There are lots of employment opportunities for architects in the current construction boom. Nevertheless, it's a cyclical business. With a seven-year training programme, it's difficult to predict how students beginning now will fare.

John Graby, of the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland, says nobody goes into architecture for the money. "It's labour intensive and cyclical but very rewarding," he says.

Both DIT and UCD offer five-year degree programmes and entry into both is very competitive. James Horan, of DIT's department of architecture and town planning, explains the three-way selection system for the course. All applicants are called to a test on creativity and commitment, usually during the Easter holidays. Students do not need to do any special preparation for the assessment, says Horan.

About 300 to 350 applicants are then called to interview. There is no obligation to bring a portfolio, but most students bring one along. The results of the test and interview are sent to the CAO and scores are added to the candidate's Leaving Cert score. Places are awarded on the composite score.

The course takes five years and students are encouraged to take a year out. Many students use this year to travel and they usually try to find work in high-profile architects' offices, says Horan.

"The course is quite intensive," he says. "With design work there is no right answer. There is a lot of debate and discussion about work on a day-to-day basis."

Students are admitted to UCD's architecture course on Leaving Cert points. There are two major elements to the course, says Professor Loughlin Kealy, with the most important element involving the education of students to become designers. They must acquire the mental and physical tools - they learn to draw, make models and use computers.

Students also take theoretical subjects which they sit in exams. The design-oriented subjects lend themselves to practical projects from which the students compile portfolios. By the final year, the balance has tilted with up to 80 per cent of the time allocated to design.

Usually about 55 students begin the course and about 42 graduate at the end of fifth year. After three years, students are awarded a BSc in architecture. This gives people an opportunity to change direction, explains Kealy. Within UCD, students can transfer into the landscape architecture or urban and regional planning and, outside the college, they go into a wide range of areas.

Most students who remain with the architecture course take a year out at this stage. Last year, only one student proceeded directly into fourth year. Many students travel abroad. Kealy says that they may gain professional experience but it's a broader opportunity. The life-skills they learn and the maturity they gain makes a difference when they return to college.

It's not all over when you graduate after five or six years. Graby, of the RIAI, explains that students must acquire a minimum of two years' postgraduate work experience before they can become members of the RIAI. They must complete a case study of a building they are involved with, analysing the pros and cons of the process. And they must also attend lectures and sit a two-part exam which involves an interview as well as a written component.

The idea of the postgraduate programme is to bridge the gap between the academic and the professional worlds, says Graby.