a tall order for a c. 18/19 year old to make such a decision immediately. Neither is it a disaster for them to choose something (e.g. a job or course) but jack it in and switch to something else if they find that it's not suited to them or vice versa.


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## Leitz (25 Aug 2008)

If she is interested in primary teaching and worried about points, there are ways around this. She can opt for an arts course (as many do) and go on to do her H-dip in order to get her teaching degree. It is difficult to do your H-dip in Ireland, a.f.a.i.k Dublin and Limerick are the only 2 colleges that you can do this in. They have limited spaces and as part of it have to do interview in Irish. However someone I know went to Wales and did their H-dip there in a year (and on return to Ireland had to do an Irish exam). Takes longer to qualify but still attainable. 
Many people who are unsure of what they want opt for arts courses or business studies courses. From main business studies courses it is possible to move into particular stream such as human resources, accounting, marketing etc. from an arts course you also have the choice of secondary teaching.


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## patspost (25 Aug 2008)

There is a lady in Loughrea that did career guidence, consulatancy, she may be in the phone book, or else try the Institute of Guidence counsellors, they should have a list of members, some of whom may engege in private practice.

There are plenty of colleges that do the H Dip in Education or as it is now called the Postgradute in education. There is however competition to get in to do the course, but she is a long way from that stage...
This is a qualification for secondary teaching.

There is also the Hibernian college online course to convert a BA  degree to a primary teaching qulaification, again she is a bit away from that stage too.

The guidence counsellor may advise something like an arts degree, if she has no strong preference as to what she would like to do, but she will need to look at the subjects on offer and see if she would be interested in studying them at 3rd level for a few years e.g. French, history, english or whatever.
A business degree is pretty general too, but no more than an Arts degree (or other degrees) further study may be required to get a career out of it.

I suppose start by talking to the career person, maybe give the teacher at her school a ring. Also look up the college websites to get a feel for what is avalable, best of luck.


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## MrMan (25 Aug 2008)

ClubMan said:


> Why do you/she think that the career guidance at school is not sufficient? Surely she can ask for some one on one attention there?




Maybe its changed in the last 10 years or so but my career guidance teacher was the irish teacher doing a sideline. I don't think there is adequate guidance in secondary.


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## Bubbly Scot (25 Aug 2008)

My daughter's heading into Year 5 too and up til recently she knew what she wanted to do. I agree with the poster(s) above who said it's more about applying themselves at this stage, we also advised our daughter to chose her subjects carefully in order to give herself as many options as possible when it came to making choices.

I think 16/17 is much too young to be making such decisions, my belief is head down and get the grades, once they have those under their belts their choices open up.

Good luck, it's a bit of a mine field.


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## aircobra19 (25 Aug 2008)

People can change their minds at any age. Theres no rush at 18. Lots of options. Take a year out, go travelling, go working for a while, do a short course, year etc. Get a bit of experience etc. Lots of people try different paths before they settle on one they like.


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## Sue Ellen (25 Aug 2008)

aircobra19 said:


> People can change their minds at any age. Theres no rush at 18. Lots of options. Take a year out, go travelling, go working for a while, do a short course, year etc. Get a bit of experience etc. Lots of people try different paths before they settle on one they like.



But doesn't this make availing of the CAO system a lot harder?


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## Newbie! (25 Aug 2008)

sueellen said:


> But doesn't this make availing of the CAO system a lot harder?


 
Suprisingly not. the CAO is not only for school leavers. It is for people of many ages and from many backgrounds such as mature students and graduate entrants. There may even be a section where you can submit additional information such as professional development or extracuricular activities but Im not 100% on this.


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## aircobra19 (25 Aug 2008)

sueellen said:


> But doesn't this make availing of the CAO system a lot harder?


 
I'll admit its been quite a while since I had any interest in the CAO. How do you mean?


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## j26 (25 Aug 2008)

Feck it - I'm 37 and still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.  Let her be a teenager, and she'll work it out.

If she's interested in teaching, let her pursue that.  Just remind her that there are loads of different types of teaching - lecturing, training (in-house or contract), primary school, secondary school, adult ed etc.  There are many routes into these, so no fear if her first choice doesn't work out.


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## Pique318 (26 Aug 2008)

j26 said:


> Feck it - I'm 37 and still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.  Let her be a teenager, and she'll work it out.


