Career choice advice: ‘My son loves film. I think he should do law. Can you help?’

My husband runs a solicitor’s firm, which was handed down from his father. We would love if our son studied law, so he could take over the company in time. However, he loves film and says his dream is to make movies and study film-making. It all sounds fanciful, to be honest. When it comes to choosing a study option, do you really need to love what you do?

Your question brings the lyric of a song into my head: “What’s love go to do with?” Well, everything, in fact. In a lifetime working in the field of guidance, I have come to realise that the key factor which determines whether a student thrives in their course or career choice, or drops out either during or at the end of first year, is whether they love the course they have chosen.

As it happens, Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to outline the importance of love in the choice of a lifetime occupation and college course.

As we observe children play and express themselves, we can see they all differ in little ways

There are thousands of books and articles written advising people on the right career choices. There are lots of considerations: potential earnings, status, compatibility with a partner’s occupation, family history, opportunities which arise through contacts, aptitudes and interests identified through psychometric testing. The list is endless. But, at the end of the day, love should be the one which wins out.

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As we observe children play and express themselves, we can see they all differ in little ways. Education, by its very nature, operates to a standardised format and many of the unique characteristics we are born with may get suppressed within the formal system. It

In such circumstances, being able to identify a manner of self-expression that resonates with every fibre of your being can be beyond the capacity of most growing teenagers or adults for that manner. This is clearly not the case with your son.

In the Ireland of my youth, where employment opportunities were limited, many of our youth had no options other than to leave the country and seek employment abroad, often in very menial roles.

Finding a way of self-expression can be explored through the wide-ranging opportunities offered by adult, further or higher education

Thankfully, due to the priority we as a country have given to education, the generation of Irish growing up today has the opportunity to live their lives according to their innate gifts and talents, in a society where tolerance and acceptance of the uniqueness of each person have never been greater. The same is true for adults considering a change in career.

Finding a way of self-expression can be explored through the wide-ranging opportunities offered by adult, further or higher education.

For those considering their course options in the coming months, it is worth asking yourself which option would energise you to go to work on a dirty, wet, cold morning? Love, it turns out, has a lot to do with it.