In this lesson you are participating in mapping how working lives actually bend, not just talking about them. The straight-line career (school, one course, one job forever) is now the exception. Most people bend around study, travel, family, money, health and the plain desire to change direction. You will plot one composite case study on a grid, then project your own twenties at 20, 25 and 30, including where a break or a sideways move might land.

These three terms are the vocabulary of a working life that bends. You will use all three when you plot a case and when you write your own prediction.

A decade of somebody's working life is a shape. Asked for as a paragraph, it comes back flat. So you draw it.

The three lives below are composite teaching cases built from common Irish pathways (FET, apprenticeship, Higher Education, retail, health support, teaching). They are not biographies of real named people. Plot only what is written; do not invent extra detail.

Three composite case studies (pick one to plot first)

Róisín, now 35, community health support worker. Around 20 she finished a FET healthcare support course and worked part-time on a supermarket retail floor while applying for clinic roles. Around 25 she took a sideways move from shop-floor work into GP clinic reception, then completed a further FET healthcare certificate part-time while still earning. She took an eight-month career break to travel and help at home when a parent was ill. Around 30 she worked reduced hours after her first child, and moved from clinic reception into a community health support role with more flexible hours, which suited the work she wanted.

Marcus, now 35, electrician. Around 20 he entered a paid electrical apprenticeship and trained while earning. Around 25 he qualified, stayed with the same employer for two years, then went self-employed with a van and a small set of regular clients. The self-employed stretch taught him pricing and clients, but the irregular work and no sick pay pushed him back. Around 30 he took a sideways move back into employed work with a facilities and maintenance contractor, kept a few evening call-outs, and added a short upskilling course in renewable installs so he was not stuck on one type of job.

Aisling, now 35, primary teacher. Around 20 she went to Higher Education for primary teaching. Around 25 she was in her first posts, moved county for a contract in a primary school, and felt the job was right but the load was heavy. She took a career break for a year to work abroad as a classroom assistant and reset. Around 30 she returned to an Irish primary school, completed a short additional qualification in special education, and shifted sideways within teaching toward a role with more learning-support hours rather than a full mainstream class load.

Do this in order (about 35 minutes total):

1. Skim and choose (about 5 minutes): read all three cases; pick one.
2. Plot the case (about 12 minutes): on the pathway planner, place milestones on education and training, workplace, and life events at around 20, 25 and 30. Show the break, the return to study, and the sideways move. Gaps are information.
3. Capture the case before you clear (about 5 minutes): create or open Employment Pattern Prediction in your Strand 1.2 Digital Portfolio folder. Write the case map in plain words now, while it is still on the grid. Minimum structure: Case plotted: name; then 20 / 25 / 30 on education, workplace and life (one line each); name the break or sideways move and the age band.
4. Clear the grid, then plot your own twenties (about 10 minutes): only after the case is written down, clear the planner. Plot what you expect to be doing at 20, 25 and 30, where a break or change of direction might sit, and what would cause it.
5. Finish the portfolio entry (about 3 minutes): under the case write-up, add My projection: 20 / 25 / 30 on the same three tracks; one named bend (career break, return to study, or sideways move) and its cause.

Portfolio build: the pathway planner is the working surface only; it is not the kept artefact. What stays is Employment Pattern Prediction (create it now if you do not already have it) in Strand 1.2 of your Digital Portfolio. This is supporting evidence you will reuse when you draft your career progression plan later in this strand, and it sits with the other Strand 1.2 pieces that feed Portfolio in Action AAC work. Keep both maps short enough to revisit.

Talk these through with the person beside you, or sit with them quietly for a minute each.

1. The straight-line career (one course, one ladder, no gaps) is now the exception for many people. Looking at the case you plotted, where would a straight-line story have been simply wrong?

2. On your own map, which bend feels most likely: a career break, a return to study, or a sideways move? What would have to be true in your life for that bend to happen?

If talking about bends brings up something current for you, talk to the guidance counsellor. Your guidance counsellor is there if you need to talk it through. You do not have to share private detail in class.

If you want a portfolio note later, add three lines under your Employment Pattern Prediction: which bend you named, why it is the honest one, and what you refuse to pretend will stay fixed until 30 (direction, study, or work, not private family detail).

Today you participated in mapping how working lives actually bend.

• Employment patterns include jobs, study, gaps, returns and sideways moves, not only promotions
• A career break is a pause with a reason; a sideways move changes route without needing a higher title
• You plotted one composite case study across education, workplace and life events at around 20, 25 and 30
• You projected your own twenties on the same grid, including where a break or change of direction might sit
• Your Employment Pattern Prediction in Strand 1.2 of the Digital Portfolio holds both maps as supporting evidence. You will reuse this shape when the career progression plan begins later in the strand, alongside other Strand 1.2 pieces that feed Portfolio in Action AAC work