Q & A

Q I'D like to do dental technology. Do I have to do a course or can I train on the job? What would the course contain?

- Dundalk student

You can do a three-year course in dental technology in TCD. The minimum requirements are two ordinary-level Cs and four ordinary-level Ds in Leaving Cert to include English, maths and any one of physics, chemistry, biology or agricultural science.

The first two years of the course are at the Dublin Dental Hospital. The third year is spent in a public or commercial dental lab acquiring management skills. The course develops a high level of technical skills and provides an understanding of modern materials science as well as the accurate casting of dental alloys, the making of porcelain restorations and the creation of high quality cosmetic artefacts.

It's a direct-entry course and is not through the CAO system. Apply to the Admissions Office, West Theatre, TCD, Dublin 2, by June 1 of the proposed year of entry.

In this way, you will have both the college training and the on-the-job training.

Q I'M very interested in the printing world. Would I be better going for a course in printing or graphic design? Are there cert or diploma courses or degree courses in this area?

- Kerry student

YOU could go directly into the national cert in technology in print media/ communications at Cork IT (CR036), a two-year course with a minimum entry requirement of five Leaving Cert passes to include maths and either English or Irish. There are no special requirements.

This cert gives an overall view of the printing industry. In first year, students are encouraged to discover their own creative potential and skills through experimentation of various media illustration and life drawing.

Subjects covered are graphic design, desk-top publishing, graphic reproduction, printing, business administration and media communications.

Second year develops the skills of typography and graphic design through problem-solving subjects and more in-depth study of the first-year subjects plus computer/graphics. An addon one-year national diploma in design for printing is available.

There are job opportunities in graphic design studios, advertising agencies, desk top publishing and the design and production departments of the printing industry. Points in 1998 were 340.

Another possibility would be the new degree course at DIT Bolton Street (FT130). Points in 1998 for the certificate in printing, which is no longer available, were 305. The new degree provides students with professional and intellectual training in the techniques and processes of management within the printing and graphic communications industries.

First- and second-year subjects include design, prepress technology, printing technology, print finishing technology, materials science, computing, business/accounting and languages. Third and fourth year provide training in total quality management, estimating production management, business subjects such as management accounting, purchasing, marketing, enterprise development, finance and corporate management as well as law, information technology, communication, human resource management.

In fourth year, a major dissertation is part of the degree exam. Employment can be found in the printing and graphic communications industries in areas such as production planning and control, quality management, purchasing and marketing.

Again, there are no special subject requirements but six Leaving Cert passes are required to include two higher-level Cs, a pass in maths and English or Irish.

If you're very keen on a career in the printing world, you should put these at the top of your CAO lists because you have a good choice here for both the degree and the cert/diploma lists.

Q PHOTOGRAPHY is my big hobby. How would I go about making a career? I did a lot of work on it in school since September.

- Wexford Transition Year

IF you love it, it would be a terrific career. You can follow this career by taking specialised courses in photography in colleges such as DIT Kevin Street or in Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (DLADT). Alternatively, you could take a communications course in DCU or DIT Aungier Street which offers photography as an option or by taking an art course and selecting photography as your specialisation or by taking a PLC course for a year to see how you like it.

First of all, if you opt for the two-year national cert in commercial photography at DLADT (DL002), you will need five Leaving Cert passes to include English and maths. This is a restricted course so you must submit a portfolio and do an interview. Apply before February 1st in the year of entry.

In year one, students work on basic principles and skills, moving in second year to a greater emphasis on self-directed project work. The course takes the form of formal lectures, lab and studio work, workshops and tutorials. It leads on to a diploma course.

The three-year DIT diploma course (DT279) in photography has a minimum entry of six Leaving Cert subjects to include two higher-level Cs with an ordinary-level C in maths and an ordinary-level D in English or Irish. A portfolio is not required and there are no special subject requirements.

This is a modular course and, as well as photographic theory and practice, visual studies, optics and electricity, it covers computer studies, business and marketing, health and safety and German. Entry points in 1998 were 390 for the DIT course and 600 for DLADT, but remember that this included scores for the portfolio as well.

Check your local PLC colleges, because new courses are always being devised. If you're willing to travel, there are established photography courses in some Dublin PLC colleges such as Marino College in Fairview which has a City & Guilds (C&G) cert/ NCVA award, Sallynoggin Senior College (City & Guilds) or Stillorgan Senior College (C&G Foundation).

Queries can be answered only through this column and not by phone or post. Write to Sile Sheehy, Education & Living, The Irish Times, D'Olier Street, Dublin 2 - or by email to education@irish-times.ie