14 | CAO - CHANGE OF MIND
CAO - CHANGE OF MIND | 15
Second chances Research has shown that up to 80 per cent of students in some third-level courses are failing to progress into second year of college. The reasons for dropping out are varied but one of the main reasons is that students made the wrong course choice. This can have a significant impact on society, as students may lose out on time and expenses, while the economy is deprived of an educated workforce.
Michael Torrans, Product Designer at Pleolight, says if you don’t love the course you’re in, you need to find the one you do love
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“After really thinking about it, I decided to leave and take some time off before making my next decision. I got in touch with DIT to see if there was a back route into the product design course and they suggested I look into a FAS course related to my interest, which I ended up doing for six months. I knew I was going to eventually re-apply through the CAO but having something to do for six months and learning a skill was a good use of my time.” After completing the FAS course, Michael got back in touch with DIT to see if he could get into the product design course, however it was oversubscribed and he knew people who received the points originally were the priority. “I ended up completing a three-year course
in mechanical engineering, because DIT staff explained that if I completed that and was still interested, there would be a place for me on the product design course, not as a mature student, but I could apply having been a student in DIT already. “So when I moved into the product design course I was also exempt from the initial classes because I’d covered some of them in engineering. But once I got involved in the creative production of products, I found it was more exciting than engineering – we were using a lot of 3D programmes – and I knew straight away that I loved it. “I was also much more ready and mature for the course. When I went to UCD, it was all college nights out, people not showing up to classes and some students not making it past first year. By the time I started with product design, I was more than ready to get my head down.” After four years studying product design, Michael got his honours degree and moved on to find work with James Leckey Design Ltd in Belfast for two years. Today, he is a product designer at lighting design company, Pleolight, and is also the organiser of The Plotting Shed, Dublin, a team of creative thinkers which provides companies or start ups with fresh ideas. “I was the guts of seven years in DIT, but when it came to actually getting a job at the end of my time there, because I had an engineering degree and a product design degree, I got my first job pretty much straight away. I went the long way around, but the second degree really helped me get that first job so it was worth it. I’m now looking at furthering my skills by doing a masters next year in design and innovation, which I’ll do while I’m working. “I’m glad I didn’t stick with the forestry for the sake of it because I definitely wouldn’t have enjoyed the course or career. Don’t put things down on the CAO that you’re not 100 per cent sure about. Research and visit the college you intend to do a course in but don’t feel bad if you can’t find one that interests you yet. A good teacher of mine in school did say the Leaving Certificate isn’t the be-all and end-all – you can find your course or career a few years later. There are other options to get you into college and other things to do. Take a bit of time out if you need to and don’t rush straight into anything you’re not sure about.”
An open mind
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n sixth year, I was confused about what my next step was,” Rachel says. “I didn’t really understand what my own interests or qualities were. One thing I’d always been interested in doing was medicine, but I’d done a lot of music in and outside school and since I was spending so much time with it, I actually got a place in the Royal Irish Academy of Music. “I did one year there before I changed my mind – I realised I didn’t love music as much as I thought I did and I also didn’t see a career in it. I re-applied through the CAO and began a four-year course in philosophy and politics at Trinity College, Dublin, which I never considered before.” Although a course in philosophy and politics was a completely different discipline to music, Rachel felt it had a link to her initial interest of medicine – it led her to developing an interest in helping people. “I always knew I wanted to do something that helped people, so I was interested in overseas development – working with charities, that type of thing. Because there wasn’t any specific course for this, I was advised that doing a general type of arts degree would be a good stepping stone, in particular, philosophy and politics. “I had planned to do a masters afterwards in development studies but because I did summer internships and volunteering in Ireland and overseas in places such as Ghana, I was able to get work quickly with several charities that I really enjoyed.” Rachel currently works part-time, as Communications and Fundraising Officer with a charity called Making Connections. However, after her travels she decided she didn’t just want to work with charities, but also wanted to include other aspects of wellbeing and helping others in her work. “I had an interest in dance and gymnastics at a young age and when travelling I realised I
Whether you’re finishing secondary school or are considering going back to education, the fate of your future ultimately lies in your hands. However, while it is vital that you choose a course you are passionate about, this doesn’t mean that you can’t have a second or third chance if things don’t work out exactly as you expected. Here, three graduates share their education experiences.
