Career opportunities/ ideas

suarez101

Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice or direction on what I should do next. I'm 25 year old male with a BA in Economics (2:1). I graduated in 2010, things were pretty hopeless so I moved overseas teaching English rather than face the stress of looking for something at home or the depression of hanging around doing nothing. After thats, through a contact I managed to land a job in the Middle East with a small company doing everything and anything but mostly financial and accounting for them. It'd been pretty basic stuff doing payroll for about 10 people and invoices/purchase orders, basic financial statements etc. The company is falling on hard times due to the chaotic business environment out here and my future's not looking good here so I want to get out.

I really don't know what to do from here and have a ton of questions I'd like some answers to if could give any help.

1. I really don't have the money to do a masters in accountancy or equivalent at the moment. Is there any other route, what about ACA training contracts? I really don't want to spend a lot of money (that I don't have) but am confident I can self-study a lot if that kind of route is possible.

2. I've managed to get pretty competent with Sage, I've seen u can sit exams to get Sage certified (just pay and sit the exams not the training courses). Would this be much help?

3 How about IPASS courses such as payroll diploma etc?

4 In your opinion is this industry one which I should be looking to get into or is it saturated like many others. I'd like something that would allow me to work in other countries. What routes or quals would best enable

If you've got this this far, thanks for reading. Basically, I'm seeking any info or advice that may help because i feel like im at a bit of a cross-roads and it's time to figure out the direction my life should go.

Cheers.

bigmc23

suarez101 wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice or direction on what I should do next. I'm 25 year old male with a BA in Economics (2:1). I graduated in 2010, things were pretty hopeless so I moved overseas teaching English rather than face the stress of looking for something at home or the depression of hanging around doing nothing. After thats, through a contact I managed to land a job in the Middle East with a small company doing everything and anything but mostly financial and accounting for them. It'd been pretty basic stuff doing payroll for about 10 people and invoices/purchase orders, basic financial statements etc. The company is falling on hard times due to the chaotic business environment out here and my future's not looking good here so I want to get out.

I really don't know what to do from here and have a ton of questions I'd like some answers to if could give any help.

1. I really don't have the money to do a masters in accountancy or equivalent at the moment. Is there any other route, what about ACA training contracts? I really don't want to spend a lot of money (that I don't have) but am confident I can self-study a lot if that kind of route is possible.

2. I've managed to get pretty competent with Sage, I've seen u can sit exams to get Sage certified (just pay and sit the exams not the training courses). Would this be much help?

3 How about IPASS courses such as payroll diploma etc?

4 In your opinion is this industry one which I should be looking to get into or is it saturated like many others. I'd like something that would allow me to work in other countries. What routes or quals would best enable

If you've got this this far, thanks for reading. Basically, I'm seeking any info or advice that may help because i feel like im at a bit of a cross-roads and it's time to figure out the direction my life should go.

Cheers.

1. You could indeed get yourself an ACA training contract. The big firms are recruiting now in the 'milkround' for a autumn 2014 start. Applications close next month but this varys. having an economics degree could give you a bit of an advantage too.

2. Don't know anything about sage or what firms use it but it will look good on your cv/application for sure. Would look even better if you went and got sage certified off your own back.

3. Don't know anything about these qualifications but my initial thought would be to scrap the idea. Afterall, you've got the necessary qualifications to start the ACA qualification which is the top one in the accounting world.

4. Chartered accountants Ireland bang on about the qualification being internationally recognised and them having agreements with other accountancy bodies across the world but youl need to check out that on their website. ACCA is another option. I can't really comment on market saturation but there seems to plenty of training contracts out there as the majority of my class got one. I dont know what opportunities exist upon qualifying as an accountant but i undrstsnd the sector didn't get hit as hard as education, construction sectors etc as a result of the downturn.

imthegaffer!

bigmc23 wrote: »

1. You could indeed get yourself an ACA training contract. The big firms are recruiting now in the 'milkround' for a autumn 2014 start. Applications close next month but this varys. having an economics degree could give you a bit of an advantage too.

2. Don't know anything about sage or what firms use it but it will look good on your cv/application for sure. Would look even better if you went and got sage certified off your own back.

3. Don't know anything about these qualifications but my initial thought would be to scrap the idea. Afterall, you've got the necessary qualifications to start the ACA qualification which is the top one in the accounting world.

4. Chartered accountants Ireland bang on about the qualification being internationally recognised and them having agreements with other accountancy bodies across the world but youl need to check out that on their website. ACCA is another option. I can't really comment on market saturation but there seems to plenty of training contracts out there as the majority of my class got one. I dont know what opportunities exist upon qualifying as an accountant but i undrstsnd the sector didn't get hit as hard as education, construction sectors etc as a result of the downturn.

