Madam, - The time for CAO applications is upon us and the usual nonsense about the importance of attracting students into various sciences is beginning to appear like a yearly flu. Ireland is a country of 4 million people. It does not require large numbers of new graduates in science and engineering. Better jobs are available as accountants, economists, nurses, solicitors, teachers, etc.
When I chose a career as an electronics engineer in 1979 I did not realise the kind of limitations that would occur in the long term. School leavers are right to be suspicious about the viability of careers in science and engineering. I can confirm that movements away from these areas are due to low salaries, insecure jobs and lack of career development. Over the past 25 years the technology sector has enjoyed far too much favourable publicity that remains unsupported by hard facts. My advice to school leavers is to examine the jobs held by graduates with around five years experience. - Yours, etc,
Dr BRIAN PATRICK McARDLE, Executive Engineer, Newbridge, Co Kildare.