The Leaving Cert results are out and while many families will be celebrating, others will have more serious things to think about.
If your teenager didn't get the course they wanted, don’t worry. There are many options available, and they may suit your teen better than repeating the exams.
They may be feeling very upset and lost today, but when the dust settles you will be able to help them figure out what path to take.
Take a year out
Whether your child got 900 points or didn’t get a course, a lot of teenagers can be completely burnt out after exam year.
Going from one set of courses to another with only an anxious summer between doesn’t suit everyone.
Even if they do end up repeating, they may need a year away from it all to clear their head and think about what it is they really want.
Whether they get a job nearby or travel the world is up to them, but make sure they don’t waste their year. One way or another they need to broaden their experience if they want to understand themselves and their goals better.
Think smaller
In career guidance, students are often just presented with an array of high powered careers and the four-year level 8 degrees that promise to get them there.
Most graduates from these degrees find it’s not that straight forward at all. Not only does a certain degree not guarantee anything, but it is usually far from the only route to the job.
There are a huge range of courses in every discipline that offer qualification in stages. You can take a short 10 week courses to get a level 5 certificate, and stick with it all the way up to an honours degree.
With a new qualification each year, it gives the freedom to drop the course after a year or two and still have something to show for it. If you realise halfway into a university degree that it’s not right for you, you come away with nothing.
Most of these courses are offered part time, so your teen will be able to get a job and have some independence while improving their career prospects.
Go to college as a mature student
While 23 may seem ancient to an 18-year-old school leaver, you know that five years will fly past in no time. As a mature student they will have access to any course regardless of their leaving cert results, and being that little bit older make a big difference.
A lot of school leavers sleepwalk through their degrees; going to college just because that’s what everyone does. They do the bare minimum and come out still having no idea what they want to do with their lives.
Mature students are there because they actually want to be. They know who they are, and what they want to do. They tend to do better academically, and make more connections with people in the field.
