The academic year is up and running again and while tens of thousands of students are embarking on their third-level journey, a similar number are graduating and getting ready to start their working lives.Although many will enter a career related to their degree, some, despite their newly minted credentials and possibly the prospect of a lucrative career, will decide to put their energies into a role that may focus less on an attractive salary package and more on benefiting the environment or people less fortunate than themselves.Oisín Ó Néill From law to landscapeOisín Ó Néill is one such person. He studied law at University College Dublin, graduated in 2020 and qualified as a solicitor in 2024.However, he knew that his passion lay elsewhere and made the decision to change the trajectory of his career. He now works as nature advocacy officer with the Irish Wildlife Trust. “I have always been passionate about nature and environmental issues, and had also been volunteering on the board of a small environmental charity, the Gaelic Woodland Project, for a few years,” he says. “This gave me first-hand experience and helped me realise that this was something I really wanted to pursue.“While I had taken environmental law modules at university and had done a bit of environmental law work, I had become disillusioned with private practice and the culture within the legal sector and wanted to work for something bigger – something I feel passionate about, because life is too short to prioritise money over meaning.”The 29-year-old says that if someone believes in something and wants to see it improved, then they should do something about it. “For me, this role is immeasurably more fulfilling than private legal practice,” he says. “Rather than working for ‘the man’, I am working for nature. Working to improve nature in Ireland is really about creating better conditions, a better society and a better life for future generations. I am in service to the land itself.“I can’t fathom a scenario where I would find more fulfilment in a law firm and would very much like to stay in this field. I’m really enjoying combining other aspects of my interests and passions with the role, including my interest in Irish heritage, history and the Irish language. “I believe there are lots of overlaps between these areas, and am enjoying exploring those connections through my work and my role with the Irish Wildlife Trust and all the amazing opportunities that have come with it. Nature in Ireland is voiceless, and it is also under serious pressure, so I am honoured to be a voice for nature, with a mandate to advocate for what is right.”The Dubliner would encourage others who feel their passion lies somewhere other than their chosen degree, to “just go for it”.“Trust the process, trust your journey and trust yourself to persevere,” he says. “Life is too short to settle for a job where you are only there to pick up the pay cheque. Especially if you are passionate about something, go for it. You won’t regret it. If it doesn’t pan out, at least you can say you tried.“I firmly believe that, with every route we take, with every door we open or close, we create boundless opportunities and streams of possibilities that never would have arisen had we not taken that first step.”From marketing to mentoringEmily McCarthy graduated in 2023 from MTU in Cork with a degree in marketing and then went on to do a master’s in food business and innovation in UCC, graduating in 2024. She then began a year-long contract with Musgrave in Cork. Afterwards, instead of continuing in the food business industry, she headed to Thailand where she is working in a secondary school – a role she became interested in after doing a marketing internship with the TEFL Institute of Ireland and training as a TEFL teacher.“In October 2025, I looked on the TEFL Institute’s website and saw that there was one space left for the next intake in Thailand, so I just went for it,” she says. “Suddenly, I had two months left to get everything organised to move across the world. “It was definitely a last-minute decision, but I’m so glad I did it and am really enjoying the role. It’s very fulfilling, as I am helping students to develop a skill that can open up opportunities for them. Seeing a student become more confident or finally understand something they’ve been struggling with is really rewarding.“Before coming here, I worried about taking a break from the career path I’d studied for. But I actually think I’ve gained so many transferable skills from teaching that will be useful in the future – and I’ll eventually go back to food marketing and the food business. But I don’t think I would have known that for certain if I hadn’t actually taken the chance to come here and try something completely different.”Emily Panter From chemistry to communityIt’s not just recent graduates who have gone down a totally different career path as Emily Panter graduated from NUIG in 2012 with an honours degree in Earth and ocean science, and went on to do a master’s in LIT, which led her to career as an industrial chemist. Having worked in this role for six years, she decided that being in a laboratory wasn’t for her and, having worked with young people in the past when demonstrating what a career in Stem looked like, decided that she would like to do that full time. So she did a course in youth and community work at LCFE and is now a youth worker for Limerick Youth Service. “I feel extremely fulfilled in my job, even though it is stressful at times because, unlike working with chemicals, you don’t really know what’s going to happen and how things or people are going to react – and that’s the challenge,” she says.“But the calibre of young people that I’ve got to meet, work with and see thrive, make friends and move on, gives me such a sense of satisfaction, happiness and pride. So it’s all worth it.“One of the young people once asked me what my dream job would be and I genuinely can’t think of anything other than what I’m currently doing – so I don’t really see myself going back into science.“The drop in pay wasn’t as severe as you might think either. It was pretty tough for the first year, but got better once I got a contract. Youth work isn’t any easy thing to do and not everyone is going to have the same experience that I did, but I did get to where I was by pushing myself out there – it didn’t just come to me. So, if you want to succeed you need to put yourself out there.”Charlotte Salter-Townshend From history to heritageCharlotte Salter-Townshend has been working as the communications and wildlife officer for the Irish Wildlife Trust for a year, her path having taken a turn after her degree in history and philosophy at Trinity. However, she was “interested in almost everything” so didn’t know where her career path would take her. After doing a master’s in public history and cultural heritage, she had designs on a career as a curator in a museum, but ended up working as a guide in the National Botanic Gardens for 11 years. She then took a career break to work on expedition cruises, and “returned to Ireland with different eyes”. She is now “part of a movement for nature which is gaining momentum as the crises of biodiversity loss, pollution, and climate change are deepening”. “This role is more fulfilling than if I had ended up working as a curator in a museum as I have always been interested in the bigger picture,” she says. “I earn slightly less in my current role and although the cost of living has gone up and I feel the pinch, I don’t regret it.“For anyone who feels similarly, I would say you never know until you give something a go. When you join a community of changemakers, you will find your support and motivation there. Ní neart go cur le chéile.”