Do you enjoy being an accountant?

Visaquestion

I have just finished college and am applying for jobs and considering a career in accountancy. However, I am really not sure if it is for me.

What is life like as a trainee accountant?

What are salaries like once you are fully qualified? What are your career options once you are fully qualified?

Is there anyone here who has started a training contract but left during it? Why did you leave?

This is a lot of questions but I really have no idea what I want to do.

CIARAN_BOYLE

what department or generalist in a small firm or industry?

368100

OP what did you study? What made you consider accountancy in the first place?

Visaquestion

I'm interested to hear from anyone but I think I would be most disposed to working in a firm. As for what department, I really can't say. The interview I have coming up is for an accounts assistant role supporting accounts receivable and payable and the financial reporting team, per the job description.

Visaquestion

368100 wrote: »

OP what did you study? What made you consider accountancy in the first place?

I studied economics.

What initially got me interested in accountancy is that it seems like a good career with good employment prospects but now I am starting to think that that is not enough of a reason to do something.

I am trying to find CAP 1 course notes to see what I would be studying and whether or not it would be of interest to me but I haven't had much success.

Glenster

Visaquestion wrote: »

I studied economics.

What initially got me interested in accountancy is that it seems like a good career with good employment prospects but now I am starting to think that that is not enough of a reason to do something.

I am trying to find CAP 1 course notes to see what I would be studying and whether or not it would be of interest to me but I haven't had much success.

Most people would find the accountancy exams topics on a scale of "boring" to "mildly interesting sometimes".

If you want to trade three years of slavery and exams for an unstimulating 9-6 job and a decent salary, go for it.

368100

Visaquestion wrote: »

I studied economics.

What initially got me interested in accountancy is that it seems like a good career with good employment prospects but now I am starting to think that that is not enough of a reason to do something.

I am trying to find CAP 1 course notes to see what I would be studying and whether or not it would be of interest to me but I haven't had much success.

Well the ideal is to do a job that you love and that is a good career with good prospects but thats an ideal world.

You're right though it doesn't seem like a strong enough reason to go into a profession. If there is something else that is your passion and youre just starting out youd be better to try and make a go of that.

With regards to accountancy, im not an accountant myself but have a few friends that are, that worked/work in practice. Generally very low paid whilst in training....starts to get better as Audit Senior/Manager especially if based in Dublin.

One friend went out on his own after building up clients in practice and has loads of business and is relatively comfortable all while being his own boss.

Cant speak about the industry side of it

Hope this helps

vg88

Say after 3 years doing aca exams in a graduate role, what is finding employment like and are salaries decent?

Visaquestion

Glenster wrote: »

Most people would find the accountancy exams topics on a scale of "boring" to "mildly interesting sometimes".

If you want to trade three years of slavery and exams for an unstimulating 9-6 job and a decent salary, go for it.

Can you expand on the three years of slavery part? That's part of what is putting me off, I know it is only three years but you only get one life and all that.

Visaquestion

368100 wrote: »

Well the ideal is to do a job that you love and that is a good career with good prospects but thats an ideal world.

You're right though it doesn't seem like a strong enough reason to go into a profession. If there is something else that is your passion and youre just starting out youd be better to try and make a go of that.

With regards to accountancy, im not an accountant myself but have a few friends that are, that worked/work in practice. Generally very low paid whilst in training....starts to get better as Audit Senior/Manager especially if based in Dublin.

One friend went out on his own after building up clients in practice and has loads of business and is relatively comfortable all while being his own boss.

Cant speak about the industry side of it

Hope this helps

This is part of the problem, I'm not sure there is any realistic line of work that I could be passionate about so I am leaning towards something steady and reasonably well paid (after qualification), like accounting.

s15r330

Glenster wrote: »

Most people would find the accountancy exams topics on a scale of "boring" to "mildly interesting sometimes".

If you want to trade three years of slavery and exams for an unstimulating 9-6 job and a decent salary, go for it.

Hardly true for everyone. I know a couple of lads who finished in our place and are now working in Grand Cayman and Bermuda. Going to work in shorts each day and 120k tax free as an audit manager. Not bad if you can get it.

368100

s15r330 wrote: »

Hardly true for everyone. I know a couple of lads who finished in our place and are now working in Grand Cayman and Bermuda. Going to work in shorts each day and 120k tax free as an audit manager. Not bad if you can get it.

Surely ....but those lads are the exception. ....most don't have that experience.....hell, I'd nearly retrain if that was the case!

Op.....the first few years in a practice are tough but if you're willing to look longer term, are good with people and are actually a good accountant then it should be worthwhile.

From experience, a lot of small business owners rely on their accountant not only for accounts/audits but a lot of the more day to day financial decisions, helping deal with banks etc.

A client likes to be able to trust their accountant for competent advice so if you can fulfil this and have good people skills then you'll do well.

