This paper provides a comprehensive but succinct 'picture' of the major trajectories of primary teaching in the Irish context since the 1960s. It's major 'shifts' and dominant shaping influences are identified. A similar picture of the nursing profession and its institutional contexts is provided. This is followed by a comparison of these trajectories where policy (national and international) and institutional context for both teaching and nursing are compared and examined to provide a kind of 'life history' of teaching and nursing in the Irish context. The concluding section provides a summary 'chart' of these professional 'trajectories' with a view to identifying current social/status positioning, 'strategic' interest in the immediate future, and the most appropriate learning support for these emergent professional 'identities' in turbulent times.