accounting degree - hate accounting

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

i'm going into third year of an accounting degree in an IT as a mature student (28), and I slowly came to the realisation this year that I kind of hate the subject. It's a bit late to scrap it all now and "find something I love doing" so are there many fields I can branch out to with a degree in accounting? or would I have to look at a masters in a related subject and then use that to find employment.
or is it just a case of, I have a degree in accounting so I'll have to work in accounting. I'm thinking of moving abroad when I graduate and doing the teaching english as a foreign language thing, so it's not like i'm urgently worried about it.. I'll have time to try and figure something out, or else just accept my lot in life and try find work in accounting but.. can anyone offer me a ray of sunshine?

smcgiff

well, if it's teaching you want to do...

You could finish your degree and apply for a hdip - think it might be called the pgde or something now.

You're still young - would you consider primary teaching (have you got honours irish or do you think you could get it). Primary teaching jobs are tough to get into, but males would have a better time of it, and by the time you qualified the economy should be in a better place than it is now.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

heh, no teaching is definitely not something I'd like to do but I hadn't really considered it as an option to be honest, the teaching english abroad is basically just a way of working and living in asia for a year. I'll definitely keep it in mind as a possibility though, thanks.

Jim2007

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

i'm going into third year of an accounting degree in an IT as a mature student (28), and I slowly came to the realisation this year that I kind of hate the subject. It's a bit late to scrap it all now and "find something I love doing" so are there many fields I can branch out to with a degree in accounting? or would I have to look at a masters in a related subject and then use that to find employment.
or is it just a case of, I have a degree in accounting so I'll have to work in accounting. I'm thinking of moving abroad when I graduate and doing the teaching english as a foreign language thing, so it's not like i'm urgently worried about it.. I'll have time to try and figure something out, or else just accept my lot in life and try find work in accounting but.. can anyone offer me a ray of sunshine?

Well the good news is that just because you have a degree in accounting, you don't have to work in accounting After doing a degree in business studies, I joined a big 4 accounting firm and about half way through the training, I realised that the last thing I wanted to do for the rest of my life was accounting!!! However, I was luck to have a good mentor, who encouraged me to complete the training contract, saying that "in here everyone has one, but out there (the real world), it has value". So I got my head down and passed everything first time, then within a month of qualifying I resigned!!!

However, even though I left accounting, I still find that the qualifications are useful - no matter what you decide to do, the fact that you have a good solid degree under your belt will make a difference, so get the head down and make sure it's an honours degree and not a pass, because many companies will use that as a first screen for any kind of professional job.

What to do after getting the degree? There are lots of graduate programs offered by large multinationals in Europe and I'd look into some of them if I were you. In particular I know that several Swiss companies are willing to take on foreign nationals in their programs and as the working language is English, a native speaker has an advantage - have a look at: Nestle, Swiss Re, Syngenta, just to mention a few of them.

As regards teaching English as a foreign language, I would not count on that if I were you. Everyone and his mother has that idea and the result is that it is very competitive and salaries are very low, unless you have a speciality, like may be business English (= degree in accounting ). However, with a good accounting degree, there is every chance you'll be able to pick up a job in the accounts department of a multinational while travelling, just as easily and with a better wage.

Good luck,

Jim.

tenchi-fan

I think you should consider finishing your degree.

However, don't rush in to a business studies masters (say, marketing) in the hopes that it will branch you out away from accounting.
I made this mistake.. then ended up just claiming my accounting exemptions and doing the accounting exams with ACCA.

If you already have a degree it's often possible to do bridging courses and conversion courses that will enable you to continue your education at a higher level in unrelated subjects. In the case of teaching, a h.dip would enable you to teach.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

definitely alot to think about there, thanks everyone. given me some hope for the future at least, whatever I decide to do in the end

Cordo

Hi, I know I'm joining this kind of late but these are my two cents. I graduated from an IT with a 2.1 Honours degree in Accounting and started working on a grad programme with a multinational. It was only then that I fully realised I really dislike the subject, and not just accounting but finance in general. Currently looking at my options of going back and doing a masters in a subject I would really like. Like Steve Jobs said; Do what you love and let the dots join after that.

I agree you should finish the degree as you are so far in but remember that if you dont like it, dont pursue a job in it. I kind of forgot about disliking it when I finished the degree because i fell into the routine of Got Degree, Find Job, Do Job, etc. Do something you love and enjoy life, otherwise you'll be miserable. Hope that helps somewhat!