Finding a career remedy

A NEW LIFE:Neil McNulty left an IT job to retrain as a complementary therapist

'THE MOST important thing in life is to be strong and to recognise your own strengths and weaknesses," says 33-year-old Neil McNulty. The former computer scientist is settling in to his new career as a complementary therapist, having just completed his studies in Dublin last year.

McNulty displays an intensity about life in general and has a missionary zeal about his new career and its potential. "Naturopathy is essentially about promoting and nourishing natural healing forces within the individual using an eclectic approach," he explains.

"What I want to see is integrated healthcare. I believe that if you take away the individuality of the person in treatment, you take away the most valuable diagnostic tool you've got. I have friends who are pharmacists and doctors, and I know what they have over me in terms of knowledge, but I'm willing to learn," he says.

Aware of the wave of scepticism towards complementary therapies, he says that it is matched by an increasing openness towards holistic healthcare among the general public. "I want people to know about naturopathy and herbalism and to dispel the myths and associations with folklore that still exist," he says.

McNulty did a foundation course in medicine, before completing diplomas in naturopathy and herbal medicine at the College of Naturopathic Medicine in Dublin. He also completed a course in deep tissue massage during that time.

To fund his four-year-long studies, he worked on contract for his former employer, Microsoft. So, what was it like to combine the two?

"It became harder to work at Microsoft towards the end. People began to think I was a witch doctor because I drank herbal tea all the time and had more and more herbs on my desk," he says, with a laugh.

Of his first career, he now says that his ability in maths led him to study applied computing at the University of Ulster Magee College in Derry. Immediately after completing his degree, he was offered a job at Lotus IBM in Dublin, where he had had his college work placement.

"I stayed there a year, and then I worked for Visio, an American company which was selling engineering products to the European market. The money was great, and we worked long hours coming up to project release dates but there was fantastic energy about the place and I felt that I was going somewhere."

However, when the company was bought out by Microsoft, McNulty felt the mood changed. "We moved to new offices and people were let go in different divisions. I stayed on for about a year and a half and then I decided to travel to Australia with my girlfriend," he says.

After working for four months in the IT sector in Sydney, the couple took to the road and travelled 26,000 kilometres around Australia. "Travel will make or break a relationship, and in our case, we're still together," says McNulty, who, upon returning to Ireland, went back to his home county of Fermanagh.

While back in Fermanagh and close to his family, he began to reassess his life. "Something had changed in me when I was in Australia. Back in Fermanagh, we thought about setting up a cafe, but in fact I ended up working on my uncle's farm for most of the time," he explains.

This contact with nature and animals rekindled his childhood love of the countryside. "It also was a time of soul-searching and that particular uncle of mine was self-taught in Bach Flower remedies and nutrition. While I was there, I decided that I'd like to go and study herbal medicine," he explains.

So, after a trawl through courses on the web, he settled on the College of Naturopathic Medicine (CNM) in Dublin. "I'm a scientist and I believe in balance and I felt that the dynamic at CNM had a great mixture of both holistic health and science," he says.

Now, McNulty divides his time between giving massage treatments, naturopathy/herbal medicine appointments and part-time work in a health store next door to the holistic health clinic on Camden St, in Dublin.

Meanwhile, he stays in contact with his native Fermanagh and hopes one day to return there. "I plan to get a van and travel round, treating people as a herbalist," he says.

So, overall, is he happy with his new life?

"When I worked in computers, I used to be gloomy in the mornings. Now, I get up in the morning and show gratitude for my work, my friends, family and my partner," he says.