Planning your Career: Advice for Current Students.

Supports in college and beyond

When you registered with the Disability Service you met a Disability Officer who carried out a needs assessment, to determine your support requirements. University, in many ways, is very like the workplace. You are asked to complete assignments with a deadline, and you are expected to participate in various activities that may include public speaking, team work, independent research, reading information etc. By understanding your needs within your course, you can gain an understanding of what tasks you may encounter in the workplace and what will support you in performing these tasks.  Consider if and how your needs change during your time at university. What are the supports you receive in College?Which are you likely to need in employment too?

See "challenges as opportunities for you to develop alternate ways of doing things."

"There is a lot of support in the workplace too"

TCD Graduates

Assistive Technology

Assistive Technology is easy to use devices and programmes that allow you to perform tasks and activities that you might find difficult or hard to complete on your own. Such technologies can help you transition into employment or your college placement and let you build on skills and strategies that you have used in your educational experience. Such technologies can demonstrate to employers that you have the skills and strategies already in place for the transition into employment and allow you concentrate on getting on with the job in hand. Examples of such commonly used devices and software are:

• Dictaphones
• Audio Pens
• Ergonomic aids
• Voice recognition software
• Grammar spelling checkers
• Screen magnifiers
• Text to speech software
• Portable scanners

Consider your potential placement or work activities – does technology have a role on making these easier to engage in? Do you like using technology and can you see its benefits? Have you the necessary skills to use your technology on placement or within the workplace? If you are unsure about the need or the use of Assistive Technology, you can contact the AT officer in TCD Andrew Costello to advise you on support strategies if you have problems with your assistive technology. Check out the free and easy to use tools that you can benefit from to ensure an easier transition to you employment/placement.

What advice do previous graduates have for you?

Planning your career: Advice for:

Undergraduates

Postgraduates

Research students