Incapable of CAO

xLisaBx

I'm really confused about everything. I do quite well in School and I'm not overly worried about points, but I'm so stressed over the CAO. I really can't make decisions anymore for some reason. It's like I'm bipolar at the moment. Any advice on doing the cao with a mindset that changes hourly?

randylonghorn

xLisaBx wrote: »

I'm really confused about everything. I do quite well in School and I'm not overly worried about points, but I'm so stressed over the CAO. I really can't make decisions anymore for some reason. It's like I'm bipolar at the moment. Any advice on doing the cao with a mindset that changes hourly?

Register / apply. There is an online discounted fee of €25 if you apply before 20th January (17:15). You may as well save yourself money; you will need it anyway if you are going on to college this year, whatever your final decision.

Don't panic about having the "right" courses on the CAO at this stage. While there are periods in between when the system is closed, ultimately you can make changes until the 1st July.

Step back a bit. Think not so much about what's the right course, but about
- the areas of study which interest you / you enjoy
- the type(s) of work you might enjoy doing in the future

When you've thought about this a bit, make an appointment to talk to the careers guidance teacher in your school, or perhaps with a guidance counsellor outside school.

xLisaBx

Thank you yeah I registered in December to get the discount, it's just where to go from there! Career guidance has helped slightly, my problem is I'm good at sciences and bad at maths

shruikan2553

I didnt put my choices down until after the leaving cert. Think of what areas you would like to work in and then see if you still want to work in those areas in a few months.

randylonghorn

xLisaBx wrote: »

... my problem is I'm good at sciences and bad at maths

Well, while you are never going to be entirely able to forget about maths if you pursue a career in the sciences, there definitely are courses (and jobs) which are much more maths-heavy and ones which would have a minimal enough maths content.

If you sat back and day-dreamed, what kind of job would you like to be in in 10 years time?

Do you like working with people? Are you a caring person? Would nursing or medicine be for you? Or related careers such as pharmacy or ... there's a big long list really!

Or if you're a people person, would teaching interest you?

Or would you prefer to work in a lab?

Or for that matter, despite being good at science, would you like to work in an area which is not directly related to science at all?

A good way to start is to try to get *some* sense of where you might like to finish ... ofc, you might end up changing your mind in between, but given that you can't read the future, it's as good a place to start as any.

Career guidance can be very useful, but it can't (and shouldn't!) be making your decisions for you.

So it's much more useful when you have even a vague sense of your general goal in your mind; it can then help you to plan routes to that goal.

xLisaBx

randylonghorn wrote: »

Well, while you are never going to be entirely able to forget about maths if you pursue a career in the sciences, there definitely are courses (and jobs) which are much more maths-heavy and ones which would have a minimal enough maths content.

If you sat back and day-dreamed, what kind of job would you like to be in in 10 years time?

Do you like working with people? Are you a caring person? Would nursing or medicine be for you? Or related careers such as pharmacy or ... there's a big long list really!

Or if you're a people person, would teaching interest you?

Or would you prefer to work in a lab?

Or for that matter, despite being good at science, would you like to work in an area which is not directly related to science at all?

A good way to start is to try to get *some* sense of where you might like to finish ... ofc, you might end up changing your mind in between, but given that you can't read the future, it's as good a place to start as any.

Career guidance can be very useful, but it can't (and shouldn't!) be making your decisions for you.

So it's much more useful when you have even a vague sense of your general goal in your mind; it can then help you to plan routes to that goal.

Thanks so much I'm looking into biomedical science I'm just worried about the maths. I do HL but failed my pre, the horror! I'm sort of thinking about doing a science course and the hdip after it

xLisaBx

randylonghorn wrote: »

Well, while you are never going to be entirely able to forget about maths if you pursue a career in the sciences, there definitely are courses (and jobs) which are much more maths-heavy and ones which would have a minimal enough maths content.

If you sat back and day-dreamed, what kind of job would you like to be in in 10 years time?

Do you like working with people? Are you a caring person? Would nursing or medicine be for you? Or related careers such as pharmacy or ... there's a big long list really!

Or if you're a people person, would teaching interest you?

Or would you prefer to work in a lab?

Or for that matter, despite being good at science, would you like to work in an area which is not directly related to science at all?

A good way to start is to try to get *some* sense of where you might like to finish ... ofc, you might end up changing your mind in between, but given that you can't read the future, it's as good a place to start as any.

Career guidance can be very useful, but it can't (and shouldn't!) be making your decisions for you.

So it's much more useful when you have even a vague sense of your general goal in your mind; it can then help you to plan routes to that goal.

Thanks so much I'm looking into biomedical science I'm just worried about the maths. I do HL but failed my pre, the horror! I'm sort of thinking about doing a science course and the hdip after it

Ompala

xLisaBx wrote: »

Thanks so much I'm looking into biomedical science I'm just worried about the maths. I do HL but failed my pre, the horror! I'm sort of thinking about doing a science course and the hdip after it

I have friends who nearly failed and who did fail their pres in HL maths but are coping fine with maths in science degrees, theres lots of help on offer outside of lectures so if you are willing to put in the work I wouldn't be too worried about

chatterboxxx95

xLisaBx wrote: »

Thanks so much I'm looking into biomedical science I'm just worried about the maths. I do HL but failed my pre, the horror! I'm sort of thinking about doing a science course and the hdip after it

My sister did biomed in dit (one of the only recognised biomed courses if you want to work in a hospital) and she did ordinary maths for leaving cert and got on fine