Careers in science

Ireland has a higher percentage of science and engineering graduates than the USA, Japan or any other EU country and employment rates are high. Options for science graduates seem limitless (see job roles below) and so the skills required vary immensely. But your scientific training will hold you in good stead whatever your choice of work, and opportunities to travel are plentiful.

Jobs in the scientific field

Science graduates working in a clinical laboratory environment become medical scientists with the Academy of Medical Laboratory Science. Medical scientists can work in analysis, testing and investigation jobs – usually in hospitals, academic environments and private, public and industrial laboratories. In clinical hospitals, medical scientists investigate, diagnose and monitor treatment of the causes of infection by studying samples. Clinical scientists (genetics graduates) analyse and detect genetic diseases and abnormalities.

A specialism growing in demand is bioinformatics, which uses maths, computation and IT skills to analyse biological, biochemical and biophysical data in fields of study such as the human-genome mapping project. A postgraduate qualification is essential. A related field, biotechnology, is concerned with understanding and manipulating the structure and function of DNA. It can be applied to a diverse range of business areas, such as drug development, food processing and production, agriculture and the environment. Ireland is among the top 25 global locations for biotechnology, and government-funded, academic and privately run opportunities are available.

Research and development (R&D) opportunities are open to virtually all science graduates and exist in academic and industrial fields. A career in R&D usually requires postgraduate study but mobility between academia and industry is high. There is also an ever-increasing degree of collaboration between industry and academia, and multidiscipline team working is normal. There are rich opportunities to travel because many international companies site their R&D plants outside Ireland.

There is also demand for science teachers. For work in secondary schools, all graduates must do a one-year Higher Diploma in Education. For work at third-level institutions, a postgraduate degree is essential.

Electronics and microelectronics offer a range of career opportunities for science graduates who have specialised in physics and mathematics. Physics graduates are employed in management and research roles in telecommunications, optical-fibre communications, internet technologies, nanotechnology, the software industry and precision engineering for sectors such as medical and health physics. Postgraduate degrees are often essential.

With environmental concerns becoming high on the political agenda, there are widening opportunities for science graduates to look at issues such as climatic change, carbon dioxide emissions, renewable energy, water pollution and genetically modified food. Relevant disciplines include environmental science, the geosciences and biological/chemical sciences.

Processing and production is a huge area of employment for science graduates as there are opportunities in a wide range of industries. The work involves the management of basic raw materials and processes to produce a final product – which includes everything from research and development to finance. Some graduate schemes are available.

There are also broader opportunities that use scientific skills, such as work in the patents office (obtaining, protecting and granting legal monopolies on products and processes), in technical writing and scientific publishing and in technical sales and marketing.

Further information

For more information see the gradireland sector career guide Careers for science graduates, available to download from our Publications page.