A new CD ROM detailing the delights of careers in science got a very strong thumbs-up from our two young reviewers. Transition Year students Amy Fox and Kate Dillon gave it 10 out of 10 for graphics. Kate was a little more critical of the content, giving it a mere nine out of 10 while Amy reached for the 10 again.

Produced by FAS, and focusing on the chemical and allied products industry, the CD ROM has six main components: science products, industry, career opportunities, production process, the mission and a valency game. Amy, who attends St Joseph of Cluny, Killiney, Co Dublin, says the valency game wasn't like playing a science game (no higher praise can you get). It was "good crack; we played it for 10 minutes and didn't get it finished". They also enjoyed the challenge posed by the mission.

Kate, who goes to Scoil Mhuire, in Ballinasloe, Co Galway, said the careers part would have had more profiles of people in marketing. Amy liked the panels which tell about the person's role, education and lifestyle. "It was really helpful. If you're interested in a career, it's good," she said.

Amy will do biology and geography to Leaving Cert level and would consider a career in science. Kate will keep up physics but is not enthused about a career in the sciences. She didn't really like science at Junior Cert. But both girls were united in their assessment of the CD ROM as educational and fun.

The career opportunities section breaks down into research and development, engineering and maintenance, quality assurance, production, environmental health and safety, marketing and management. There are video clips of real people working in the various jobs as well as text factfiles which include role, education, lifestyles and opportunities.

So we learn that Norah O'Rourke, a microbiologist with Antigen, finds her job "both challenging and interesting. It involves testing water on site daily and writing up reports. I also supervise other biologists." She did a certificate in food science and a diploma in water pollution and control at Sligo RTC (now Sligo IT) before doing a degree in microbiology. Possible opportunities include technical management or research and development. As to her lifestyle, Norah's main interests are sports and socialising.

In a more fun part of the CD ROM, the mission, we are told that a meteor rock has crashed into Gullyhill, Co Donegal, and there is possible environmental contamination. Our task is to assemble a team to deal with the fallout. We are given an eyewitness account as well as a Garda report and press release and we are told about Government concerns. The team is assembled from a possible cast of characters who communicate via video clip and text.

The objective of the valency game is to create a stable molecule on a grid. Less interesting and amusing perhaps are the sections on production process, science products (which details the contents of a typical home) and industry.

The accompanying video is entertaining and visually interesting with lots of clips of people working in the chemical and the allied products industry. However, the vision of a science teacher, complete with a "chemistry is fun" logo writ large across his sweatshirt brought something of a groan to my lips.

As it turned out, the experiments were fun. Chemistry teacher Randal Henly poured water into one of four blue beakers and then did a version of the three-card trick. We were invited to follow the beaker with the water in it as he moved them around. Naturally, the one most viewers would have picked was empty when Henly turned it upside down.

The experiment was interspersed with clips of "real scientists" doing serious work in a variety of industrial settings.

A lot of magic is science without the explanation, Henly tells us, while removing the gelatinous plug from the bottom of the beaker. The sodium polyacrylate had absorbed the water. "You may never have heard of this chemical," he says, "but you are probably familiar with it from the day you were born," holding up a disposable nappy which works on the same principle.

The messages from the CD ROM and the video were similar - there are lots of jobs in chemistry and allied products (44,000 people are directly employed; 95 per cent have second-level education and 50 per cent have third-level education ranging from certificate to doctorate). The jobs pay well.

Not enough students are sticking with the hard sciences to Leaving Certificate (the number taking Leaving Cert chemistry dropped last year from 7,325 to 6,963 while those doing physics fell from 9,660 to 9,112). And the main message: chemistry is fun rather than hard work.

The CD ROM and video have been distributed to second-level schools (your guidance counsellor should have a copy) and to public libraries.