But then came the tech crash and the realisation that selling widgets online wouldn't guarantee you fame and fortune.

So why would you choose to take an e-commerce degree? The danger of choosing a course with a trendy title but ending up with a qualification that will have fallen out of fashion after a few years is a risk that should be carefully weighed up.

Kieran Conboy, director of the masters in e-commerce at National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG), himself enrolled in the course in 2000 and says there's no doubt some of his classmates took it up because e-commerce was a hot topic at the time.

"There has been a drop in the level of interest in the course in the past couple of years, " he says. "2000-2001 was very good, but it tailed off during the following few years. The numbers are rising again now."

The course covers subjects such as business policy, e-commerce strategy, databases, programming, systems analysis and design, internet and multimedia development, internet technologies and information systems innovation. Students spend the second year on a work placement and doing a dissertation.

He says the course's title may put off some students who would be attracted to its content, but don't want to become web programmers or get involved in the nittygritty of e-business.

Graduates of the NUIG course use the e-commerce qualification to follow many different career paths, including web programming, business strategy, multimedia, web design and animation.

According to the university, past graduates have been employed by the likes of PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, Accenture and the banks in roles ranging from IT consultant to business analyst.

The hybrid nature of the course, marrying business and technology, means it attracts a diverse mix. "There are those people who are strong on business but have no IT skills. There are others who are strong on IT but have no business skills, who might be trying to get a management position but lack the business skills needed because they came into the company as a programmer, " says Conboy.

While e-commerce is offered as a module in many undergraduate or postgraduate business programmes, there are some colleges that offer it as a stand-alone qualification. University College Cork offers a two-year postgraduate masters in electronic business and commerce, which has a heavy slant to the technical side of e-business and includes programming modules. Dublin City University offers a 12month masters in electronic commerce, which is offered jointly by its business and computing schools. Students can opt for the business or technical stream and all students take common modules in topics such as design, marketing and e-commerce regulation.

Institute of Technology, Tralee and Tipperary Institute both offer a four-year degree in e-business.

While most courses in ebusiness offered in Ireland are at postgraduate level, it's wise for those who want to study a specialised area, especially as undergraduates, to research carefully.

Brian Mooney, past president of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors, advises: "If you are choosing a degree that is highly specialised in any area, it is important to ensure you are fully aware of all the aspects of the course, the various things that are taught, the career options and your own suitability for it.

The courses are offered because they are specifically targeted, but because they are targeted, you need to be sure that you're right.

"If you haven't done enough research to have that level of certainty, there is an advantage to staying with a more general qualification. It depends on whether the person taking the course is clear what he or she wants."