Overqualified: Laura Pomphrett, qualified teacher: 80 job applications, no interviews

Laura Pomphrett has a BA in media and communications, and a HDip in primary school teaching. She applied for 80 positions last year but was not called for interview. She currently works one day a week as an administrator in Dublin.

“I come from a long line of teachers,” she says. “My granddad is a school principal. It’s in my family.”

After completing her undergrad at IT Tallaght in 2005, Laura worked in administrative roles in the financial services industry, before returning to Hibernia College to study teaching.

On graduating in 2008, she worked for a year as a supply teacher in Ballymun and Finglas, covering 10 schools. Almost six years on and no nearer a full-time position, Laura says she feels disheartened.

“I easily applied to 80-100 last year, and I got maybe two or three replies, saying I wasn’t successful. Every school wants something different, so one application could take you an hour or two. That’s a lot of time spent looking for jobs. If you don’t get a reply back from anyone, it’s pretty soul-destroying.

“My confidence hit rock bottom. I started to think that maybe I wasn’t a good teacher. I started to doubt my own abilities.”

The lack of opportunity in a crowded field, combined with the birth of her first child, Eliza, six months ago, means Laura has now decided not to pursue her teaching dream. Having briefly considered emigrating, she says she would prefer to move into another industry, either through a postgraduate in digital marketing or an accountancy qualification.

“I’ve decided not to apply for any more teaching positions this year,” she says. “I don’t want to put myself through that again.

“There’s a bigger demand for accountants than teachers these days, I think. I just want someone to give me a chance, which I feel I haven’t got. I’ve been quite unlucky, I think.”