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Now that you have completed the Leaving Cert, some of you may have had more time to reflect and think further about your CAO choices and you may possibly change your preferences and therefore want to complete the CAO Change of Mind form. The Change of Mind submission closing date is fast approaching and is closing on July 1, 2024 at 17:00. This online Change of Mind form allows those who have originally applied to a college or university through the CAO to alter or change the course preferences they originally submitted. The CAO Change of Mind form does not allow you to submit a new application if you have not previously applied. The Change of Mind form allows you to remove or reorganise your previous choices or add new courses with the exception of ‘restricted application’ courses. There is a list of these available at www.cao.ie.

While many Leaving Cert students have already submitted their CAO, there will still be time to fill out the change of mind form if they want to choose a different CAO course, but it is important to remember that you do not necessarily need to be tied to a career relating to your degree forever. Nowadays there is great flexibility, and opportunities for people to change their careers. Many students do get stressed trying to pick a CAO course or apprenticeship as they feel they will be locked into this job or career for the rest of their life. There are however many ways in which you can change direction, even straight after your degree or apprenticeship.

With more than 100,000 people employed in the Irish tech sector, and with many of the global tech leaders choosing to have their headquarters in this country, the tech industry here is booming. The Central Statistics Office has valued the IT industry in Ireland at over €241 billion. Dublin is home to Google, Meta, LinkedIn, and HubSpot, to name a few. Studying IT or computer science can offer a rewarding and exciting career. Nowadays, almost every company, whether it is an SME or a large multinational, has its own IT department, meaning that IT and computer science graduates can choose to work in a range of industries such as healthcare, banking, insurance and education. University of Galway, ATU, and TUS offer courses in information technology and computer science.

Many universities all over the country have dramatically increased their number of Erasmus and study abroad options for students as many universities have realised the benefits of studying abroad for students, most notably increased ‘employability’.

by Claire Murphy

Springboard courses are part of a fantastic Government initiative which offer free or heavily subsidised courses at certificate, degree and masters level, aimed at graduates, the unemployed, employed or those wanting to start their own business. Most of the Springboard courses are one year or less but there are some two year masters. Springboard courses are aligned with the National Framework Qualifications (NFQ) and are stackable, meaning that you can complete a certificate (Level 6) and or a postgraduate diploma (Level 7) and then progress onto a masters (Level 9). There are more than 250 Springboard courses being offered by universities across the country. These courses were designed to supply industry with specific areas of knowledge and expertise, particularly where there was a skills shortage. These areas include green skills, climate change, digital marketing, manufacturing, engineering and innovation.

There are three general degrees available at university – business, which I covered in my last article, as well as science and arts, which I will cover in this article. General degrees are a great starting point for any student who does not know what they want to do after the Leaving Cert but really enjoyed studying a group of subjects or one subject at Leaving Cert. For example, many students who really enjoyed biology and chemistry go on to do general science. Other students who enjoyed arts subjects such as English, history or languages may opt to study an arts degree.

Many universities offer general and more specialised business degrees. University of Galway offers commerce, which is three years, and global commerce, which is similar in course content but offers an additional year for a study abroad or placement option. There are also international commerce courses, which allow you to study a general commerce degree with a language – French, Spanish, German or Gaeilge. International commerce is a four year course and includes a compulsory Erasmus year in the country of the language. ATU Athlone also offers a BA in business which has an equally varied choice of subjects including digital marketing. ATU Athlone also offers languages and work placements as well.

Law can be studied in most universities in Ireland including University of Galway, Galway ATU, Athlone TUS. University of Galway offers a Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL), law and business, law criminology and justice, as well as a BA in law which is offered through general arts. Athlone TUS offers a Bachelor’s in law and a Bachelor of business and law. All of these courses provide a comprehensive basis in the core law subjects such as company law, criminal law, constitutional law, law of contract, property law, tort and European law. These are the subjects that are required to sit the solicitor and bar exams.

Psychology is the study of behaviour and mental processes. Psychology is a very popular course choice both at undergraduate and postgraduate level in Ireland. There is a Bachelor of Science in Psychology available at University of Galway, ATU Galway, and TUS Athlone. All of these courses are four year (Level 8) degree courses, offering work placements in a variety of settings in year 3, which will improve any student’s employability.