Junior Cycle

Have you ever thought about what you would like to do when you leave school? The Junior Cycle is a good time to start thinking about different career options and considering what subjects you might choose for Leaving Cert. We have lots of useful tools to help you start exploring yourself and the thousands of exciting career paths that lie ahead.

Explore different Career Sectors - for example, business, medicine, or beauty to get a picture of the types of skills and jobs involved in working in that particular area. 

Search hundreds of occupations in our Career Explorer to find out what the job involves, the type of person it would suit, what you might earn and the qualifications you would need.

You can also watch lots of career videos or read career stories with people employed in a variety of jobs across the country to get an insight into different sectors and industries. 

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Lisa Roche
Collen Construction - Lisa Roche
Eva Pau
Director of Business Development - Asia Market - Eva Pau
Coillte's World of Work Programme
World of Work Programme - Coillte's World of Work Programme
Musgrave Graduate Programme
Musgrave Graduate Programme - Musgrave Graduate Programme
Student Ambassador - Languages
Why Study Languages? - Japanese and French - Student Ambassador - Languages

Join our complete Guidance programme designed for Irish Junior Cycle students (purchase required).

Build you own unique Career Portfolio through exploring our fun Island of Discovery as the programme takes you through a series of explorations about yourself, your motivations, and your dreams and ambitions.

What Career Type are you?

Naturalist?

Not surprisingly, some aspect of the natural sciences will run through the Naturalist's interests - from ecological awareness to nutrition and health. People with an interest in horticulture, land usage and farming (including fish) are Naturalists.

Some Naturalists focus on animals rather than plants, and may enjoy working with, training, caring for, or simply herding them. Other Naturalists will prefer working with the end result of nature's produce - the food produced from plants and animals. Naturalists like solving problems with solutions that show some sensitivity to the environmental impact of what they do. They like to see practical results and prefer action to talking and discussing.

Explore Career Interests...
Career Chat...
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Mary Ita Heffernan
Mary Ita Heffernan, Social Worker

Mary Ita Heffernan is a Social Worker who works for the HSE in Kilkenny.  After completing her Leaving Certificate she did a degree in Social Science and a Masters in Social Work. This led to a National Qualification in Social Work which is the only recognised qualification to be a practitioner in this field.

Ask me a question!

Career Articles

Maeve Tobin - Osteoarchaeologist
Maeve Tobin - Osteoarchaeologist
Posted by CareersPortal
Donna O'Shea - Cloud Computing Lecturer, CIT
Donna O'Shea - Cloud Computing Lecturer, CIT
Posted by
So you want to work in Furniture Design
So you want to work in Furniture Design
Posted by CareersPortal
From PLC to Podcast Stardom
From PLC to Podcast Stardom
Posted by CareersPortal
Career Profile - A lifelong passion in history
Career Profile - A lifelong passion in history
Posted by Carlow College
My career as a CTA in the Cayman Islands
My career as a CTA in the Cayman Islands
Posted by Irish Tax Institute
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