Dropping Out of College- La Dolce Vita

la dolce vita graphicFrom Engineering to Engineering Taste – The Procrastibaker

It can be done because it has been done

The people, events and situations outlined below are real.

The Person: Aoife’s career path got off to a wobbly start as she got her third choice in CAO, Engineering in Trinity. Her first and second choices were Psychology. After a few months of feeling no desire for Engineering she dropped out of college.
The Dream: She had to examine her heart’s desire. Aoife realised that she had fallen deliriously in love. She was consumed by her love morning, noon and night. The sight, sense and taste of her love filled her up. Aoife had fallen in love with…..food.
The Road: She dropped out of Trinity and headed off to Florence to study in a Cordon Bleu cookery school and study Italian. Her passion carried her through the language barrier to make pasta, pizza, sushi.
Upon her return to Ireland continued. Aoife took a leap and created her own brand ‘Sweet Inspirations’. Everyone thought she was crazy to give up Trinity and Engineering for the seduction of food.
The Outcome: Her recent creation of chocolate brownies was featured on the Facebook account of the Paleo recipe world, which, has 63,000 viewers. These brownies have elevated her status in the food blogger kingdom and prompted a great reaction. This positive feedback has given her great joy.
When we met, she had to deal with the challenges of applying herself to her daily studies in Italian and Psychology in UCD. Avoidance of studies and getting distracted by food has earned her the nickname, “The Procastibaker”. Her waking and sleeping thoughts still centre on engineering great taste.
During our sessions we brainstormed ways in which she could she could marry Psychology, Italian and Food together into a meaningful career.
Joining the dots going forward between her degree and her future was the key to unlocking her motivation to get out of the kitchen and into the lecture halls. Aoife has since graduated and is now living and working ‘la dolce vita’ in Italy.

Her blog of featured cookery is on www.eatwelltravelfar.weebly.com .
She markets herself on Facebook :https://www.facebook.com/eatwelltravelfarloveoften
Instagram: http://instagram.com/eatwelltravelfarloveoften
Twitter: @EAT_WELL_TRAVEL
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/eattravel/

5 Ways Teens Can Guarantee Success in Career Choice

1. INTERESTS
I believe interest is critical to success. It’s essential to study or do an apprenticeship in what you want to do. What do you love doing? When is your energy high? When do you feel most alive? What are you most curious about? What grabs your attention so much that you don’t notice where the time goes? When you are choosing your courses I strongly advise you to follow your passions and interests
2. STRENGTHS Coupled with interests, you must make choices that support your strengths. Strengths are your aptitudes. They are things you do effortlessly. They come naturally to you. Some of you might be very practical and good at mechanics or with your hands. Others might be very good with numbers. Some of you might shine in sports. Others might be really good at getting on with others. Research suggests (Gallup) that we should double down on our talents. It tells us that people who focus on their strengths are 6 times more likely to be engaged in their jobs and 3 times more likely to have life satisfaction.
Online tests that help define your intelligences and strengths include Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences, VARK learning styles, and strengthsfinder 2.0 ( US test )
3. The third way that you can make your future work for you is to focus on MEANING. Do you ever consider what you might have to offer the world? Do you ever ask yourself, what does the world need from you? Did you ever consider how you could serve others? How could you meet people’s needs? Did it ever occur to you that you can make a difference?
Studies show that, where people are focused on an inner meaning or purpose that serves others, they have more satisfaction. Look for ways that your unique talents, dreams and desires can serve global or local needs in your local area.
4. The fourth way that you can create a great future is to RESEARCH .Drill down deeper. Ask lots of questions to people in the careers that you are interested in. (Typical day, skills involved, training, positives and negatives about the work, recommendations, promotion opportunities etc)
In terms of College…..
Dropping out costs anything from €3,000 to €10,000 in fees alone, never mind living costs and grants. Now is the time to get real. Ask questions. Seek advice from people in the field. Look at the course content. Drill down deeper. Look at the content closely. Does it play to your interests and strengths? Where do people end up afterwards? Look at graduate destinations on the college websites. Where do people end up working? Does that appeal to you? Could you imagine yourself working there?

