Jobs and Careers in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland, as with other countries that are part of the United Kingdom, was originally a country with heavy industrial activity as the main driving force in its economy. However, in recent decades a large and growing service sector has taken the place of heavy industry in Northern Ireland.

In spite of unemployment rates and lack of economic are considered to be very high (especially compared to other regions of the United Kingdom), Northern Ireland’s economy is considered to be one that is developed, as most of its jobs (more than three-quarters in fact) are a result of its services.

The most popular location on the list for job searches in Northern Ireland would undeniably be the Belfast Metropolitan Area, also known as Greater Belfast. The fields with highest numbers of job opportunities for this area would be in the fields of Information Technology, Engineering, and Finance.

A job seeker interested in the IT field would likely find an abundance of opportunities for job roles such as permanent full-time software and application development (e.g. utilizing Java, C++, and C# computing languages), support analysis, technical consulting, and firmware engineering (which of course spills over into the Engineering field, as many IT positions are synonymous with Software or Computer Engineering positions).

Aside from Software of Computer Engineering, job seekers in the Engineering field will likely find an abundance in roles related to structural or mechanical engineering. Some titles might be: Civil Engineer, Quantity Surveyor, Test Technician, and also managerial positions such as Site Manager or Supervisor. Other production and manufacturing-related positions can be found, overlapping with the aforementioned.

Those who are seeking employment or a career in the Finance or Accounting fields would find more opportunities in roles relating to account management or legal work such as: Management Accountant, Payroll Officer, Internal Audit, Credit Control, Litigation Control, Tax Management positions, etc.

Regardless of your desired industry/career field, this brief introduction to what you can expect to to find when searching for a job or career in Northern Ireland should help prepare you for success.