We've been lucky enough to feature a wide variety of careers and different sectors in the Career Paths series and this time we have something very different for you. In this installment, we're delighted to feature Ian Sutton, a Project Hydrogeologist who works in Water and Sanitation services and who's work takes him all over the world. We hope you find it as interesting as we did and I'm sure some of you will find his advice and experience very helpful.

Our thanks to Ian for agreeing to be featured and as always, if you have anyone in mind who would like to be featured, don't hesitate to contact us on info@recruitireland.com. Enjoy! 

Profile

Name: Ian Sutton
Age: 29
Birthplace: London
Marital Status:  Single
Children: None
Highest Education: MSc
Institutions attended: Trinity College Dublin, Cranfield University, UK.
Academic achievements: BSc hons, MSc

About You

1) What is your current role?
I’m a project hydrogeologist in the water sector of a multinational company mostly working on consultancy jobs. The work is varied with new interesting projects coming in all the time. We do a lot of work on operational, environmental and water resource solutions for mining companies, government ministries/agencies and water utilities. Work gives me the opportunity to see a lot of interesting places throughout the UK, West Africa and South America.

2) How did you get into your current role/ industry?
I applied for my current job after having spent about 2 years studying for and working in the water and sanitation overseas development sector. I had been a mineral exploration geologist before that. Language skills were a big help in getting my current job, as well as having experience working overseas. I am currently getting technical hydro-experience in the private industry something that I hope to be able to apply to certain aspects of the overseas development sector in years to come.

3) How many years have you been in your current role/ industry?
3 years.

4) What other roles did you do before finding your current role?
From the most recent to the oldest:
• Managed a water supply project in northern Haiti, it involved rehabilitating an old water supply network about 18km long piping water from mountain springs to several villages, a collective of farmers and a large coastal town. In total about 10,000 beneficiaries. It was a real eye opener to overseas development work, although the work required a fair bit of technical problem solving, working and communicating with local communities was by far the most important aspect.
• Gold and coal exploration and drilling supervising geologist based in Mongolia for two years. It was great fun mapping in the wilderness, logging core, and interpreting geophysics among other things. It is a great place.
• Volunteered on the Suas programme providing teaching ideas to NGO schools in Calcutta. Wonderful experience and a great way to get into development type work. Being part of the programme definitely set the tone for wanting to continue along the lines of overseas development.

5) What was the worst job you ever had?
Night shift core logging at a drill rig in minus 20 degrees with no heater and a dodgy stomach. Only lasted two nights thankfully.

6) Did you always want to work in your role/ industry or did you get into it late?
I don’t think it is ever too late to get into a certain role or industry. I have changed industry three times; from mineral exploration, to overseas development, to technical hydro-consulting. It’s good to mix thing up and not to get stuck in one position.
It can be tough to change industries and can often mean taking a pay cut, but at the end of the day the more experience you have over a wide range of environments the more useful you will be either to your own company or someone else’s. Many skills can be applied over a range of industries.

7) What advice would you give to other people looking to get a career in your industry?
For hydrogeological consulting and hydrological consulting, and probably engineering in general, get a good technical base so that you are confident in your work. It’s good to start off working in a team where you can learn from your peers.
For overseas work a good way of getting experience is through volunteering initially. People you meet along the way can also lead to work further down the line. Hold onto contact numbers and email addresses.

8) What do you like most about your job?
The variety, meeting new people all over the world and having a balance between travelling to new places and having a base to come back to.

9) Anything you don’t like?
Work can take over your life sometimes, its really important to keep a balance and to relax, when you have a lot of client deadlines it can be hard to do this sometimes.

10) What time do you get up for work?
It varies a lot, when I’m working in the field anywhere from 5am to 7am. For an office day I’d usually get up at 8:00am.

11) Where would you like to retire to?
Ireland with sunshine, a reggae bar in Jamaica, or a Spanish villa! Anywhere with good food, good company and good weather!

12) Favourite website(s)?
Don’t have a favourite, probably BBC if I had to choose
 

13) What would be your dream job?
Successful musician

14) What are your goals or plans for the future?
Practise more guitar!
To continue to find work that I enjoy and that motivates me.

15) And finally, the three luxury items you want if you were trapped on a desert island?

