What do todays workers say about the subjects they chose when they did their Leaving Cert (or equivalent exam)?
By clicking on the job titles from the list of interviews below (approx 150), you will be able to read what each person answered to the question "What subjects did you take in school and how have these influenced your career path?" You can sort the list by clicking on the column titles (Sort by Title / Sort by Employer).
To view descriptions of each Leaving Cert subject, click here.
Martin Dunn, Failte Ireland
What subjects did you take in school and how have these influenced your career path?
I had always wanted to be in a uniformed service of some sort, first preference as a fireman, then the armed services or the police but I have an eye condition that rules me out of these jobs.
So during school I had no idea what I wanted to do and I was not the most academic of people so I chose the subjects that I was better at and would stand me the best chance of good grades.
I did not really choose to follow this career path until I was 25. I had been to university once to do a Coaching Science degree as I was heavily involved in swimming and water polo coaching but this just did not suit me and I dropped out in my first year. So going back a second time as a mature student was a big decision and because I was a mature student they look at you a little differently to entry requirement and take into consideration life experience.
So at the time it was having maths and english plus experience working in sports coaching groups that I think were the main factors. Even the fact that the course had a lot of geography and I had dropped this subject when I was 14 or so, did not go against me and the first year of the course is there to get yourself acquainted with the subject again.
So in hindsight I was lucky enough that my subject choices in school did not affect my current career.
