JOHN O'Shea of Cork Institute of Technology says students who are interested in science, like making things work, are comfortable doing maths and who like working with other people are likely to be suited to chemical engineering. You must also expect to do well in your Leaving Cert.

CIT has a direct-entry programme while UCD offers an omnibus engineering programme which branches into the following specialisms - chemical, civil, electrical, electronic, mechanical, agricultural and food engineering. If you are 100 per cent certain that chemical engineering is for you, then CIT offers you the chance to begin your studies in first year.

However, if you know you want to study engineering but are not sure which branch, UCD's programme allows you some time to make up your mind before you specialise. The disadvantage is that there is a quota system in second year and there is no guarantee you will secure a place in chemical engineering.

Paddy O'Flynn, chemical engineering lecturer in UCD, says the usual number of first-year places is 280. This year, points fell from 430 to 375 (second-round), a fall which took most people by surprise.

At the end of first year, students list their first, second and third choice of specialism and places are allotted on the basis of their aggregate first-year marks. Chemical engineering - which has some 36 first-year places - is usually one of the most popular choices.

Of the 30 or so students who opt for CIT's direct-entry course, most had listed the course as their first or second choice on the CAO form. The drop-out rate is generally very low - about one person a year across the four years - according to John O'Shea, head of the department of chemical and process engineering.

"It is an applied science. Students spend two-thirds of their time in lectures or tutorials and one-third in labs, for the first three years. In their final year they spend about half of their time working on two large projects which may have industry involvement," explains O'Shea.

Students may spend the summer at the end of third year in a paid work placement in industry. At the end of fourth year, full employment for graduates is the norm.

Graduates of both UCD and CIT find work in manufacturing companies and consultancies. A UCD survey of the graduates of 1985 found they are currently employed in a surprisingly wide variety of positions from chief executive of the VHI to Viagra product manager in Pfizer to general manager of L'Oreal Ireland to a county council engineer to lecturer in UCD.

Starting salaries for chemical engineering graduates are impressive, but O'Shea is anxious that student make the decision to study chemical engineering based on interest rather than potential financial gain.

THERE is no formal work placement in UCD but the college will arrange summer jobs for third-year students and the majority take up this option. Again, fourth-year students do two projects - a research project in the first semester and a design project in the second.

Postgraduate students are again scarce - it is usually an option taken up by four or five students each year. Paddy O'Flynn says: "I could lift the phone and get a place in a a good university in the US for any one of our students."