Guitar
Surf board
Good company
(and maybe a luxury yacht)….

Ok, so we got a little bit obsessed with the last season of The Apprentice so we haven't featured a Career Paths blog for a little while. However, Career Paths is making it's comeback and this time we're thrilled to be featuring Jill O Sullivan, Editor with Thomas Crosbie Media. Jill gives us a great insight into the world of Editing & Media and has some very useful advice for anyone interested in a career in this industry. Keep your eyes peeled for more Career Paths coming soon and if you know anyone who would like to be featured we'd love to hear from you. Contact: info@recruitireland.com. Enjoy!

Profile

Name: Jill O’Sullivan
Age: 38
Birthplace: Cork city
Marital Status: Married
Children: one, Ronan
Highest Education: University degree
Institutions attended: UCC, DIT
Academic achievements: BA (English and History), Cert in Journalism, Diploma Development Studies

About You

1) What is your current role?  Editor, Thomas Crosbie Media

2) How did you get into your current role/ industry? I completed a Certificate in Journalism, then did a six-week work placement as a reporter with the Evening Echo newspaper..em..14 years ago!

3) How many years have you been in your current role/ industry? 14 years in the industry, 12 in current role

4) What other roles did you do before finding your current role? Reporter and deputy news editor

5) What was the worst job you ever had? Housekeeper in an unnamed five-star Scottish hotel. I won’t say what they found under a bed in a room I had ‘cleaned’!

6) Did you always want to work in your role/ industry or did you get into it late? Decided on journalism at age 14.

7) What advice would you give to other people looking to get a career in your industry? Get experience as wide-ranging as you can across all media, but make sure your fundamentals are sound – how to write a well-structured story, fact-checking, contacts-building, multi-tasking, as those things don’t change even though our industry is being transformed.

8) What do you like most about your job? Knowing what news is breaking right now.

9) Anything you don’t like? There’s no aspect of the job that bores me. Information overload and not enough time in the day can be challenges – don’t think I’ve discovered a new conundrum there though!

10) What time do you get up for work? Depends on the shift – a 6am start if on the early shift. Otherwise, my toddler boy is my alarm call.

11) Where would you like to retire to? Ooooo, west Cork I reckon, if not too arthritic in my old age and able to take the damp. Otherwise, France’s Loire Valley for summers and Nelson, New Zealand for winters.

12) Favourite website(s)? Breakingnews.ie of course! Many Irish, UK and US news sites, currently liking HuffPo.co.uk, Poynter.org, but get most news through Google reader. Also TripAdvisor.com and any daily deals site.

13) What would be your dream job? If not in media, a public health education role in nutrition.

14) What are your goals or plans for the future? Re-thinking how we publish and consume news - that’s right, all by my lone self! Also a Four Peaks Challenge and making the perfect chocolate hedgehog.

15) And finally, the three luxury items you want if you were trapped on a desert island?
A king-sized fine-down duvet in cotton duvet case + matching pillow for the hammock (that’s one);  Men of Destiny by Jack B Yates (to talk to); A Kindle that never loses power (ok that’s luxury and magic), preloaded with 1000s of books.

We stumbled onto the Freshmilk Clothing Website a few weeks ago and we liked it so much that we featured in in our newsletter in the "This month we loved...." section. So when Kevin O'Leary, Co-Founder of the site, got in touch to thank us for mentioning them we wrangled Kevin in to complete our Career Paths questionnaire as well! Thanks Kevin!

If you or anyone you know would like to be featured in this series of blogs just drop us a mail to info@recruitireland.com

Profile

Name: Kevin O’Leary
Age: 33
Birthplace: Cork
Marital Status: Under the thumb.
Children: 1, Leon, 5 months(who doesn’t sleep…ever).
Highest Education: Hard to say.
Institutions attended: CIT, Colaiste Stiofan Naofa.
Academic achievements: Biz Cert, Drama Cert.

About You

1) What is your current role? Co-Founder of FreshmilkClothing.com, bit of everything as we are a small outfit.

2) How did you get into your current role/ industry? By chance really, I’ve always worked as a DJ and about 13 years ago I used to make LANGER t-shirts on the side. Last year I started to make a lot more of my own tees with my business partner and so a site was needed.

