Accountancy... Yay or Nay?

akila

Hi All,

Am seeking a wee bit of advice! I'm in my final year of a Business Studies degree and wondering where to go afterward... I'm working full time (studying part time) at the min, in a role in a Pharma company not at all related to my degree.

A lecturer last week suggested I go down the ACCA / ACA route, but I'm not sure - friends I know doing ACA give mixed reviews and I guess I hadn't thought about it before. Not sure I'd be cut out for it though :rolleyes:

So now I'm contemplating doing a HDip in Education or MAcc...
I guess I'm just looking for opinions from anyone on whether to avoid or go into the sector...

Akila

PEPPI

akila wrote: »

Hi All,

Am seeking a wee bit of advice! I'm in my final year of a Business Studies degree and wondering where to go afterward... I'm working full time (studying part time) at the min, in a role in a Pharma company not at all related to my degree.

A lecturer last week suggested I go down the ACCA / ACA route, but I'm not sure - friends I know doing ACA give mixed reviews and I guess I hadn't thought about it before. Not sure I'd be cut out for it though :rolleyes:

So now I'm contemplating doing a HDip in Education or MAcc...
I guess I'm just looking for opinions from anyone on whether to avoid or go into the sector...

Akila

I say... Yay.... If you want to have a job, that is always in demand.

Pisco Sour

akila wrote: »

Hi All,

Am seeking a wee bit of advice! I'm in my final year of a Business Studies degree and wondering where to go afterward... I'm working full time (studying part time) at the min, in a role in a Pharma company not at all related to my degree.

A lecturer last week suggested I go down the ACCA / ACA route, but I'm not sure - friends I know doing ACA give mixed reviews and I guess I hadn't thought about it before. Not sure I'd be cut out for it though :rolleyes:

So now I'm contemplating doing a HDip in Education or MAcc...
I guess I'm just looking for opinions from anyone on whether to avoid or go into the sector...

Akila

I'm going to say NAY as its a horrible existance. But each to their own.

Didymus

Gaining ACA and ACCA qualifications are very challenging. From both the exam side and the work side. Even if you love studying your a$$ off and exams suit you, you will inevitabley end up working really long hours during your busy season and find it difficult to make time to attend lectures.

To this end it requires alot of commitment on your behalf. If you have good reason to get the qualification, go for it, getting the qualification will be the hardest part and after that you will have alot more career opportunities open to you and it will give you credibility in the business market.

However, if you are doing it for something to do for the next few years while you still haven't figured out what you want out of your career, chances are you will struggle to commit to continuing and finishing, because at some point you will ask yourself "Why the hell am I doing this". And when you are working until midnight, with very little thanks, and having failed an exam that you studied your a$$ off for - that question becomes very difficult to answer!

I think it's a great qualification for anybody to get, but it's not the bee all and end all. And if you are passionate about another area, you mention teaching, that passion will lead you to more success than doing something you are only half interested in.

Best of luck!

Superdub2

PEPPI wrote: »

I say... Yay.... If you want to have a job, that is always in demand.

Tell that to all the accountants let go around April 09 by their firms and the ones who will be let go in April 2010. There is not always a demand.

Running Bing

If your going to do it you need to have a very clear idea of where you want to go/what you want to do with the qualification.

My Saturday and Sunday was spent in a lecture theatre from 9 til 5. Ill be in lectures tomorrow night and Wednesday night until 9:30. Thats after a weeks work.

I think you need to have a certain motivation to put up with it tbh but once you qualify I believe its something you can really make work for you.

mozattack

Disagree on the amount of work required to get those exams. I am AITI qualified and work soley in tax but have been doing to ACCA exams on the side, 1 every six months etc.

Due to work commitments I cant study too much and have yet to fail. I also dont attend any courses as I packed them in with my tax exams and it made no odds either.

For example, exam in December and the revision course is on in 10 days and I have only read 170 pages of the book so far...book is over 500 pages long.

I am engaged to an accountant and although it is a good qualification the pay is not worth it. An average (stupid) civil servant will nowadays earn more than the average accountant which isnt fair considering accountants have done at least 7 years worth of exams (4 yr degree and 3 to qualify)

Lurker1977

Superdub2 wrote: »

Tell that to all the accountants let go around April 09 by their firms and the ones who will be let go in April 2010. There is not always a demand.

a) There is always attrition at the end of trainee contracts, only difference now is most trainees want to stay cos they fear not getting anything else, or dont want to risk traveling for a year cos there mightn't be anything when they get back. It is probably a better time to go traveling now than when the "boom" was on.

b) Of all the trainees who left the firm I was in, including me, we all found jobs relatively quickly in industry mostly, still, EUR45-50k is not a bad lot after all. Some found jobs for more (55k)

c) Some, (soon to include me ) were able to get jobs in practice overseas, which is a lot easier holding a qualification like ACCA/ACA than a lot of other professions.

OP, honestly I think it is worth it to go through the slog for your contract as it does open a lot of doors post qualification, even if you never want to work in practice again.

MrMatisse

04072511 wrote: »

I'm going to say NAY as its a horrible existance. But each to their own.

+1

MrMatisse

Lurker1977 wrote: »

a) There is always attrition at the end of trainee contracts, only difference now is most trainees want to stay cos they fear not getting anything else, or dont want to risk traveling for a year cos there mightn't be anything when they get back. It is probably a better time to go traveling now than when the "boom" was on.

b) Of all the trainees who left the firm I was in, including me, we all found jobs relatively quickly in industry mostly, still, EUR45-50k is not a bad lot after all. Some found jobs for more (55k)

c) Some, (soon to include me ) were able to get jobs in practice overseas, which is a lot easier holding a qualification like ACCA/ACA than a lot of other professions.

OP, honestly I think it is worth it to go through the slog for your contract as it does open a lot of doors post qualification, even if you never want to work in practice again.

You need to factor in that lots of people are 'travelling' as they cant get a job in Ireland and that accountancy is really really boring.