In terms of trades or gaining employment…….
If you are looking to do a trade, put your ear to the ground. Who is a fair employer? Where are the opportunities? How should you approach the employer? Is your CV in good shape? Could you do health and safety courses in order to make you a better prospect to an employer? Is there a PLC that would help you? Or a welding/ practical/ IT course? Do the groundwork now. Don’t wait until September. I have met too many students who didn’t make a plan and ended up, fed up, on the dole without the support of a school. Employers value motivation and learning.DSC_1357

5. The final way that you can create a great future is not to give up! Adopt an attitude of someone who keeps trying. Learn to get back up on the horse again after a setback. It’s Ok to fail. It’s Ok not to know. It’s OK to ask for help. Don’t set limits on yourself. Anything is possible. 60 % of courses are available to graduates. So, an Arts student could do Medicine. A Sports Science graduate can be a Physiotherapist. There are back doors into so many professions.
Whatever you decide to do, I want you to really commit to yourself. Don’t limit yourself! Don’t play small. Don’t play safe.

Take That Approach to Careers

“Take That” Take On Careers!

A young handsome dark haired man came to me for career advice. In my mind, I thought, I thought, he could be an actor, a model or be in a boy band or perhaps be a finalist in the X Factor! The possibilities were endless. With his chiselled handsome looks of dark hair and eyes and his pleasing personality he could have given the Hollywood actors a run for their money.

Read More

Ten Ways to Keep Moving in the Right Career Direction

In attending the Inspired Entrepreneur Programme in London with Nick Williams I picked up some of the following tips and adapted them:

1. Create a Vision of Where You Want to Be in Your Life

Imagine your ideal life, your ideal work. What do you want it to look like and feel like? What would you like to hear yourself saying about your ideal life situation? Transcend your current situation, worries and cares and think about where you want to be long term. Create a ‘vision board’ containing pictures, words and images of what you want, or write a paragraph on your dream life.

Read More

The Power of Baby Steps

James (not his real name) wants to get into a course that requires over 500 points. Thinking about the points required for the course and the effort needed overwhelms him. James feels it’s like he’s trying to scale an insurmountable mountain.

Read More

Let’s help John

John has graduated with a Law Degree from Trinity and gone on to qualify as a solicitor. John was thrilled to get a good position in a small law firm doing conveyancing. Things were going really well initially and he loved the feeling of having money and going for drinks with his colleagues in Temple Bar on a Friday evening. Only six months into the job, John was let go due to the downturn in property market. He was gutted as he had just bought a new BMW on hire purchase. He didn’t know how he would ever make the repayments.

Read More

The Element – How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything

Author: Ken Robinson

Penguin Books 2009, 260 pages

This book is aimed at anyone interested exploring their own potential and the potential of those around them. It is about how passion, imagination, creativity, values and luck influence on career decision-making.  Sir Ken Robinson is one of the world’s leading speakers on the development of education, creativity and innovation.  In his book he shares a wide range of stories of how people such as Paul McCartney, Paolo Coelho, Meg Ryan, dancer Gillian Lynne and screenwriter, Matt Groening found their ‘element’.  He describes ‘ the element ‘ as ‘the place where the things you love to do and the things you are good at come together’.

Read More

Sherlock Holmes of the Past

Ray was a construction worker who had been unemployed for four years. Understandably, when we met, he was feeling very low. He said that when he first arrived for Guidance he felt “tearful”. He said that he had expected his visit to Guidance to be a form-filling session, however, he found it like Counselling. After the session, Ray said “it was the best thing” he had done in years,  “as I would still be in the town scratching my head, still trying to make up my mind about the future”.

Read More