Just to add to the points above

1) you can start working straight away and start your exams with your CAP1s (ACA) or the fundamental papers (ACCA) while you are working. The big 4 all take on people who are starting from scratch and also just because you aren't straight out of college doesn't mean they won't accept you. I work in one of the big 4 and can think of at least 5 people out of the trainees in my department alone who started their contracts when they were in their mid to late 20s or even older. People start with all types of degrees, like yourself I've a degree in economics. For some of the work I do its actually become a major advantage though I didn't know that at the time.

With the big 4 you'd most likely be completing the ACAs but they do give you generous study leave for them so you can work and study at the same time.

2) Sage Certification: This would show initiative and if you trained in practice and wanted to move to industry in the future I think would look good then as well and might even be a major advantage if the company used SAGE. Would certainly give you a leg up on somebody who didn't have it.

Finally, there are plenty of jobs out there for accountants when they finish their training period. Like anything you might have to put effort in to get the job you want etc but there are certainly jobs out there for accountants.

Prettyblack

imthegaffer! wrote: »

Just to add to the points above

1) you can start working straight away and start your exams with your CAP1s (ACA) or the fundamental papers (ACCA) while you are working. The big 4 all take on people who are starting from scratch and also just because you aren't straight out of college doesn't mean they won't accept you. I work in one of the big 4 and can think of at least 5 people out of the trainees in my department alone who started their contracts when they were in their mid to late 20s or even older. People start with all types of degrees, like yourself I've a degree in economics. For some of the work I do its actually become a major advantage though I didn't know that at the time.

With the big 4 you'd most likely be completing the ACAs but they do give you generous study leave for them so you can work and study at the same time.

To further add to that, with the Big 4 and training contracts you wouldn't be self-studying - they would expect you to go to the lectures. If you wanted to start now you could always do elevation - you don't need a contract but you can switch over to one whenever you do get one - a few people I know did this and it meant they didn't have to wait another year. Plus having some exams done was a bonus. ACA have all sorts of payment plans in place now so its easier to do it off your own bat rather than waiting for a sponsor.

Prettyblack

imthegaffer! wrote: »

Finally, there are plenty of jobs out there for accountants when they finish their training period. Like anything you might have to put effort in to get the job you want etc but there are certainly jobs out there for accountants.

+1

suarez101

Thanks everyone for the replies so far, keep em coming please. Reading these I'm starting to feel a little more optimistic, this may all be a runner.

I'm going to bombard all the bigger accountancy firms with applications over the next week before the deadlines. As I only have a BA im not confident as I'm sure I'll be competing with accounting/finance grads and masters holder, but no loss in trying I suppose.

Even if I was to be accepted its not until next year. When are interviews usually scheduled for? I'm returning to Ireland next week and need to start planning what I should do. Getting work seems unlikely although I will try an get SAGE certified as soon as possible so may be able to land something in a payroll/accounting technician type role, although I don't know about likelihood of that having not really lived in Ireland in nearly 3 years now.

If I'm going to be unemployed I want to use the time to better myself. Any idea how much an elevation course is?

Can i self study (reading books, videos etc-not enroll in a course) and sit some of the exams? How about this route with ACCA?. If i dont get accepted it would be great if I could do this and increase my chances of being accepted next year or another option is to do the PDA and get exemptions if accepted. The problem is that I'm too late for this year and it costs quite a lot.

bigmc23

suarez101 wrote: »

Thanks everyone for the replies so far, keep em coming please. Reading these I'm starting to feel a little more optimistic, this may all be a runner.

I'm going to bombard all the bigger accountancy firms with applications over the next week before the deadlines. As I only have a BA im not confident as I'm sure I'll be competing with accounting/finance grads and masters holder, but no loss in trying I suppose.

Even if I was to be accepted its not until next year. When are interviews usually scheduled for? I'm returning to Ireland next week and need to start planning what I should do. Getting work seems unlikely although I will try an get SAGE certified as soon as possible so may be able to land something in a payroll/accounting technician type role, although I don't know about likelihood of that having not really lived in Ireland in nearly 3 years now.

If I'm going to be unemployed I want to use the time to better myself. Any idea how much an elevation course is?