3) How many years have you been in your current role/ industry? One year.

4) What other roles did you do before finding your current role? I worked as an actor for 10 years, still dabble a bit. I have always worked as a DJ and still do.

5) What was the worst job you ever had? None too bad to be honest, my last job was a nightmare in the end. I would name the company but it wouldn’t be fair.

6) Did you always want to work in your role/ industry or did you get into it late? Got into it late but always had an interest in the industry.

7) What advice would you give to other people looking to get a career in your industry? Oooh, tough one. Like any industry you can never do too much research before you start.

8) What do you like most about your job? The creative part is the most fun, when an idea clicks you just can’t beat that feeling.

9) Anything you don’t like? Sure, working for yourself means it never stops. If I switch off for a couple of hours in the week I’m doing well.

10) What time do you get up for work? 6 generally, but that’s thanks to Leon(as mentioned above).

11) Where would you like to retire to? Wherever Leon ends up living, so I can ring him on the hour every hour during the night shouting “Revenge is mine!!”.

12) Favourite website(s)? I like keeping in touch with www.peoplesrepublicofcork.com, I am a trainers/sneakers fanatic so www.size.co.uk is my Mecca.

13) What would be your dream job? Playing a professional team sport, if only my knees worked.

14) What are your goals or plans for the future? Professionally to keep working as hard as possible, keep my creativity flowing and my eyes open.

15) And finally, the three luxury items you want if you were trapped on a desert island? A phone to ring Leon at night, every night. iPod, can’t live without my music. A football, to live out the fantasy of being a pro footballer in my head.

You'll find more about Freshmilk Clothing on their Facebook page.

We have another very interesting Career Paths post for you as this time we're profiling Gareth Cuddy, Managing Director of Ireland's only dedicated eBook store, www.directebooks.com and an eBook distribution company, www.epubdirect.com . Thanks to Gareth and if you know know anyone who would like to be included in this blog series please email and let us know: info@recruitireland.com

Profile

Name:  Gareth Cuddy
Age: 31
Birthplace:   Waterford
Marital Status: Married
Children: 3
Highest Education: BA Hons, English & History, Post graduate diploma in Education
Institutions attended: UCC

About You

1) What is your current role? Managing Director of Directebooks Ltd, an eBook company. We operate Irelands only dedicated eBook store, www.directebooks.com and an eBook distribution company, www.epubdirect.com

2) How did you get into your current role/ industry? By chance – began researching opportunities in the field and saw some niches that could be exploited.

3) How many years have you been in your current role/ industry? 3

4) What other roles did you do before finding your current role? Sales and Marketing manager and various management positions in the hospitality sector.

5) What was the worst job you ever had? Recruitment! Seriously.

6) Did you always want to work in your role/ industry or did you get into it late? Arrived late – love technology and books, so a perfect marriage.

7) What advice would you give to other people looking to get a career in your industry? Technology and entertainment of every sort are becoming increasingly entwined. Ours is a great industry for ambitious talented people who can have a genuine impact on a worldwide scale.

8) What do you like most about your job? The variety of work that I do each day. Meeting clients and thrashing out ideas with the team is great fun too.

9) Anything you don’t like? The workload is incredibly heavy – but it will all be worth it someday. (I hope!)

10) What time do you get up for work? 6.30

11) Where would you like to retire to? West Cork

12) Favourite website(s)? Twitter is great for industry news and there are a lot of very useful sites out there, but I can’t live without checking www.teamtalk.com & www.football365.com at least twice a day.

13) What would be your dream job? I would love to be in a position in a few years to invest in start-up companies, passing on experience as well as getting wrapped up in the excitement of early-stage companies.

14) What are your goals or plans for the future? The above plus watching my 3 boys grow-up and become successful in their own rights.

15) And finally, the three luxury items you want if you were trapped on a desert island?

My e-Reader (loaded with 1000’s of eBooks of course), Sky Sports and a toothbrush! 

This week we have a treat for all you budding entrepreneurs as we are featuring Owner of internet startup Umnumnum.ie, Margaret Smith. A big thanks to Margaret and hope you all enjoy. I highly recommend visiting her blog also but be warned it will make you hungry!

