Career Advice

waterford1988

Im studying Civil enigineering in university at the moment. Ive just finished 1st year. I find the course somehow interesting but I am not enjoying it as much as I thought I would. Im considering studying accounting in WIT in september. Would anyone have any adive for maybe switching from a course in engineering to an accounting course? Thanks

mr_edge_to_you

hey,

i know you probably have strong connections with WIT but if you are considering going studying accountancy full time in college then Athlone IT is by far the best place to go. When you finish college your course will get you exemptions from a certain number of papers, this varies from college to college. But AIT has a huge benefits in this regard. A three year degree can get you exempt from all but 4 exams for a CIMA qualification, speaking from personal experience. I'm not sure what the number of exemptions you get for ACCA but I would Athlone will get you more than anywhere else.

You could also consider doing it privately at some of the colleges in Dublin.

Sand Wedge

Supposedly cork is the best place to get an accounting degree.

LightningBolt

Oh jesus would you both stop. Nearly every accounting course now gives you a heap of exemptions from all the different institutes. DCU's course has the best reputation in the country for accountancy graduates, I never went there.

OP, I've had two Waterford lecturers teach modules on my masters course and I found them to be excellent. It's a great course in Waterford from speaking to them and one or two graduates from the that institute. Be sure that you want to do accountancy though, engineering is pretty complex and if you find that boring accountancy may not be for you. All it requires is logic and it becomes repetitive once you figure out how to do something. It suits some people but others it can become tedious and boring. I knew a person who did something similar except they finished their ord. degree in engineering and then tried their hand at accountancy. Think they left after six months of night classes.

On the other hand, the Big 4 always say they look for people from diverse backgrounds (ie. you holding a civil engineering degree), whether or not that holds true over the next three to four years remains to be seen. It could be worth just sticking out your course and then applying for accountancy jobs (more than likely you'd be sent to do a post-grad diploma in accounting).

swanvill

Hi,
The question that you must answer is why do you want to do accountancy? The professional exams are tough with a high level of people failing, the starting salary as trainee is poor but don't worry you won't be going out much as you will be studying your ass off trying to pass your exams. Auditing & tax compliance is quite dull and you will be doing that for a couple of years. My advice is look around your family/friends circle, try and find an accountant that you can have a chat about the job face to face.

Accountancy can be a rewarding career if you pass your exams and are willing to work hard, take Michael O Leary & Charles Haughey were both accountants so there are riches and rewards to be had .

If you are interested in business why not study a general business degree and then you can get a taste of marketing, accounting and law etc. From there you can always pick an area you would like to work in.
I wish you the best of luck with your decision and I hope I have given you some food for thought.