• Question: What would your advice to someone trying to pick subjects for leaving cert? I'm not sure which science subject to pick, ( biology, chemistry, physics or agricultural science) , as I haven't decided what I want to do after school.

    Asked by mace49raw on 4 Nov 2020. This question was also asked by LucyC.
    • Photo: Marcello Valente

      Marcello Valente answered on 4 Nov 2020:

      I would suggest to ask yourself which of these subject inspire you most, which one can make you think “I wish to improve this area because I think it can lead to great positive things”

    • Photo: Parnika Gupta

      Parnika Gupta answered on 4 Nov 2020:

      I would suggest you to go online or contact your school counsellor, see if they can arrange for you to sit in on one week of undergraduate lectures from all these streams, although some of these lectures are also available on various online or MOOC platforms, see for yourself which one you enjoy the most or is most easily understandable for you.

      Also, to do this exercise, make sure you choose a good lecturer and your favourite topic lecture in all the subject matters!
      It is quite an intensive exercise, but I hope it helps you in some way if you can do that:)

    • Photo: Bhaskar Dhariyal

      Bhaskar Dhariyal answered on 4 Nov 2020:

      In my opinion you should try to figure out what you want to do. Once you have some options, talk to people/teachers/professionals in that field, try to find out what they are doing, why they are doing. If you agree with them; backtrack those fields to the subjects.

    • Photo: Cathal Ryan

      Cathal Ryan answered on 4 Nov 2020:

      I was in your same position when i was deciding on what i wanted to do. I asked my guidance councillor what they thought would suit me best and they suggested i take an aptitude test and see if the results i got from that could be used as a starter for thinking what science subject to take. I had known i always preferred maths subjects to others like english so when it came back that physics was seen as a better fit it made complete sense to me

    • Photo: Rajannya Sen

      Rajannya Sen answered on 4 Nov 2020:

      I think most of us have passed this phase where we are not sure which field of study to choose. I would say that it is best to go with the subject that sparks your interest. Each field of study has its own prospect. Also, if you are really interested in what you are studying, then it never feels like a burden.

    • Photo: Charu Pande

      Charu Pande answered on 4 Nov 2020:

      You have pinned down Science, that’s a great start. Now, you should explore what aspects of the different science subjects you like and enjoy to go into details. At the same time, looking at the prospects and what the specific subjects would lead you to in your career will help you in deciding.

    • Photo: Danny Hnatyshin

      Danny Hnatyshin answered on 4 Nov 2020:

      So this is a tough decision. Consider a few things
      – What do you find interesting, this helps tell you how motivated you will be to pursue it.
      – Figure out what the possible jobs are for the things you are interested in. A big mistake a lot of people make is not looking ahead to what happens after finishing university. For example I am in geology but a lot of people after get their degree in geology do not like what they end up actually doing day-to-day and quit it after a few years to try something different.
      – I would say contact professionals in the field, or people at different schools and ask what they actually do! Even just look up real job posts to see what the jobs actually are about.
      – I could give you some insight depending on what you think you might be interested in.

    • Photo: Susan Rea

      Susan Rea answered on 5 Nov 2020:

      What do you enjoy most from physics, chemistry, and biology, consider what your would like to do after school and which of these subjects would be of more benefit, you could discuss this with your career guidance teacher and also ask if there is a possibility to sit in on some classes so that you can get a better understanding of what the subject will be like.

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