Profile

Name:  Margaret Smith
Age: 42
Birthplace: Cork
Marital Status: Married
Children: 2 
Institutions attended: College of Commerce Open University
Academic achievements: not a lot

About You

1) What is your current role?
Owner of Umnumnum

2) How did you get into your current role/ industry?
I decided I wanted to work for myself doing something I was passionate about and good at.

3) How many years have you been in your current role/ industry? Just over 1 year

4) What other roles did you do before finding your current role? I worked in various Offices as an accounts clerk and am a director in my husbands company also.

5) What was the worst job you ever had?
I worked in a few pubs in my time –one was a real dive.

6) Did you always want to work in your role/ industry or did you get into it late?
I had no idea I wanted to do this it just sort of happened and everyone around me loves the idea and has been so supportive- I have been very lucky.

7) What advice would you give to other people looking to get a career in your industry? Don’t do it- I could do without the competition- no seriously no matter what you want to do give it a go.  Do your research, make your plans, get back up and support then JUMP.

8) What do you like most about your job?  I love the creative side- I have to do everything as I am a one man band but I love ideas and new ways of doing things.  I love people and socialising so I have incorporated that into how my company works.

9) Anything you don’t like?  I (ironically) hate the accounts side and got very good advice recently to leave that to someone who loves it and I have done. Trust her implicitly and she tells me what the reality is when I come up with one of my hair brained schemes. It’s good to have someone to ground you.

10) What time do you get up for work? It varies can be any time from 6am to 8am depending on what I have on

11) Where would you like to retire to? Not bothered where just want to be comfortable when I do

12) Favourite website(s)? I am a Twitter addict

13) What would be your dream job? I love being creative so something where i can dream up weird and wonderful ideas all day long and still get paid.

14) What are your goals or plans for the future? I hope to make a success of the big move I am in the middle of orchestrating at the minute and then maybe a further expansion down the line.

15) And finally, the three luxury items you want if you were trapped on a desert island? my Iphone, wifi and cookbooks
 

This week we are delving into the area of Social and Community work with Alison Corr, who works as Children and Young People’s Programme Manager in Southside Travellers Action Group. Thanks to Alison for her contribution and hope you all enjoy!

*Alison has graciously decided to feature the award winning artwork, "Happiness" by young members of Southside Travellers Action Group, rather than a picture of herself. We know you just didn't want your own photo here alison but we think this artwork great so you get away with it ;)

Profile

Name: Alison Corr
Age: 34
Birthplace: Dublin
Marital Status: Single
Children: None
Highest Education: Higher Diploma
Institutions attended: NUIM
Academic achievements: Leaving Cert, Degree, Higher Diploma Post Grad

About You

1) What is your current role?  Children and Young People’s Programme Manager in Southside Travellers Action Group

2) How did you get into your current role/ industry? I had been working in the Private Sector (Insurance- for the German Market) and after volunteering in a project in Dublin, went back to college in 2005 to do a Post Grad in Youth and Community Work. My first college placement was with Southside Travellers Action Group and when I completed my studies, I was lucky enough to get a job in the centre.

3) How many years have you been in your current role/ industry? Almost five years

4) What other roles did you do before finding your current role? As above, I previously worked for an International Insurance Company. I also spent a couple of years in Germany working in Hotels and an Irish Bar.

5) What was the worst job you ever had? Developing photos in a photo shop.

6) Did you always want to work in your role/ industry or did you get into it late? I got into my role late after realising I didn’t want an office 9-5 job.

7) What advice would you give to other people looking to get a career in your industry? Get some experience volunteering in a project first to make sure you are really interested in the sector. Working with young people is highly rewarding but be aware there are challenges too!

8) What do you like most about your job? The variety of the work and the young people in the project

9) Anything you don’t like? Not always enough hours in the day!!

10) What time do you get up for work? I normally aim to be in for about 10 as we work in the evenings so I am up about 8am.

11) Where would you like to retire to? Madrid

12) Favourite website(s)? Holiday websites- definitely not Facebook!!!

13) What would be your dream job? My dream job would be to travel the world and write about it.

14) What are your goals or plans for the future?  To be happy !

15) And finally, the three luxury items you want if you were trapped on a desert island?  Ipod, Beer and enough food !

