Graduate profile: Féilim Ó Cuireáin, trainee chef, London

When Féilim Ó Cuireáin (22) graduated with an English and history degree from UCD he had planned on teaching.

“I felt like my degree was useless without another degree on top of it but I got frustrated with how the [teacher training] system is set up and it’d be another two years and 10 grand.”

After doing catering jobs in Galway and Dublin, he decided to leave the country last December and go to Jersey, where his father is from.

“He sorted me out with work on a fishing boat for the first few months. The work was fine, it was nothing serious, just long days.

“ It was difficult to get the skipper to pay wages so I started catering on the side, but realised I’d end up having an accident as I was operating on four hours sleep.”

He moved to London this summer and found work quite easily in a gastro pub.

“London is growing on me and I like the place but I’m not sure if I’ll be happy to stay due to the cost of rent. I’ve work for the winter so I’ll make my mind up around January what I’ll do, where I’ll go next.

“I haven’t used my degree once since I left college to find a job. In fact I’m thinking of just taking it off my CV altogether. I don’t regret having it or what I did. But I suppose I’m a little bit disappointed that there’s not much structure or guidance with what to do with an arts degree once you’ve finished.

“I think I was lucky because I’ve gone into catering, I’m slowly getting more qualified as a chef and increasing my ability at it and I can use it to travel and find work.”