Cork Views: Why I ditched my master’s career path to work at pizza joint

When he ditched his plans for a career in the pharmaceutical industry to work in a pizza fast food restaurant, Ola Azeez admits: “My friends thought I was mad!”

The Cork man also says his father initially queried the amount of money they had spent on his education when Ola dropped the bombshell.

But he has no regrets, and now has a role of Store Manager at the Domino’s pizza chain in Wilton. The would-be microbiologist swapped his lab coat for a pizza apron.

Ola, 30, moved to Ireland from Nigeria with the intention of building a career in the pharmaceutical industry, and completed a master’s in international pharmaceuticals.

While studying seven years ago, he took a part-time job at Domino’s simply to support himself – but ended up discovering that he was far more suited to a people-focused career than life in a laboratory.

Despite his family and friends initially thinking he was crazy to walk away from microbiology, Ola decided to join Domino’s full-time.

He progressed from junior shift runner to assistant manager within a year and became Store Manager in Wilton in early 2021.

When Ola applied for the part-time job initially, he saw it as nothing more than a means to an end to get him through his master’s. Now he says he has never been happier.

Ola says he knew “almost instantly” that Domino’s was where he wanted to be.

“I joined part-time in 2019 when I was doing my master’s at Griffith College and at that stage I still wanted a career in the pharmaceutical industry in Cork,” he said.

“That was the whole reason I moved to Ireland from Nigeria in the first place.

“But I completed my master’s in the summer of 2019, and I was already enjoying my job at Domino’s.

“Then I got a chance to meet my franchisee, and he was really hands-on and came in when we were really busy and threw on an apron to help us out, and that really opened my eyes to the unique culture at the company,” added Ola..

“It was then that I started talking more to my managers about opportunities to progress, and I eventually spoke to my franchisee and told him I wanted to join full-time.”

Those initial months on the counter as a customer service representative made Ola realise that his future wasn’t in a lab because he was too much of a people person, and he knew Domino’s could give him the customer-facing career he realised he wanted.

But he wasn’t so sure how his family back home in Nigeria would take the news.

He explained: “The first thing my dad said when I called him was about the amount of money they’d spent [on my education], but I talked to my mum then a lot after that, and she realised how passionate I was.

“Even my mates thought I was mad, but I just knew Domino’s was for me.

“Honestly, it was a no-brainer for me. I started training in 2020, first as a junior shift runner, then as a senior shift runner, and a few months later I was on my way to becoming assistant manager.

“I moved up the ranks pretty quickly and I was assistant manager by the end of 2020 and store manager in early 2021.”

Ola adds of his role: “It’s hard to explain but there’s something new every single day, you get so much fulfilment at the end of the night, and I can honestly say my franchise group is more like my family.

“We’re always trying to do better, and we genuinely love what we do.

“People just see us making pizzas but it’s so much more than that. I guess you have to be a ‘Dominoid’ to really experience Domino’s.”

Ola was speaking as Domino’s announced a major seasonal recruitment drive to hire 500 new team members across the country. The pizza chain has hundreds of opportunities island-wide for delivery drivers, in-store colleagues, and pizza makers.

Apart from the camaraderie and the team spirit, Ola said the greatest thing about working at Domino’s is the room for progression.

“It’s not a case that you’re fighting to get noticed,” he said. “If you’re interested in progressing, we are open.

“We speak a lot to our teams about it and staff are always encouraged.

“And it’s also not the case that you have to be working here a few years before you can progress. If you’re keen, we’ll provide the tools.”

Ola credits a lot of his self-development with his training at the Domino’s Academy last year. That award-winning store management training programme offers team members great opportunities to build long-term, diverse, and rewarding careers.

Since launching in 2022, The Academy programme has already supported more than 500 people, with 119 programme graduates in 2025 alone.

Ola said: “The Academy truly is one of the greatest things a ‘Dominoid’ can experience because before that I only knew my store and my team, but it opened me up to a whole new world, and meeting new colleagues and being in a new environment really inspired me.”

To find out about the job roles and more about Domino’s on-the-job training and flexible hours, go to https://storejobs.dominos.ie/ or contact your local store.