I still need Career help!

pog it

Am really needing advice-- really- I have talked to different people and the feedback is mainly don't worry etc. etc.

I am trying to change career and want to leave behind what I was doing and so have been temping for the best part of a year now trying to get focus, ideas, etc. I'm interested in media, especially newspapers and magazines and have applied for a couple of roles- one I got through to interview stage for and was told to stay at it but that I was second preference due to my lack of experience, and the others I got no reply from..

So, lo and behold while I was job hunting I got offered a temp job in Accounts to help out a company, and as it happens someone here advised accountancy as an option to consider.

I don't know if this is me though. It's a lot of paperwork and figure working obviously and not very exciting-but it's a sensible career with loads of opportunities it seems, it's just if I do it I won't get to use my creative skills, etc. and I'm afraid I won't see the exams and thing out..

I guess Im looking for info or pointers or advice in general for example has anyone one into accountany for these reasons and regretted it later..

And can anyone tell me what the most exciting accountancy job is??

Thanks in advance..

board om

all i know about accountancy is it takes a long, long time withs lots and lots exams to get fully qualified. and its definitly not something you go into half heartedly. in other words you would really want to be 100% positive that is what you wanted to do before starting into it. i definitly wouldnt get into accountancy just because someone said it was a good idea. do you really fancy spendng the next 30+ years working with numbers? tbh i only know a small few people who did accoutancy and have gone on to make a career out of it, but all of them knew they wanted to do it from a very early age i.e. before junior cert age if not earlier. one of them was nearly 30 years of age before he was fully qualified and had done all his exams etc (and no, he wasnt a late starter or slow, it just took that long to become what ever type of accountant he is). i dont mind saying, he is making an absolute fortune now. while he was studying he was working in an accountancy firm getting paid fcuk all for years, so the whole way through his twenties he was broke. but now since he is qualified he has struck gold. he is making an absolute fortune, and he deserves it becuase he workeed very hard to get where he is, so i have the upmost respect for him.

you said you were looking to change career so my advise would be to make sure that what ever you decide to do is something you really want to do and that you are genuinely interested in it. otherwise a few years from now you will be back on here again asking the same questions all over again and starting from scratch. and you can only do that so many times before you get too old and then the next thing you know you are stuck on a career path in a job you hate. also it is easier to get a company to give you a chance in a new career when you are young, but its gets more difficult to get companies to give you that chance as you get older.

so maybe if you give us a bit more information we might be able to help advise a you a bit better:

how old are you?
what did you do your degree in?
what industry are you working in at present (before you went temping?
how long were you in that industry?
what did you really want to do when you were growing up?
is there anything in particular you are good at, even if it is just a hobby?

by answering these questions you would give us a better idea of what you might want to do with yourself.

pog it

Hi there, well thanks a million for the words of advice-- yeah I have to think this one out.
My degree is in Arts English and History and then I worked in museums and archaeology up until recently.. I have lost my passion for it and well it's badly paid in the main and there is a lot of moving around with the jobs, etc. that I would like a job that will let me stay in one place for longer than 6 months. A basic kind of requirement really!

What I've only ever really really wanted to do was to be a novelist- that is it in terms of dream job. I like lighting and I do like hands-on kind of work as it balances me but this again is a vague and extremely difficult thing to make it in (i.e. light design) and well I have no electrical background so evening doing light installation/ or maintenance seems out for me ya know?

So it sucks but what I'm interested in is so hard to break into and now I'm thinking to just go with an easy career that pays the bills at the end of the day and where I can develop-- I'm 26 by the way!!

So I don't know if that helps you see my bigger picture but that's where i'm at

AARRRGH

Most people have no idea what they want to do, and most people are not particularly happy in their job, so don't be too harsh on yourself, you're fairly normal!

I used to do accounts. It's grand, but you need to do the accountancy exams if you want to earn decent money.

Why not start an online business? It'll cost hardly any money, and worst case scenario it'll be a nice hobby. (I can give you more advice on this if you want.)

Could you go back to college to do a post grad?