This week we are delighted to have Stevie Howlin, Software and Web Developer (and part time DJ) giving us an insight into the IT industry. Hope you all enjoy!

Name: Stevie Howlin
Age: 27
Birthplace: Co. Wexford, Ireland
Marital Status: Single
Children: 0
Highest Education: Third Level
Institutions attended: Waterford Institute of Technology
Academic achievements: Bachelor of Science (Honours, 1st) in Applied Computing, Commercial Stream

About You

1) What is your current role?
Software and web developer

2) How did you get into your current role/ industry?
My college degree was very programming orientated. Over time I moved myself more in to the design and usability aspect of software development. I've been in my current position for six months

3) How many years have you been in your current role/ industry?
Seven years

4) What other roles did you do before finding your current role?
Shop assistant, Labourer, Call centre agent

5) What was the worst job you ever had?
Working on building sites

6) Did you always want to work in your role/ industry or did you get into it late?
I've always been in to computers and always figured this is where my career would go

7) What advice would you give to other people looking to get a career in your
industry?
Learn the basics of programming and practise them. I learnt BASIC in my spare time in school and it helped me immensely when I started college. Good software development is like playing an instrument; if you don't practise you'll never get better.

8) What do you like most about your job?
The inherent creativity involved in coming up with solutions for the problems faced by the project

9) Anything you don’t like?
Moving targets, badly planned projects

10) What time do you get up for work?
8.45am

11) Where would you like to retire to?
Canada

12) Favourite website(s)?
I'm currently working on Trust Passport (http://www.trustpassport.com) which means it's the site taking up most of my time at the moment.
Facebook is probably the site I visit most often and I'm also a big fan of Twitter (@StevieHowlin http://twitter.com/#!/steviehowlin).
My favourite website outside of those would probably be The Gutters (http://www.the-gutters.com/)

13) What would be your dream job?
Professional wrestler or DJ! Failing that, highly paid CTO or CEO of a top software company.

14) What are your goals or plans for the future?
Start or buy in to a promising young start up company and guide its direction as it grows. Continue work on my DJing skills and hopefully start to make some waves in that scene also.

15) And finally, the three luxury items you want if you were trapped on a desert
island?
Assuming a power supply is inherent;
High end laptop, highspeed internet connection and high end sound system

We hope you are enjoying our series of Career Paths blog posts. This week we are delighted to have Fred Schelbaum from Pressieport.ie giving us an insight into setting up on your own and running a successful website.

Profile

Name:  Fred Schelbaum
Age:  6.3 (in doggie years)
Birthplace: Menton, South of France
Marital Status: In a long term relationship
Children:  Nope
Highest Education: Third level
Institutions attended: St. Paul’s Raheny and UCD
Academic achievements: Masters (Econ.)

About You

1) What is your current role? M.D. of Pressieport.ie

2) How did you get into your current role/ industry? Decided to set up on my own after working in a corporate environment for way too long.

3) How many years have you been in your current role/ industry? 4 years in my current role but about 15 years in eCommerce altogether.

4) What other roles did you do before finding your current role? I was a director for a German company called Arvato Financial Services, based mostly in Dublin

5) What was the worst job you ever had? Lounge-boy in Sands Hotel when I was a kid

6) Did you always want to work in your role/ industry or did you get into it late? I always had (and have) a fascination with the internet and doing business online so you could say my current role was a dream come true.

7) What advice would you give to other people looking to get a career in your industry? If you’re thinking of becoming self-employed, just be prepared to work at it night and day, but otherwise, go for it!

8) What do you like most about your job? Watching it becoming successful and getting positive feedback from people who’ve shopped online with us.

9) Anything you don’t like? Stock-taking… that’s a bit of a pain in the ….

10) What time do you get up for work? Normally about 6.00am but don’t seem to wake up till my 3rd cup of coffee

11) Where would you like to retire to? 6 months in the south of France and 6 months in New Zealand

12) Favourite website(s)? Pressieport.ie, BreakingNews.ie, TheJournal.ie, BBC.co.uk and Met.ie (I live in hope of a heat wave)

13) What would be your dream job? Gadget researcher or coffee taster

14) What are your goals or plans for the future? To get a 1 month holiday and chill

15) And finally, the three luxury items you want if you were trapped on a desert island? a Starbucks, broadband and an iPad (if I’m trapped for longer than a week, could I bring my other half too?)