Taking time ichael dreamed of pursuing a career in product design from a young age and loved metal work and tech graphic subjects in sixth year. However, he didn’t get the required points for his top choice on the CAO, a product design course in Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), and instead was offered his third choice of forestry in UCD. “I loved the outdoors and I very much wanted a job in the outdoors,” says Michael. “Although I didn’t know much about the forestry course, I decided to take it because I didn’t get my top choice. I did forestry for two or three months but I soon realised I wasn’t settling into it as well as I thought I would have.
It’s very difficult to know what to do with the rest your life, particularly when you’re young. Rachel Gilliland, a Yoga Instructor at Yoga Bray, Wicklow (yogabray.com), knows this all too well
On the right route Lisa Ryan, an honours graduate in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), has to take the long route to get to her dream job. However, she says the experience has been invaluable
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y top choice on the CAO was primary teaching in Mary Immaculate College, Co Limerick,” Lisa explains. “But unfortunately I didn’t get the points that were needed. My second choice had been an arts degree, but I just missed the minimum entry requirements so that brought me to my third choice, which was ECCE.” Lisa, who grew up in Offaly as the oldest of six children in her family and the oldest of forty cousins, says she had always been surrounded by kids and enjoyed being with them and caring for them – a passion she always wanted to follow through with her future career. “When I accepted the childcare course,
about three weeks into it, I was offered the arts course, which could potentially be a backway into teaching. I also had thoughts about just going back to repeat the Leaving Cert to get the points for primary teaching. I had a tough decision to make but I decided to remain in childcare. “I figured that because I loved children, I would still enjoy the course. I was interested in the module outlines presented at the beginning of the year, there were many career prospects in the childcare provision, and I felt it would open doors for me to get into primary teaching if I was still interested after the fouryear course.” Lisa says one of the best aspects of the course was the opportunity to gain work experience, which led to a part-time job. “We had to do work placement throughout the four years I was there and at the end of first year, I actually got a job in the crèche I had been doing my work experience in. I felt this was really beneficial because not only did it allow me to support myself financially in college, but everything I was learning in college, I was able to put into practical use. “When I left college I got a full-time job straight away. I was minding my uncle’s children every day during the week, before I was offered a job minding the children of my local doctors. I’ve never been out of work, so that has been great. “For now, I can’t think of leaving the children that I’m minding because I’m very attached to them, but I’ll have to accept the fact they’ll get older and at some stage, won’t require caring for! I’m still very much interested in pursuing a career in primary teaching and have been saving money to do a two-year teaching course in Hibernia College, which I began recently. “I’m so glad that I chose to do ECCE in the end, because now many things that are being studied in the primary teaching course, such
as the philosophers and sociology, I had them covered in college. So it’s just revision for some modules – I’m refreshing my memory! I think it was a good stepping stone because I learned a lot about child development.” Lisa advises people who don’t get their top choice in the CAO to avoid being too disappointed – things can work out for the better. “If you have a course you want to do, don’t tell yourself that you won’t be good enough to get the points for it, just study as hard as you can and where you end up might surprise you. If you don’t come out with the points you wanted, it’s not the end of the world, there are ways of getting to what it is you really want to do.”
liked the physical and mindful benefits of yoga. So I did teacher training in yoga and I’m also studying massage therapy, while continuing part-time charity work and teaching at Yoga Bray. Over the next three years, I’d love to be working full-time in health and wellbeing. I love the fact that I can keep my options open. “People used to tell me that you have to
follow what you enjoy and I kind of took that for granted. Now I know that’s the only way forward for me if I want to be successful and happy. I would encourage people not to be afraid to follow things you are excited about. You will change your mind many times as you go along, but if you enjoy what you’re doing, you’ll probably be twice as successful.”