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DO YOU EVER wonder what path of study you’d choose now, given the opportunity? For many of us, we think the door to education passes after the age of 18 but the reality is that we live in an age of lifelong learning.

Postgraduate study can give people the opportunity to completely change their career, whether it’s a Master’s, an MBA or a diploma.

If you’ve ever imagined a parallel existence for yourself as a historian or a human rights lawyer, you’re not alone. Last September, TheJournal.ie heard from lifelong learning advocate Deirdre O’Regan, who returned to education after three decades.

I would say to people, it doesn’t matter what course you do, if you actually get involved in a course. It might be knitting or something like that, but you are talking to other people and other people’s experience passes down.

According to 2016 figures, Ireland has the second highest percentage of people with third level degrees in Europe, so education is evidently something we rank highly for.

Around 15% of all students in Ireland are currently postgraduates, with a roughly 50:50 split between full-time and part-time. While online courses have become hugely popular, there are also blended learning courses available – which combine online learning with in-person classes so that students can get the benefit of both.

We asked a few people about the subjects they didn’t get the chance to pursue, that they still feel passionate about:

I always think that Law would have been a great field to study. I love reading and pulling apart arguments! Every couple of years I toy with idea of returning to study it – not because I want to change career, just because I think it’d be the ultimate challenge.

I really wish I had done some sort of media or digital media marketing within my degree. Anything we did in college was very broad and I still feel like I have this massive gap.

I have considered doing an MBA because I was interested in having more control over the sustainability of my industry. When you are trained exclusively in a particular skill set, you can be as fantastic in that niche but when your job becomes subject to market forces outside your remit, it can be very scary.

I would love to study teaching – the idea of being able to engage with a young person, give encouragement to them, and literally shape their outlook or understanding on a subject, or the rest of their life is something that is far more rewarding than just doing a 9 – 5.

So, tell us: Is there something you’ve always wanted to study?

Have a particular course in mind? Let us know in the comments.

Looking to upskill? Griffith College Dublin offers a wide selection of full and part-time postgraduate courses. These provide great opportunities to study a wide range of subjects and gain industry-focused qualifications that allow you to jump ahead in your career. Whatever your requirements, they have a course out there for you. You can view their postgraduate courses here.