1998

Catherine Franklin (BA Single Hons, Major Italian/Minor German, 1996; MA in Italian, 1998)

'After graduating in 1996 with a degree in Italian and German, I stayed on in UCC for another couple of years and did a Masters in Italian, followed by the Higher Diploma in Business and Financial Information Systems (the course is every bit as complicated as its name!). And now? In June 1999 I tore myself away from UCC and parental security and got as far as Galway, only to become the "Software Localisation Engineer" for a German IT company called bäurer. It's a responsible position and my job includes regular business trips to the head office in Germany. I edit German to English translations of screen titles and whatever else appears on-screen when somebody uses our application, amounting to thousands of phrases due to the vast number of different screens in the database. This means that I get the last say after the translators have done their part - a scary prospect (for the company as well, I'm sure!). I don't use Italian to the same extent as German, but I use it every day and will need it more in the future as the company expands. As I speak, there are hundreds of pages of user documentation awaiting the full attention of my editing skills! Italian was beneficial to me in getting this job and the salary that goes with it (well, it is the IT industry!) and of course regular trips to Italy ensure that my Italian is put into practice'. (March 2000)

Dearbhail McCarthy (BA Joint Honours - Language and Cultural Studies, Italian and Economics, 1998)

'Upon graduating from UCC I was accepted by the University of Edinburgh where I gained an MSc by research in Italian. My chosen area was twentieth-century Italian Poetry and I finally selected the poet Pier Paolo Pasolini as the basis for my study. I thoroughly enjoyed my twelve months at the University and remained in Edinburgh for a further year, working. On my return to Cork in Oct 2000 I set about looking for a career and was hired as the Business Development Officer for the Cork Region by the Irish Business & Employers Confederation (IBEC), whose ad I saw in the UCC Careers Service! Even though it was my degree in Economics which is more relevant to the position, the skills I acquired through researching a Masters were also deemed to be very beneficial. My job involves developing the Business Agenda for the Cork Region and as such I sit on various councils, committees and boards as a representative of IBEC Cork. It is an interesting and varied job which is an ideal introduction to the working world!' (June 2001)

Sinead Moran (BA Single Honours, Major German/Minor Italian, 1998)

'I'm currently doing the Diploma in Business Studies at NUI, Galway, which is very different from the language degree, but I'm doing a lot of International Marketing so the languages are of some use. I'm planning on going back to Italy in the summer (Pesaro) for a nice long holiday and looking forward to speaking some Italian'. (February 1999)

'I didn't manage to get to Italy after all, as I've been writing a thesis for my course in Galway, which I just handed in last week. The topic I chose was linguistics and language used in advertising, so it let me bring in some knowledge that I had from the language degree. I'm heading off to Germany to start my new job, up north near Kiel, with a software localization company, which will involve technical translation and marketing. There are some Italian customers, so both languages will be vital to the job. The company's home page is www.iceuro.com. It's a bit daunting heading off on my own, but the job sounds like a real challenge'. (August 1999)

Lorraine Farrell (BA Single Honours, Major Italian/Minor Psychology, 1998)

'Despite my inclinations towards postgraduate studies, I left the gates of UCC in the summer of '98 with my degree in hand, looking for a taste of the real world. My first experience of working life was in a call centre where I worked as a customer services representative dealing exclusively with the Italian market. Although I loved working through Italian, it soon became apparent that telesales was not my cup of tea (I lasted a miserable 2 months!!!). I then went on to join the Warner Lambert Export (WLE) team at Little Island where a whole new world unfolded in front of me, the world of pharmaceuticals. One year on, I have moved to our new Tablet Plant in Ringaskiddy where I work in the validation dept. The tablet plant was constructed in an incredible 30-month time period and just last Friday, 21 July 2000, we passed our IMB audit and hope to have a licence to sell our new drug 'Lipitor' within the next three weeks. WLE recently merged with Pfizer and are now one of the top Pharmaceutical companies in the world - an exciting time for all of us!

'Though I am not using my Italian at work, I am determined not to lose it, continuing to attend courses and, of course, making the essential return visits to Parma. Who knows, maybe in the future I can combine both work (that I enjoy) and Italian. That would be a dream come true!' (July 2000)

Sofie O'Shea (BA Joint Honours, Italian and Economics, 1997)

'After my BA in Economics and Italian, I went on to do an MSc in Health Economics at the University of York, UK. I did the Masters over two years, which included eight months of work experience in Novartis Pharmaceuticals in Basel, Switzerland and the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association in Dublin. My Italian came in very useful in York as the majority of staff and postgrad students in the department happened to be Italian! I finished my MSc last summer and decided it was time to take on the real world. I am now working as a Health Economist/Research Assistant in the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics (supported by the Department of Health), at St. James's Hospital in Dublin. My work mainly involves economic evaluation of pharmaceutical products.

'Unfortunately I don't have much opportunity to speak Italian these days, but I am planning a trip to Italy this summer and intend to get my Italian back in order!' (May 2000)

Ann Marie Corrigan (BA Joint Honours, Italian and French, 1988; MPhil Italian, 1998)

'After graduation I began working with American Express, interpreting and translating, and then in 1990 I joined Aer Lingus cabin crew. During this time I also began an MPhil in the Italian Department on Italo Svevo, graduating in 1998. In 1999 I moved to CTV, where I was involved in various aspects of broadcast journalism: research, production, editing, writing. I completed a Master's in Journalism at the University of British Columbia in 2000 and was Managing Editor of Alive magazine from 2000-2001. I am currently a writer and editor with Orato.com'. (November 2002)

Department of Italian

Iodáilis

First Floor Block A West, O' Rahilly Building, University College Cork, Ireland