Can i self study (reading books, videos etc-not enroll in a course) and sit some of the exams? How about this route with ACCA?. If i dont get accepted it would be great if I could do this and increase my chances of being accepted next year or another option is to do the PDA and get exemptions if accepted. The problem is that I'm too late for this year and it costs quite a lot.

might be too late too start the PDA now but just done the PDA and found it a tough and intense year. Be prepared to park the social life until its over. I did it because my undergrad wasnt finance related and felt i would struggle to get a contract in that respect. With economics being quantitative you mightn't have the same worries and would be more attractive to bring in and start doing the cap1s. Worth it in the end as i got a contract with one of the big four. Big four sponser people on the PDA so that may be a route for you.
they do interviews mid Nov i think. Spend loads of time on them and fine tune them. If you get an interview you've got a good chance then.

bigmc23

imthegaffer! wrote: »

Just to add to the points above

1) you can start working straight away and start your exams with your CAP1s (ACA) or the fundamental papers (ACCA) while you are working. The big 4 all take on people who are starting from scratch and also just because you aren't straight out of college doesn't mean they won't accept you. I work in one of the big 4 and can think of at least 5 people out of the trainees in my department alone who started their contracts when they were in their mid to late 20s or even older. People start with all types of degrees, like yourself I've a degree in economics. For some of the work I do its actually become a major advantage though I didn't know that at the time.

With the big 4 you'd most likely be completing the ACAs but they do give you generous study leave for them so you can work and study at the same time.

2) Sage Certification: This would show initiative and if you trained in practice and wanted to move to industry in the future I think would look good then as well and might even be a major advantage if the company used SAGE. Would certainly give you a leg up on somebody who didn't have it.

Finally, there are plenty of jobs out there for accountants when they finish their training period. Like anything you might have to put effort in to get the job you want etc but there are certainly jobs out there for accountants.

just out of interest, with overtime and weekend lectures do you manage to get much work done before study leave? Would I have time to workout for an hour a few times a week?

imthegaffer!

bigmc23 wrote: »

just out of interest, with overtime and weekend lectures do you manage to get much work done before study leave? Would I have time to workout for an hour a few times a week?

I'd a masters so I'd just to do the FAEs. I struggled to balance everything to be honest. Ultimately you'll learn to prioritise whether that be going to a lecture missing some form of training, your social life of even just taking a break. I felt that with overtime and lectures the best thing I could do was go to the gym so I could switch off from it all but each is to their own.

In terms of work done before study leave. The continuous assessment, although annoying really helps you study at least one thing before study leave.

Just to feel like I was doing something I ran through all the notes for those small BL areas like HR, Change Management etc so I'd financial reporting and most of BL cleared off before I went on study leave. I wouldn't have said I killed myself doing work before study leave. My best advice is to be diligent and have a routine during study leave.

jjjd

suarez101 wrote: »

Thanks everyone for the replies so far, keep em coming please. Reading these I'm starting to feel a little more optimistic, this may all be a runner.

I'm going to bombard all the bigger accountancy firms with applications over the next week before the deadlines. As I only have a BA im not confident as I'm sure I'll be competing with accounting/finance grads and masters holder, but no loss in trying I suppose.

Even if I was to be accepted its not until next year. When are interviews usually scheduled for? I'm returning to Ireland next week and need to start planning what I should do. Getting work seems unlikely although I will try an get SAGE certified as soon as possible so may be able to land something in a payroll/accounting technician type role, although I don't know about likelihood of that having not really lived in Ireland in nearly 3 years now.

If I'm going to be unemployed I want to use the time to better myself. Any idea how much an elevation course is?

Can i self study (reading books, videos etc-not enroll in a course) and sit some of the exams? How about this route with ACCA?. If i dont get accepted it would be great if I could do this and increase my chances of being accepted next year or another option is to do the PDA and get exemptions if accepted. The problem is that I'm too late for this year and it costs quite a lot.

You can self study with ACCA. You don't have to sign up for expensive tuition courses and you can prepare for the exams yourself. There are plenty of websites out there with free ACCA lectures, lecture notes, study aids, etc, such as opentuition.com. You can buy the ACCA recommended study texts and revision kits and self study for the exams as well. BPP and Kaplan publish quite good texts. The BPP texts are reviewed by the examiners themselves. Also you can sit the exams in virtually every country in the world, so you could make a start on them before you come back to Ireland. Also, with the work experience you have to date, this may qualify towards you work experience requirement, if you can find a workplace mentor to sign off on the work experience to date.

Prettyblack

jjjd wrote: »

You can self study with ACCA. You don't have to sign up for expensive tuition courses and you can prepare for the exams yourself. There are plenty of websites out there with free ACCA lectures, lecture notes, study aids, etc, such as opentuition.com. You can buy the ACCA recommended study texts and revision kits and self study for the exams as well. BPP and Kaplan publish quite good texts. The BPP texts are reviewed by the examiners themselves. Also you can sit the exams in virtually every country in the world, so you could make a start on them before you come back to Ireland. Also, with the work experience you have to date, this may qualify towards you work experience requirement, if you can find a workplace mentor to sign off on the work experience to date.

Good luck passing the exams that way!