Subject choice for Leaving Cert?

Posieon

I am in 3rd year and doing TY next year but I want to start picking my subjects now, just in case I am not picked for TY.

I am struggling to pick subjects though because the only subject I really like is Maths (I am also really good at it but not sure if that will change in leaving cert), I enjoy metalwork too but the teacher isn't great, he does mostly practical. For the sciences my favourite is Biology and then Physics, I don't particularly like either. I will probably do Ag Science for leaving cert as I live on a farm...

To help me decide what subjects to choose I decided to see what types of jobs I would like, engineering seems like a good option for me. Civil engineering would suit me the best, I think.

Am i going about this the right way, I am not sure if I would like Civil Engineering though because I don't like geography. I love nature but I hate most chapters in the book.

Can someone please help me decide on a job that would suit me and then I could be able to pick my subjects better?

Thanks so much.

Mr Rhode Island Red

In fairness, your mind will change dozens of times in the next 2 or 3 years deciding what you want to do after school, and even after that you still might not have a clue, so you can't reliably use it as a basis for picking subjects.

The best thing you can do for now is pick subjects you like and subjects you think you can do well in. You say you like maths, so physics would probably be a good choice, and biology is a handy subject to do well in if you put in even a moderate amount of effort.

Posieon

But then what if I change my mind and I dont have a subject required for the course I want to do?

X6.430macman

Fav subject is maths...wow

Posieon

What? I always loved maths even from a young age, when I was in 6th class I got 100% in my final test and my teacher said that he never ever saw someone getting above the 90% mark. I am still good at it and got 67% in mocks with no studying, 2 in my class did better but they studied for it and they only got 3% higher.

I dunno why I love it, I just do, it makes sense to me, I see it as a language that is replaced with numbers? Strange right

VG31

The most important thing is to pick subjects that you like. You won't do well in a subject if you don't like it. You don't need to be thinking too much about careers at this stage.

If you want to keep your options open it's probably best to do a language and at least one of the sciences. Most of the time outside science courses, particular subjects aren't required, e.g. Economics is not required to study economics in college, geography is not required to study geography etc.

VG31

X6.430macman wrote: »

Fav subject is maths...wow

What's wrong with that? I'm not brilliant at maths but I still like it, although it's not my favourite subject.

Posieon

I dont do a language now, I do English and Irish but no 3rd language
What types of course will a 3rd language be required for?

Boaty

Google qualifax and it will be able to tell you which courses require a 3rd language.

Bazinga_N

Nothing wrong with having maths as your favourite subject makes life much easier if you ask me! I agree with the above poster that you could change your mind a million times between now and you're leaving cert! You should definitely do Applied Maths anyways! It's a great subject for engineering and you'd like the maths. You should also consider Physics! It's very different to Junior Cert Physics and a lot of people who enjoy Physics chose to go into engineering.

edit: usually only courses arts courses, businesses courses and the likes require a third language. If you felt like you might need one you could try to take it up during TY maybe

Posieon

No, I will not be doing any of those courses, thankfully so won't need a language

In my school Applied Maths isn't a subject, would I be able to do that outside school in my own time?

I will ask my teacher the next day about the physics in leaving cert

carefulnowted

Lots of people study applied maths on their own, but I wouldn't recommend going it completely alone. Even a grind every 2 weeks would be a great help for you just to get some guidance from an experienced teacher.

Posieon

Ok, I will ask my maths teacher what he thinks, thanks

VG31

I don't know where you live but in Dublin DCU, DIT and Maynooth don't require a third language for the majority of courses. Trinity accepts Irish for the language requirement. Only UCD needs a third language but there are few courses which this requirement does not apply to and AFAIK engineering is one of them.

X6.430macman

Nothing wrong with loving maths im just amazed at it like I've never heard anything like it but then again im doing my level best to stay out of foundation

Posieon

I live in Roscommon so i'll probably be going to NUIG

Yeah, its strange that I like maths, If your in Junior Cert just do loads of exam paper questions

Posieon

What's AFAIK engineering

Bazinga_N

Posieon wrote: »

What's AFAIK engineering

AFAIK just means As Far As I Know

Plenty of people do applied maths on their own! If you like maths you'd be well able for it.

Posieon

Ok, thanks

I though afaik was a type of engineering