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.
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.
Realists are usually interested in 'things' - such as buildings, mechanics, equipment, tools, electronics etc. Their primary focus is dealing with these - as in building, fixing, operating or designing them. Involvement in these areas leads to high manual skills, or a fine aptitude for practical design - as found in the various forms of engineering.
Realists like to find practical solutions to problems using tools, technology and skilled work. Realists usually prefer to be active in their work environment, often do most of their work alone, and enjoy taking decisive action with a minimum amount of discussion and paperwork.
Science Ambassador Dave McDonald is a health and safety representative by day, and amateur astronomer by night. In 2008 he became only the second person to discover an asteroid from Ireland, 160 years after Andrew Graham in 1848. This was followed by a second discovery in March 2009.
In this interview – before he became famous – he talks about how he chose his career, the cool things in his work, and his tips on work experience and what to study.