Trainee Accountant

siralan

Im currently working a self employed commission only sales rep in the construction industry. I would like to study/train to become an accountant. As I am 35 with a family I could not afford to spend 4 years studying full time but the idea of studying evenings/weekends to begin with would appeal to me.

Has anyone done this in tandem with full time employment & family committments ?? I want to be sure that its do-able ! Also at 35 Im willing to park 4 years of my life to achieve an accountant's qualification but do not want to spend the next 10 years struggling through exams !

I would love to find a trainee accountants position within a practice but without a degree or high level qualification I expect I will struggle to find paid employment in the industry without at least passing some of the early exam stages.

I would welcome any advice from anyone in the same position or trainee accountants or qualified accountants.

tony81

siralan wrote: »

I would welcome any advice from anyone in the same position or trainee accountants or qualified accountants.

Advice: start you own theads rather than reply to other people's.

Anyway, the exams are tough, tuition is expensive, and the work you're doing now will count very little towards the 3 years experience you need.

Pay for trainees outside Dublin can range from fas interships to as low as €10k.

siralan

I can't seem to post a new thread for reason hence my reply to an existing thread. I have some money approx 50k which would tie me over for 2/3 years if I had to take an internship. However rather that work for 40+ hrs per week for €200 maybe I would be better study full time and take some cash paying job on the side.

My priority is to gain a qualification which would stand to me for the rest of my life so because of that I would consider parking my life for a few years

Eoin

Please don't bump really old threads - check out this forum if you're not sure how to start new threads.

steamsey

You first need to decide whether you want the ACA, ACCA or CIMA qualification. They all come from different institutes. ACA have an new-ish Elevation programme - which does not require a training contract. Contact Irish Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAI) for details.

If the Elevation programme is not an option - and you want an training contract, you could approach the accountancy firms and ask if they'd take you on as a trainee. Usual requirements (degree) apply to usual candidates (early 20's, straight out of college) - you wouldn't be a usual candidate. Saw one girl do this sucessfully - she changed career to accounting around your age and was streets ahead of the other first years. She got the job based on a strong interview and convinced them that it was worth the risk taking her on. No harm in asking. The ACA exams are tough but not that difficult. Time management / organisation is the key.

siralan

Thanks for the advise guys, because I have posted less than 25 comments on the site I cant start my own thread. Because of my "life experience" to date I feel that I would be a far better trainee accountant now than when I left college 12 years ago. I would be willing to work for free on a trial basis to get a foot in the door somewhere.

I did find the following course online which is a "2 year fast track degree" in the UK . Exactly what exemptions it would entitle someone to here in Ireland Im not sure ? It is 2 year full time course without summer hols or the usual student holidays. Has anyone heard anything about this course?

irishguy

siralan wrote: »

Im currently working a self employed commission only sales rep in the construction industry. I would like to study/train to become an accountant. As I am 35 with a family I could not afford to spend 4 years studying full time but the idea of studying evenings/weekends to begin with would appeal to me.

Has anyone done this in tandem with full time employment & family committments ?? I want to be sure that its do-able ! Also at 35 Im willing to park 4 years of my life to achieve an accountant's qualification but do not want to spend the next 10 years struggling through exams !

I would love to find a trainee accountants position within a practice but without a degree or high level qualification I expect I will struggle to find paid employment in the industry without at least passing some of the early exam stages.

I would welcome any advice from anyone in the same position or trainee accountants or qualified accountants.

There are plenty of jobs alright once you have the experience and the money is good (May not be the most interesting job in the world, as I have met very few accountants that LOVE there job). Best thing to do would be to do ACCA or CIMA part time yourself, say the first 6/7 exams. You could fly through them if you really wanted to (may be harder with kids) as the first few a quite easy. Then apply for part qual roles and get your company to pay for the rest, of which there are quite a few in Dublin. Not sure what you would get paid as you dont have experience, but to put it in perspective if you had 5 years exp and passed the exams you would be looking at around 60k within Financials in Dublin.

I know people who have passed them in 2 years and people who are still studying 6 years later. If your good at memorising stuff then your sorted.

I would say it will be a tough few years at the start, but there are very good opportunities to earn decent money and its as recession proof as your going to get.

Also experience in the 'big 4' or large internationals financials is looked on very highly and I would take less money at the start to get them on your CV if possible.