Amen to that !


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## pinkyBear (26 Aug 2008)

Hi there,
If you ring a collage near you they should ahve career guidance councillers that will do occupational psychology tests - basically identifying your strengths and weeknesses. 
I got in contact with TCD, and managed to see one of their councillers privatly.  While I know the child is young good career guidance is really important and alot of schools dont tend to put alot of thought in to who teaches it..
P...


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## csirl (26 Aug 2008)

She may not know what she wants to do job wise, but what subjects does she like and is good at? This is always a good place to start. If she studies a subject she's good at in college, she'll get a good degree. If she gets a good degree, she'll have plenty of options, not just in the subject area she's studied.


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## iambrilliant (27 Aug 2008)

You could advise her to do those strength/weakness tests online www.tickle.com or www.fas.ie are two I used and found useful a number of years ago. (tickle can be fun but to get the more serious career/personality results subscribe to the site fo a month)

I would go along with previous posters.... do not panic. try not to be too pushy my own parents were and I did exactly what they didn't want me to do before eventually going back to eduaction. overall just make sure she's happy (not you) with her choice


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## galwegian44 (27 Aug 2008)

Olivia, this can be exteremely stressful for a parent as we all want what's best for our kids....and I agree with other posters that generally the career guidance in Irish schools (ones that I have been exposed to anyway) leaves a lot to be desired. I'm in a similar situation with my daughter although she is a bit younger and I would love her to be truly passionate about doing something.

I've found myself just talking about various jobs helps as you are exposed to them in your daily life; my son has jumped on this bandwagon (he's 12) and asks a tremendous number of questions every day (it seems like) as he sees or comes in contact with people, ultimately ending with "How much would you earn in that job?"

Take a look at http://www.careerdirections.ie/ with her as it provides a "Career Directions Matching" section which will try to match potential careers based on her interests and qualifications.

At this point in her development I would focus more on subjects that she enjoys rather then trying to match subjects to careers; you will find that she will do a better Leaving Cert if she is focusing on her best subjects. I pretty much fell into my career and have had no regrets so don't worry unduly; you will find that things will work out fine for her. Especially as it seems she has parents that are taking an interest.

All the best.




olivia said:


> My daughter, going into Leaving Cert year, really doesn’t know what she wants to do - she thinks she would like primary teaching but may not make the points for that. I am not sure we have the insights or knowledge to guide her and wonder if there is anyone in the West of Ireland, we/she could talk to. She does have careers guidance at school but we feel she needs something more one-to-one and in-depth (though this may not be the case). Can any one advise us?


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## susan12 (27 Aug 2008)

As a lecturer at a third level institution I have to say that we see quiet a bit of 'helicopter parenting' where a parent assumes too much responsibility for their child's future life choices.  I am not saying this is the case here with the OP however I would advise you to take a step back and remember that it isn't like it was 20 years ago whereby your Leaving Cert essentially determined your life chances.  Today people move in and out of careers and hence in and out of formal education.  The ability to return to college and get access to previously unaccessible courses is now common - think of barristers, medicine etc.  I understand it is difficult to stand back but I can honestly say that my colleagues and I can pick out a mile off those young adults who's parents are overly involved in their lives - its shows in their attendance, their contributions and ultimately their marks.  If you want to give your child the best possible start be there to listen, offer an opinion if asked for it and be ready to support them irrespective of your desires, dreams or ambitions for them!


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## Purple (27 Aug 2008)

Excellent post susan12


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## delisha (28 Aug 2008)

hey olivia. that career guidance woman is marie barrett. went there bout 5 years ago when i was still tryin to figure out what i wanted to do-expensive but worth it for some clarity.I am 28. i studied fine art after my leaving-it was all i ever wanted to do. but the reality of career prospects and loss of interest etc. led me to drop put after 2 years. worked my way up in retail to management, then lived abroad for few years and now have a job i really enjoy with the HSE. I decided that i wouldn't rush into another course until i was really 100% sure that it was what i wanted to do, so now i'm studying for a degree in addiction counselling part-time and absolutely love it. i'm so glad i had the chance to do other things coz i'm a completely diffrent person now than i was at 18. anyway my advice is even if your daughter makes the wrong decision now it won't be the end of the world there are ways around everything and she will get to where she wants to be (even if it takes ten years)


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