(another!) career advice thread!

NoQuarter

hey everyone,
joined the army for 4 years straight from school, just left to pursue a career with the possibility for great financial reward in the future so i enrolled in a law degree in griffith col but im not 100% sure its the right thing, im startin col in 2 weeks and my head is a bit fried at the mo.

id possibly be interested in accountancy too, maybe more than law, enjoyed maths in school, got a D1 in higher level too.

i have to be honest im not even sure why im posting this i what im hoping to hear but any advice would help if anyone has any experience in these fields and maybe if someone could outline from my position now what i would have to do to end up with a high earning job in accountancy/finance/tax or whatever. or is it too late?

im so confused!?:(
thanks for any help,
Stew.

JCB

Well first of all it's never too late, sure you must be 24 max!

You want to get a high income job, that's grand. However, you must remember that only those with a high aptitude for their area will get big cash.

Now then, what's your area?
Law involves a lot of reading and is very precise. Not to scare you off it, but i've linked to a page with legislation and just pick a bit to read. If it's too technical then maybe law won't suit you.
http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/Criminal_law

Next, Accounting can be very good area to get into - but I think personally, you must have an aptitude for business i.e. you will read the financial pages of the paper and just have an interest in how business works. It's great you don't fear numbers, but just having a calculator will do for most things. Remember, being an accountant is not just adding numbers but you have to interpret them and make decisions with them to justify big bucks. Here is a ryanair statement, have a glance at it. If it doesn't in any way interest you (note: you don't have to understand it right away!), then being an accountant mightn't be for you.
http://www.ryanair.com/site/about/invest/docs/2008/q1_2008_doc.pdf

Briefly, Tax is like a hybred of the two above, using the accounting info and interpreting the laws.

'Finance' is a broad area, but i'll just focus on investing. This is in effect betting on the market price for just about anything i.e. buy when low, sell when high. You could manage an investment in houses, shares and commodities for investors, to get them the best return for their money. Look at websites such as Bank of Ireland or Quinn life to get a better idea.

Since you're uncertain as to which you want to do, maybe transfer into a general business studies degree to get a better idea of all the above areas as well as sales & marketing where big money can also be made.

smcgiff

king-stew wrote:

hey everyone,
joined the army for 4 years straight from school, just left to pursue a career with the possibility for great financial reward ...
Stew.

Mercenary?:D

Actually, what JCB said!

NoQuarter

hey yeah mercenary aint a bad idea!

thanks JCB, im only 21, still a baby!
i suppose ill start the law degree anyways and see if i like it, fingers crossed, and if by the end of the first year i know its wrong for me ill have ta have a serious think! but until then ill just keep ploddin along!