Navigating college can often mean navigating one's personal and work life too. Maybe you thought about quitting at this point? Visit our YouTube channel.
Run by Dr. Bill Mallon, Career Projections supports undergraduate and postgraduate students with their thesis, through proofreading, editing, formatting and feedback. Often times, they overlap to such a degree that you become unbalanced; stuck in the same repetitive thinking and endless tasks, spending hours at your research and producing very little. Worse, you end up producing something that ta
24/12/2025
Wishing everyone a peaceful and merry Christmas. Thanks to everyone for their support for Career Projections over the last year. It's been rocky, but the ship is back on track now, with clear horizons. Big thank you also to my friends and family, and to my work colleagues in Dublin and beyond. Here is to a great 2026!
Bill
11/12/2025
New video drop!
Supporting Master’s students through their dissertation can be challenging, especially within the Irish higher-education context. This video outlines practical guidance for dissertation supervisors in Ireland, including best practices for communication, setting expectations, managing workload, and offering effective academic support. Just a few tips from my own experience, with more specific videos to follow over the next few weeks.
Video here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQaOjt2Iphk
If anyone would like me to put on a workshop on Dissertation Supervision, Academic Integrity, or Ai Use/Misuse, please get in touch - [email protected]
11/11/2025
"A reactive response to this new threat has been to retreat to tightly invigilated exams or in-person viva voces, and some institutions are redrafting assessment strategies around this model, convinced that a physical room offers the last bastion of security and authenticity in assessment. However, even these refuges are fragile. Smart glasses with built-in AI assistants, such as Meta-Ray-Ban’s recent releases, are now on sale to the public (Waisberg et al., 2024) and could feasibly be used in secured examinations. Furthermore, brain-computer interfaces, which are already in clinical trials, will make it impossible to guarantee that a learner is not aided during examinations (Eaton, 2023). Eaton’s claim that we are entering a ‘post-plagiarism’ era is probable, and if we cannot secure the exam hall and cannot verify authorship in take-home work, the logic of reverting to traditional exams fails to address this issue. For many academics, this simply exposes an old truth: assessments can be gamed by students"
(Perkins and Roein in UNESCO, 2025, pp. 76-77).
"Over-reliance on AI in academic assessment could undermine trust in educational institutions and diminish students' sense of responsibility. A balanced approach that combines automated detection with human oversight is essential to avoid misinterpretation and ensure fairness in evaluations" -Leong & Zhang (2025). AI on Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Detection, ASM Sc. J., 20(1), p. 8.
I think this is something we must never forget – the human element. Far too many toss a suspected AI-generated assignment into an AI tool like Turnitin or Copyleaks. It's a bit like the blind leading the blind, and you can’t uphold the principles of academic integrity by simultaneously stepping back, as a human, into the background. AI policies that work the best are ones that use well-trained staff to teach both limitations and benefits of AI in reseach. However, I do think the training is not fully there yet (see also Gleeson, Michael (2024). Exploring the Use of Generative AI in Computer Science Education in a Technological University in Ireland. European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning, 26, 107–118). The "box lifting" course for Ai is there to some respects but more practical hands on experience is needed beyond some "box ticking" exercise in relation to Ai oversight and QA. The traffic light systems many institutions use are a good step in that direction, but more is needed to train staff in how stuyents are using the tools (misusing, moreso).
I will be launching my Academic Integrity video series on YouTube soon, which details how to supervise students at Level 9 and how to implement a "softly-softly" approach to teaching students about AI and the ethics therein. I will also be providing more spefcic Ai and academic integrity workshops on this too for academic staff in the new year. It's not all doom and gloom. Lets get a discussion going! And let's not apply the shotgun approach and cause students to become cogs in some ai driven (and ran) machine, where we, as educators, become nothing more than those who push and pull levers in said machine.
18/10/2025
Career Projections is still here, and is still run my me, Dr Bill Mallon, so don't worry :) I am still available to help Irish students at levels 8-10 with their projects and dissertations - undergrad to postgrad. My and service is great for anyone who feels they are lagging behind or trying to juggle work, life, AND college!
Our very popular thesis formatting and review service will help get your thesis knocked into shape, according to guidelines, and sort out referencing, AND the review is always great for making sure your thesis makes sense. I am a supervisor, and an internal and external examiner for many years, so I have the info you need!
I deal with all types of thesis, as well as methodologies - Qual, Quant, systematic review etc. As well as desk based research! As a supervisor in various colleges, and an Ai consultant across for institutions, I can also help with any concerns you may have about academic integrity and and ethical Ai use. For all you mavericks out there, I don't (and WON'T) help you abuse Ai to help you write your thesis, so don't ask please.
