Career Opportunities with a Degree in… Irish

Your Skills and the Employment Market

Possible Career Opportunities

Sample Jobs

Further Study Opportunities

What Past Graduates Have Done

Resources in the Careers Information Room

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Your skills and the employment market

Students develop the ability to report articulately and analytically.  Other skills our graduates have developed and enhanced include:

• Well-developed interpersonal skills including listening, clarifying, questioning
• Comprehensive command of grammar and vocabulary
• Ability to organise and memorise detailed information
• Proficiency in phonetics
• Evaluative and analytical skills
• Oral and written communication skills
• Problem solving and organisational skills
• Self reliance and adaptability
• Cultural awareness

These skills are fully adaptable and widely needed in today’s competitive job market.

Conversational Irish is an asset for many jobs that may bring you into contact with members of the public for whom Irish is their main language.  This could include:

• Community Work
• Retail Work
• Sales/Marketing Work
• IT Work
• The Tourist Industry
  

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Possible Career Opportunities

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Note: Further qualifications may be needed for certain positions. This list is a sample of positions available. Up to 40% of graduate employment opportunities are open to graduates of all disciplines.  In most cases, however you will need further postgraduate study or professional training. 

Some of the industries / types of companies / organisations that an Irish graduate could work for are:

• Schools or Higher Education Institutes
• Financial Services
• Central and Local Government
• Publishers
• Market Research Companies
• Advertising & Marketing
• Media companies

Call to the Career Development Centre and have a consultation with a career development advisor to explore your career opportunities.

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Sample Jobs

Some jobs advertised recently that may suit students / graduates (these jobs are NOT currently available and are shown here for illustration purposes only).

Research Assistant for 'Gairmeacha le Gaeilge' Career Guide. To research careers using the Irish language and to produce text for publication in a bilingual guide. Fluent spoken and written Irish. Proven track record in research or journalism, time management skills, good organisational and interpersonal skills required.  

Irish Language Teaching Assistants for US Colleges, Irish-US Fulbright Commission. Placements open to postgrad students with academic training or professional experience in teaching the Irish language. .

Irish Language Assistant in the Secretarial Field, European Personnel Selection Office.

Téarmeolaí Cúnta, Foras na Gaeilge. Chun seirbhís chuimsitheach téarmacha a sholathar. Iarchéim nó bunchéim onóracha sa Ghaeilge. Scileanna riomhaireachta. Sárchumas i gcruinnscríobh na Gaeilge. .

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Further study opportunities

For certain career choices, employers may look for candidates with further qualifications and training. 

To see the range of opportunities in NUI Galway please visit www.nuigalway.ie/courses .

The Careers Information Room has sections on Ireland and the UK (including individual prospectuses), USA (with guides to applying, funding and lists of courses), studying in EU countries as well as further afield.

Other postgraduate links:

http://www.postgradireland.com/ also contains useful information on postgraduate courses in Ireland

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/ is an excellent site for researching opportunities in the UK

http://ec.europa.eu/ploteus covers the EU.  

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What past graduates have done

It is always interesting to know what fellow graduates have done after obtaining their degree at NUI, Galway.  Here is a sample of first destinations of past students who studied Irish. 

• Language Assistant, Mean Scoil, Tralee
• Translator, Europa, Carraroe
• Translator, Freelance (MA)
• Trainee Garda, Templemore
• Sub Teacher – various schools secondary/primary
• Teacher Irish & Geography, Donegal VEC
• Translation Course, Údaras na Gaeilge
• Registered Teacher, Údaras na Gaeilge
• Administrator with Heritage Centre, Blasket Islands, Office of Public Works

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Resources in the Careers Information Room

 We have valuable information resources, experienced career development advisers and information staff on hand to help you with your queries.

Reference material in the Information Room includes:

• Occupational file ’W3’
• Careers Using Languages
• Careers with an Arts Degree
• So you want to be a Journalist? (and other similar books)
• Various media careers books

Drop into our information room and we will be happy to assist you.

For useful links see www.nuigalway.ie/careers/students/virtual  

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