One thing to clarify, I wouldn't say I've had to "work around my leaving cert" I did grand, got what most would consider a decent leaving cert, above the average but it was still a severe underperformance so I didn't get the course I wanted. I went and studied for a Higher National Diploma. That took two years, then I went straight into the final year of my honours degree, I studied here, but got my degree from a well ranked British university (the costs were still the same as studying here too) and seeing as I went straight into the final year, I finished a year earlier than most others who were doing the same degree, which usually takes 4 years here. I then went on to study for my masters in UCD and recently landed my first "proper" job.

I sort of have to pinch my self sometimes with how well it worked out, I make a decent salary at a relatively young age and have achieved most of my educational goals, life's good.

If I were to comment on the leaving cert to anyone who had recently finished it and is now worrying. If you fouled it up, opportunity-wise, you have more options open to you now than in any other time in history, thanks to education reforms (many more of which are set to come into place), the leaving cert is becoming less important as the years go by. There's almost always an alternative route to get where you want, in my case it actually got me there faster than if I had gone straight into University and had done a 4 year degree.