Everybody's a beginner at Higher Options

Large huddles of students outside the RDS, chatter, laughter and a bit of flirting between the school groups, the smell of onions frying from the mobile catering units and swarming hordes, off in determined search of lectures and careers talks - it can only be the 15th Higher Options Conference.

From the moment you step, blinking from the daylight, into the porches of the RDS main entrance you will be bombarded with information. For all those pouring into the RDS from tomorrow onwards, for the next three days there will be so much to take in.

First off, you'll receive your Irish Times bag with your floorplan and special supplements. Keep a tight hold of that bag because you'll be filling it with college prospecti, course literature, information on "gap" activities for a year out and details from professional bodies.

Look at your floorplan and take special note of times of lectures and career talks that you want to attend. Make sure you turn up in plenty of time to attend talks as they are very popular. The CAO and UCAS each have representative stand areas if you have any further queries about applying to college in Ireland or the UK after having attended the talk in the Concert Hall. The lecture on "How to Choose your Career" proved so popular last year that it is being delivered twice each day this year.

Your school will have received a floorplan and list of exhibitors attending which you may already have studied in class - if not look at the centre pages of this supplement to see which colleges and institutions may be of interest to you. Planning ahead is one of the keys to a successful visit to this event - you want to make sure that you visit all the colleges and institutions that interest you.

The Irish Universities will all be represented with Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, University of Limerick, NUI Maynooth, NUI Galway and University College Cork all attending. In addition all the Institutes of Technology will be there and representatives of the different Vocational Education Committees which offer PLC courses. Private colleges such as the American College, Griffith College and Portobello College will be alongside all the Irish institutions in the Shelbourne Hall.

The Main Hall is filled to the brim with colleges from Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales. Schools Liaison staff from the various universities and colleges are on hand at these stands to answer all queries and questions about studying in Britain and Northern Ireland. There are also important information points towards the front of the Main Hall where you'll find stands for the Department of Education and the National Centre for Guidance in Education.

There will a few new faces at the conference this year and some old faces in different guises. The former educational awards bodies under NCCA and NCVA will be there under the new names Higher Education Training Awards Council (HETAC) and the Further Education Training Awards Council (FETAC).

The Defence Forces will be mounting an impressive display in the Serpentine Hall for the first time, away from the other Irish exhibitors because of the size of their stand. Go along there to see what Captain Fred O'Donovan and his team have in store if you have ever considered a career in the army, navy or airforce.

For those interested in deferring third level for a year the "Year Out" stand should be your port of call. This stand is occupied by different organisations each year and this time it is the turn of Gap Challenge and VentureCo Worldwide. A return visitor is the team from Teaching and Projects Abroad. In the majority of cases these organisations offer programmes in far flung corners of the globe (think Togo, Ghana or Mongolia), so visit them if the idea of travel and adventure appeals.

EduFrance is the French equivalent of our CAO applications system. "There is quite a lot of Irish students who go to study in France, either through the Erasmus scheme or on other degree options," says Dominique Suquet (in a lovely French accent). He will be in attendance at the French Embassy, EduFrance stand in the Main Hall if you are interested in finding out about study in France.

In addition to the colleges and universities there are representatives of various different professional bodies. The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland will be there alongside the AIB for any of you who are interested in a career path in the financial sector.

For other career paths you may consider talking to the staff at An Bord Altranais (Nursing Careers Centre), An Garda Siochana or the Civil Service and Local Appointments Commissioners.

There truly are more opportunities than ever to find out about at Higher Options. Go along with some ideas about what you enjoy studying and what career or college route you may be interested in finding out about. However, keep an open mind and ask plenty of questions of those that you meet to fully benefit from their expertise and guidance. Concentrate on the talks and lectures that you feel would be of greatest interest to you and if you miss a talk go to the staff on duty at the Industry Halls or the Organiser's office and ask for a copy of the relevant handout.

With a little bit of forethought and planning Higher Options will prove to be an invaluable resource for all your plans and choices throughout the tough academic year ahead.