Contact me, Bill, on 087-338-6612, or check out my website at https://www.careerprojections.com/thesisproofreading to see more.
Don't go it alone!
Ai Workshops & Training
This hands-on workshop is designed especially for academic staff who want to understand AI, harness its potential, and safeguard against misuse. Participants will explore what Ai is (and isn’t), how large language models “learn,” and common myths and misconceptions. Learn to use tools like ChatGPT for productivity and Elicit for literature discovery, evidence extraction, and concept creation, while understanding limitations and pitfalls.
The workshop emphasizes responsible Ai use, helping staff spot warning signs of misuse, maintain academic integrity, and implement practical solutions. Interactive exercises and real-world examples equip participants to confidently integrate Ai in teaching, supervision, and research.
To book my workshops, please visit - https://www.careerprojections.com/team-3
Alternatively, call me on 087 338 6612 or email [email protected]
02/10/2025
Thanks to everyone who answered my call looking for more work opportunities last month. Some really lovely messages of encouragement and offers in my inbox. Really appreciate it!
And yes, Career Projections is still there ticking away in the background, forever watching; forever eroding my hairline. I still offer the same services (more or less), though availability has changed a lot since 2024 when I stepped away from my full-time duties to it. However, I am now returning to focusing 90% of my attention on something I was very passionate about before COVID made me take a well-needed break – workshops and classes.
Anyone who remembers (or suffered by being part of) my 12-week classes on thesis development and academic writing in the 2017 to 2020 era will remember my usual sign-offs about the future and where things are going. Well, it turns out it came much quicker than we had imagined, arriving much like COVID itself in 2023 in the form of ChatGPT 3 (the one most of us found first). I quickly (and at my own failing) saw how much it had the potential to erode academic standards and critical thinking, two things I pushed heavily in my classes. As a supervisor in Career Projections, I saw a massive drop-off of students seeking support for the usual stuff, now turning to my AI alter ego instead. Now, as supervisor for various other schools, I can see not much has changed and we suffer a bit of a crisis with students misusing the technology and coming away with assessments and theses that are not fully or at all their own.
I've had many stimulating conversations with academic and non-academic colleagues about where it's all going, and I'm hoping to publish (finally) an article on my learnings by the end of this year, to coincide with the launch of my 10-episode series on research supervision support on my YouTube.
Long and short of it, I’m more or less ready to fully launch the workshop component of Career Projections now, after soft launching and having success with it in late 2024 and early this year. The updated website reflects that, so if you’re looking for workshops on AI use and the ethics of it, as well as workshops on dissertation supervision skills and academic skills, please get in touch. I will refine (as always) as I go along.
Hope to see you in person or on Zoom / Teams very soon!
Bill
www.careerprojections.com
01/10/2025
Getting everything ready to begin filming the next lot of videos for my channel, this time focusing more on the lecturer and supervision element of the dissertation process.
Aiming for 10 videos:
1. How Much Supervision is Too Much? Striking a balance
2. The Literature Review (Secondary Research Methods)
3. Conceptual Framework - Connecting theory to research design.
4. Research Methods - a. Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods
5. Findings and Analysis - Presenting results with clarity and critical insight.
6. Introduction, Conclusion, and Recommendations
7. Appendices & Finalising the Thesis
8. Spotting AI & Plagiarism in Theses
9. Using the Grading Rubric Effectively
10. Conducting a Successful Viva
I have over 15 years of supervisory experience, and I believe many supervisors out there could benefit from what I have to share. AI and plagiarism continue to plague the process, so that will play a big part in these tutorials. I will also cover how to guide students in applying research methods correctly—particularly in designing questionnaires and interview questions (there’s no point in asking questions that have no basis in the literature or no connection to a particular framework or theory!).
In addition, I think it’s important to highlight and provide instruction on data analysis, especially when it comes to NVivo and SPSS.
I’m aiming for a December 2025 release, to coincide with the one-year anniversary of my YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/
Workshops and thesis help, please go to the usual place - https://www.careerprojections.com/
10/08/2025
I still have a limited number of places for anyone looking for help with their thesis in August: proofreading and editing, formatting, consultation for postgrad students and review of their thesis, as well as zoom lessons on how to use Ai ethically and not misuse it (Elicit and other tools to help with research).
The gold standard still remains the traditional way of learning and doing things, but also being conscious of new tools out there.
So please reach out if you are struggling with your master or PhD thesis.
https://careerprojections.wixsite.com/career-projections
New site | Dr Bill Mallon Join me as I explore the intersection of education, research, and artificial intelligence. From academic deep-dives and study strategies to the latest in AI tools and tech shaping how we learn and think – it’s all here.
