The Gambling Forum Chat Thread

The program about Colm Murray's struggle with MND is on now, frightening. Wonderful chap Colm seems, I loved his commentary on the racing.

eh i dunno wrote: »

Lads roughly what % of 1/10 shots win?? Surely its up around 80-90% is it?

Dunno, but you can be sure 'tis closer to 80% than 90%

.... would love to be.

Leeg17 wrote: »

............
-The fact that a good 95% of us that finish won't get jobs in Forensics, nor be able to study on other post-graduate Forensic programs because the course is too broad, and that we've basically been duped into doing an Analytical Chemistry degree...............

In fairness surely ye knew that before starting the course? Or at least ye should have. Not having a go but deciding what to in 3rd level does require a bit of legwork.

I'm not at all involved with the course or the IT you mention but in fairness to them they do have a responsibility to churn out folks that are likely to get employment, forensic science is fairly broad by definition, there is the microscope stuff, like scanning electron microscopes etc, all the biology stuff, the chemistry stuff for dating the age of bits and bobs. Technologies for analysing paint fragments etc etc etc.

Now if it's too broad a course to qualify graduates to enroll in Masters courses in forensic science there might well be an issue but realistically a forensic scientist much like any other profession won't know everything about everything, I expect they'd work in teams, you'd have an explosives person (for the bullets and bomb residue), a biology person (for getting samples off the bodies) and a chemical head for that side of stuff, there's no doubt be a tech type person too for that end of things.

Can folks with specific degrees in Physics, Biology and chemist qualify to the forensics masters courses that your course won't equip ye to? I'd be thinking that the forensic labs would be looking for folks with specific qualifications with maybe the masters in forensics to get in the door, I could well be talking out my arse :pac:

If you really, really want to work in forensics, by the end of your degree course (or ideally before it) you should have a fair idea what branch of science/forensics is your thing, perhaps transferring to another degree course might be the best option than, one that would get you into the masters course that you fancy It might mean leaving your course after the third year and getting into another course at year three so it might take an extra year to get a degree, might be well worth it though.

I'm currently reading a book "Dead Men Talk" by Sandra Mara, have you ever read it? If not I reckon you might like it, there is a mention in the first few pages of how it takes years to become a forensic scientist and how folks do specialise in physics, botony, chemistry, DNA or whatever.

I reckon your course is much like all courses a starting point, unfortunately as you mention there are limited opportunities, still, someone has to strike gold.

I wonder would a Garda with a degree like you're on the road to get find it possible to get a job in the Forensic Science unit? I'm not for a second suggesting you should try and get into the GArdai solely to test out that theory just suggesting there are many ways to skin a cat.

Best of luck with the course anyway, you can rest assured it will defo lead you somewhere and it will be worthwhile doing