As you do, Neil Farrugia likes to mix his football with a little bit of biomedical science.
But he is counting down the days until May when he walks free of his studies and can focus full-time on the beautiful game.
He will do a Masters sometime down the line, but the 20-year-old is in no rush to become a bookworm again.
Not with a career to forge at Shamrock Rovers having only made his debut a fortnight ago despite joining in June.
That was because of a Grade 3 hamstring tear that set him back months for club and country, having become a favourite of Irish Under-21 boss Stephen Kenny.
He was forced out of that reckoning before the Toulon Tournament in the summer and watched Aaron Connolly take his place wide on the left.
The Brighton ace hasn’t looked back since, having cracked the Ireland senior team with two appearances in the last fortnight.
“I want to finish this undergraduate degree, get my BSc and park it there and go into a Masters in 10 or 20 years time,” said Farrugia, who is interested in becoming a doctor.
Combining football and studies requires quite the juggling act as the Dubliner explains.
“There are lectures in the morning that I’d be missing and I’ve been catching up on them in my own time,” he said.
“My missus is in the same course and is taking notes and I’d be looking over them - it works well to be fair!
“I’ll be going straight to the library after training, catching up on lectures, finishing assignments.
“The biggest thing is labs because they’re hard to miss, usually they count towards your final grade.
“If there’s a time where I have to miss a bit of training, it will be because I’ve got a lab. But so far this semester has been fine, I don’t think I’ve missed anything.
“It’s definitely harder now because I’m playing football full-time but I’m capable of it. It’s just until May and then I’m free.”
When he was at UCD, Farrugia turned down a move to QPR as he wanted to see his studies through.
He has no regrets and his immediate focus is on tonight’s clash with Cork City and then on nailing down a role in next week’s FAI Cup final against Dundalk.
Injury free, Farrugia added: “It was the worst hamstring tear you could get. I have to take blood from my arm and inject it into the muscle to help the healing.
“I’ve never played in the Aviva. It’s something I’ve dreamed of as a kid and I’d love to play there in front of the fans.”
If you haven't already, be sure to like our Irish Mirror Sport and Irish Mirror GAA pages on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
