Jobs in Ireland

There are virtually no restrictions on the type of work that you can do and students have been highly successful in finding jobs. The majority of our past participants have worked in restaurants, bars, banks, stores, hotels, call centers, offices and cafs. Finding a career job takes a lot more planning than casual work and we advise that you start your research before you travel to Ireland. A number of determined career-minded students have found positions as architects, stage assistants, computer programmers, gym instructors and church organists! However if finance or international marketing is your chosen path you can always yield to the temptation to delay reality for a while...

Ireland has not been unaffected by the recent economic downturn, and some jobs are becoming harder to get. However with the right attitude, and planning, you should be successful in your job search. We recommend doing prior research into the job market before you come over and think carefully about what season you want to come for. Early summer (late April, May and early June) are ideal times to find short term work as the summer is very busy with the tourist high season starting up. But if you come late June and July and August, youll find that the jobs that were once plentiful are now filled by other travellers and Irish students looking for summer work. Similar in the Fall and Winter months, September and October are good times to arrive as you will be filling the jobs left by returning students and retail shops are looking to build up their staff for the busy Christmas season. We do not recommend arriving from mid December until early February as many employers will not be looking to hire shortly before or after Christmas. The holiday season is very big with the Irish and it is not unusual for employers to take long vacations around that time.

The work authorization entitles you to take any type of job but you will need to put in the same kind of research and planning as if you were relocating to a different US city for your summer.

Even if the job itself is not particularly high-powered, no one comes to Ireland for this reason alone. Waiting tables in Planet Hollywood in Dublin might not seem to be the ideal ethnic experience when you have travelled so far, but the fact that you are working alongside Irish people, learning about the culture from the inside, and earning money to pursue all those aspects of Ireland that first caught your interest (James Joyce, U2, pubs, wild scenery, more pubs) should convince you that this is an opportunity that cannot be missed!

Your attitude and sense of adventure are vital ingredients. If you are flexible and motivated you not encounter any serious difficulties. While you will have plenty of independence, you will also have the security of having the USIT staff there to help and advise should any problems arise.