This week we have an insight into the world of advertising from Aiden O Byrne who is an Account Director with Electric Media. So for all those Mad Men wannabes out there - read on...

Name: Aiden O’Byrne
Age: 40ish
Birthplace: Dublin
Marital Status: Married to Mrs Right, first name Always!
Children: Twin Girls, 3 in May.
Highest Education: Leaving Cert 1983
Institutions attended: University Of Life.
Academic achievements: Got consecutive Gold Stars thru 1st & 2nd class in Nature walks.

About You

1) What is your current role? Account Director in Electric Media

2) How did you get into your current role/ industry? Returned from U.S. late 2007 when Mrs Right fell pregnant with twins and was approached by Irish Times (50% Owners) to join company Pre Start Up.

3) How many years have you been in your current role/ industry? Since January, 2008.

4) What other roles did you do before finding your current role? Was Vice-President with Private Equity firm in U.S. who had interests in Media amongst others.

5) What was the worst job you ever had? Stone picking at 50p an hour aged 12.

6) Did you always want to work in your role/ industry or did you get into it late? Got involved with Print media in 1994, have been infected since…

7) What advice would you give to other people looking to get a career in your industry? Embrace change, the Internet is a game-changer.

8) What do you like most about your job? Creating innovative solutions for traditional brands that deliver much more than was expected.

9) Anything you don’t like? Corporate survivors

10) What time do you get up for work? 7:00am approx courtesy of my daughter’s.

11) Where would you like to retire to? Gaffneys of Fairview, Dublin 3.(Creamy Stout).

12) Favourite website(s)? I love the social interaction opportunities that Facebook provides with my friends overseas, however I’m a News addict so Irishtimes.com, Irishexaminer.com, Guardian.co.uk, BBC.co.uk, you get the picture.

13) What would be your dream job? Charlie Sheen’s party planner?

14) What are your goals or plans for the future? To balance my life between career, family and secret desires.

15) And finally, the three luxury items you want if you were trapped on a desert island? Broadband, Apple Mac & My Family.

We're back with another installment of our Career Paths blog posts and this week we are delighted to have Lorraine McNicholas who works with adults with intellectual disabilities as a Community Inclusion Coordinator. Thanks to Lorraine for her contribution and don't forget to check back regularly for another installment in this series of blogposts.

Profile

Name: Lorraine McNicholas
Age: 35
Birthplace: Castlebar
Marital Status: Single
Children: None
Highest Education: Degree
Institutions attended: NUIM, Mater Dei Institute, Tivoli Institute
Academic achievements: Leaving Cert, Degree in Psychology, Diploma in Psychotherapy

About You

1) What is your current role? Community Inclusion Coordinator working with adults with intellectual disability

2) How did you get into your current role/ industry? Left college did some voluntary work with adults with intellectual disability, then started working with children with disabilities.

3) How many years have you been in your current role/ industry? 5 Years

4) What other roles did you do before finding your current role? Worked with children with disabilities.

5) What was the worst job you ever had? Working in the print industry as an estimator costing out print jobs.

6) Did you always want to work in your role/ industry or did you get into it late? I decided to change career direction when I was 25 and went back to college to study psychology as a full time mature student.

7) What advice would you give to other people looking to get a career in your industry? Do some voluntary work to get a ‘real-life’ insight into the work. Also consider your employability without any postgraduate education. Psychology is a general degree, if you want to specialise, you need to be prepared to do further study after your degree.

8) What do you like most about your job? The people I work with. It’s nice to work to meet peoples goals rather than to meet profit margins.

9) Anything you don’t like? Yes, often I find myself working within the constraints of very slow moving organisations like the HSE.

10) What time do you get up for work? Normally 7am

11) Where would you like to retire to? My bed!

12) Favourite website(s)? Probably facebook, though it’s fast becoming citydeals.ie

13) What would be your dream job? To be a full time florist earning lotsa cash. I’d love to be my own boss

14) What are your goals or plans for the future? To save enough to have capital to invest in my own business

15) And finally, the three luxury items you want if you were trapped on a desert island?  Tea, Sky Plus and Mascara