Architect Susan Mealy makes a list, counting up the qualities that she needs to be good at her job. "Extremely" organised, good at delegating, practical and creative, are tops. And you have to be a good communicator, too. "As well as being a leader it's all about teamwork. You have to be a good delegator" and there is "no definite pattern to my day," she says.

She always wanted a job that would allow her to be creative and practical at the same time. Architecture seemed like the perfect profession. It combined her two favourite subject areas - art and science. "I liked the discipline," she says. It was the right choice. What she loves about her job is "the great variation that you get".

Also "you have to be economical with your time", she says. A hectic schedule can see her day begin at 8 a.m. for an on-site meeting with the engineer and contractor of a project in, for example, Arklow, Co Wicklow, where a development she is currently working on is now being built.

"Every project is different, every design is different, every day is different," says a breathless Mealy. She is a project architect at Henry J Lyons and Partners. "You have to be a good communicator - in language as well as in drawing," she says.

Architecture has become something of an obsession. "You are constantly looking at details. You become very focused on how something is made. You do have to have a lot of energy. You are running around - you have to do so much. You have to be able to balance so many things. From the ground up, you are constantly checking that everything is co-ordinated." It can be frustrating sometimes, she says, "when you are trying to achieve" an image or a type, and all the constraints - budget etc, must be taken into account.

Architecture was her choice after Leaving Cert at the Holy Faith Convent Secondary School in Clontarf, Dublin. The course demands a commitment from students and "a huge number dropped out over the years", she recalls. Some took a year out. Some completed their studies at the end of third year, graduating with a bachelor of science (architectural science), which is part one of the architecture degree. Of those who started out in the same year as Mealy, she says, just a handful graduated at the end of five years. Maybe four of them, she says.

Each summer she worked in architecture, learning on the job, gaining experience in Arthur Gibney's office as a student and later on graduation. She worked in Berlin one summer. She returned each year to her studies in UCD.

One of the most challenging parts of the course in UCD, she says, was the regular "crit" or presentation that students had to do at the end of every week or fortnight. "It's quite daunting, but you get used to it after a while. Sometimes they can be quite critical," she says. External guests are brought in, tutors and students are present to listen, comment and ask questions. "It's tough when you go in first," she says. She graduated with an honours degree in architecture in 1996.

"It's like an apprenticeship when you leave university. Your role grows as you become experienced. Finally you become the leader of a team."

She usually spends her holidays visiting cities. "Cities have their own different qualities," she says, mentioning Rome and Barcelona as good examples of exciting cities to visit for any architecture student. Take note then, all ye young budding architects.