Going on to college was never considered by Stacie Duffy eight years ago when she finished her Leaving Certificate. She wanted to work, to travel, to earn some money and to start living. She was also madly in love and she had no intention of going away to college.
So, having finished her second-level schooling, she started work in a pub. After that she worked in all kinds of jobs, including a supermarket and a factory office.
And so after a series of "dead-end jobs" and a year travelling and working in Australia, she applied for a PLC course at the Monaghan Institute of Further Education and Training. The year-long course in travel and tourism was "the best thing I ever did. The tutors were brilliant and it's a great college. I would highly recommend a PLC course to anybody."
Part of the course included a three-week work placement at O'Hanrahan Travel on Dublin Road in Monaghan town. She was offered a job there as a result of the time she spent learning on the job. "I wasn't even finished the course when they rang me, but I wanted to complete the year and so they held the job for me."
"I got the job because of the course," she says, adding that she was told by the company that her friendly personality was part of the reason. Her day starts at 9.30 a.m. and finishes at 5.30 p.m. She works in the front office, booking holidays for customers, handling queries over the phone and sorting out travel schedules.
Recently she completed a five-day computer course in Dublin in order to be able to use the travel reservation system, which is used within the industry.
"In some ways" she does regret the time she spent working in a variety of jobs. They weren't that well paid and there was no progression, she recalls. In contrast there are all kinds of benefits associated with her new job.
She is being trained, she is learning all the time and there is a chance to progress. The job is challenging. She is learning and she is meeting new people constantly.
But, looking back, she says that, after completing her Leaving Cert, she had no idea what she really wanted to do: "I applied for a few things but I wasn't all that interested."
