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To be honest, I had no idea what the tourism industry was prior to studying it but liked it from the first day as it was different and I could apply the theory to real life. I had originally applied for a Marketing course in NUIG and was gutted I didn’t get in but when I went to college to study tourism I had an open mind to what was in store and was pleasantly surprised with the subjects such as management, customer care, languages and tourism subjects in general. I liked the mix of business and tourism as I felt more job opportunities were open to me with this qualification.
The fact that I could get a job anywhere in the world from this course made me feel happy about the course. I wanted to get a qualification where I could manage a tourism business or maybe know how to set one up. I was interested in teaching and lecturing from the first day also.
I liked that there was a work placement element to the course and looked forward to getting out of Ireland for the work placement and doing a job that was gaining me recognition in college as well.
My experience in college was great overall. There were 25 people in the class but only 2 boys! The projects we had to do were very practical and the class group got on well. There was a mix of mature and school leavers which was good as it gave the class a bit of maturity and knowledge. The lecturers were really approachable which was great if you needed to have a word about problems or difficulties with subjects. The exam structure was 50% Continuous Assessment, 50% went for the final exam. This was great as you got practical experience as well as doing the theory bit.
The work experience that was part of my overall degree saw me going to Ibiza for 6 months where I worked as a holiday rep. It was amazing! I also got work with Cosmos holidays in Ibiza the second year I went there.
I am now lecturing in the area of Tourism including adventure tourism (outdoor activities such as surfing, hill walking and canoeing). Some of the graduates from my year are working for tourism agencies such as Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland, others are working in County Councils, some are event managers and others became teachers.
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