Student Special - I Did It My Way: "The most important thing is taking the time to figure out what you really want"

In my eyes, the Leaving Cert to college process is crazy. When I left school I was far too young to decide what I wanted from life, and ultimately ended up doing a complete 180 on my ‘ideal’ career path. I’m here to advise you to take your time with that choice. Take a good look around at different options – and know that if you have to change your mind, it’s not the end of the world.

Being told the whole way through senior cycle that my prospects lay in maths and science, I saw no other option than to cast aside creativity and music. It turned out to be a bad call.

After I received my LC results, I was awarded the highly prestigious JP McManus scholarship. I took up an offer to study biomedical engineering at the University of Limerick. During the summer of second year, doing my work placement, I was miserable. I wasn’t fulfilling my potential. While I was very good at the work during placement, I couldn’t see myself doing this day-in-day-out forever. Hence the realisation that I needed to change course.

I’ve always been very creative, loving music, art and media. While being part of a punk band at the time was satisfying my musical needs, the creative side of my brain wasn’t being fully engaged.

And so, I made the choice to go back and start first year of the BSc in Digital Media Design, in UL. In many ways I was lucky. I couldn’t have done this without my scholarship, alongside working part-time.

I struggled with time management and mental health issues throughout my time in college. Despite that, I finished the course and found it really worthwhile. Being from a working-class background, I recognised the opportunity I had in being able to attend college, as so many in my family weren’t able to – which added a lot of pressure for me to succeed.

When I graduated, the pandemic hit, and while some of my classmates found work in the field, I really struggled. Eventually, I landed my current role in advertising, which I was hired for as a result of both my actual degree and the experience I gained from my original course. My clear head for numbers combined with my creativity was incredibly appealing to my employer.

Looking back, I think the most important thing is taking the time to figure out if what you’re doing is what you really want.

At 18 I envisioned myself studying engineering to a doctorate level, and my life being in a completely different place. I never saw myself in advertising, but it’s where I’ve ended up – and I’m really happy now, doing something I’m really good at.

So, my advice to students making final decisions about where to study is: find the thing that’s most likely to make you happy. And don’t be scared of ‘what ifs?’ If I had thought like that, I’d be stuck in a job I hate, and I’d never have met the amazing people I did through my second course.

My mam has always said. ‘What’s meant for you won’t pass you by’, but if you’re not actively trying to make yourself happy, then what’s meant for you can’t get to you. Take as much time as you need when it comes to your happiness.

Read the student special in full in the new issue of Hot Press.