The point I'm trying to make it its not all about sitting behind a desk looking at numbers, thats a good part of it and you should be prepared to do it especially in the early years but gain the right experience and you'll have a lot more variety later on.

Glenster

Visaquestion wrote: »

Can you expand on the three years of slavery part? That's part of what is putting me off, I know it is only three years but you only get one life and all that.

Its just a case of long hours (I did 9-7 as standard, I could be in until the small hours at busy times), classes at night (I did generally 2 nights a week 6 months of the year for 2.5 years).

I was lucky in that I was in advisory, I looked at the kind of work that was being done in audit and it was mind numbing (A lot of box ticking and Vlookups).

I understand that being a generalist in a smaller firm is more on the audit side of the spectrum.

That said maybe I was being a bit hysterical when I said slavery, Its hard work but you're young and surrounded by young people, its not difficult to have fun. I personally enjoyed it overall.

jasonrwc

I worked in a big 4 firm and qualified there a couple of years ago.

I was in the audit side of things and slavery isnt an exaggeration!! 6 months of the year you were working 8am-11/12 at night usually bringing files home and working weekends!!

Then you have the lectures to deal with, i just didn't bother going to them between being in work and just being wrecked its the last thing you want to do. I was lucky enough that i got a lot of study leave to catch up for them!!

My overall experience would be that during your training contract it is absolute torture but once you have that over you there is a mountain of jobs out there and you can really take your pick! money is good and in general you're not staying late, maybe for a week at quarter end but when i say late i mean 8/9 at night for about a week which isn't bad at all!!

thefa

I think accounting is one of those jobs that some people veer towards when they meet criteria and are undecided about what career path to take due to the stereotype of well paid and reasonable hours. If you then start off in a training contract working long hours than expected, not being paid too well and having to pass tough exams then the medium/long term benefits seem a bit distant but as has been mentioned by previous posters, the payoffs are there once you put in the work. You need to start at the bottom rung as in most careers.

In terms of being a boring job, it's what you make of it and what role you find for yourself too. Some roles are very process orientated and mundane but it's one thing to master that role and ask for more work or look elsewhere and another to just complain about it. There are boring tasks in the vast majority of jobs because of the familiarity of doing the task is there. I'm a bit cynical that there's jobs out there which people are excited to go into work every day because it's that interesting and no two days are the same, etc. My girlfriend is a very motivated individual in the design/creative industry and she gives me this impression!

I've been lucky with the experiences I've gotten working in industry in different teams and roles because of accounting. There is no other department in my company where I would have learned a better overview of the business performance and goings on.

Sunny Dayz

I actually do enjoy being an accountant!
Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of sh?t days but so does every job.
It's more of a varied profession than what I originally thought before starting into it. It's not just wear a suit and process paperwork in a office. There's many different areas and specialisations within the accountancy profession. There's accountants who work in an accountancy practice but also those who work in normal businesses, eg hotels, retail, solicitors office, etc. I also know a few people who qualified as accountants but don't actually work as such.


It's not easy to train up, it's attending lectures evenings and weekends on top of working full time (I had a small child added to the mix also!). But you just put the head down and soldier through.


I've trained and worked in smaller practices where the working hours are more favourable and the workload is more varied. You get to know the clients better and get a better feel for their business. It's not just preparing a set of accounts, I find there's a lot more problem solving involved and I try to be as helpful to clients as I can. I find my work interesting and no two companies or even two financial periods are the same!

Jim2007

Visaquestion wrote: »

This is part of the problem, I'm not sure there is any realistic line of work that I could be passionate about so I am leaning towards something steady and reasonably well paid (after qualification), like accounting.

I doubt you be very satisfied with that when you hit your mid 40s or there about. Surely there must be something you enjoy doing. What do you spend your spare time doing?

I'm a Chartered Accountant, big 4 qualified and all the rest, but I go out a few weeks after qualifying and never went back. Unlike some people, I very much enjoyed my training period, but then I did the absolute minimum in audit and spend most of my time on insolvency and consulting projects. So I don't in any way regret the time I spent at it, I just concluded that it was not for me.

Visaquestion

Jim2007 wrote: »

I doubt you be very satisfied with that when you hit your mid 40s or there about. Surely there must be something you enjoy doing. What do you spend your spare time doing?

I'm a Chartered Accountant, big 4 qualified and all the rest, but I go out a few weeks after qualifying and never went back. Unlike some people, I very much enjoyed my training period, but then I did the absolute minimum in audit and spend most of my time on insolvency and consulting projects. So I don't in any way regret the time I spent at it, I just concluded that it was not for me.

The things I am passionate about are soccer and music and unfortunately I have no talent in either!

Jim2007

Visaquestion wrote: »

The things I am passionate about are soccer and music and unfortunately I have no talent in either!

- Keep an eye on UEFA and FIFA sites, I usually see ads in the Swiss papers for various office positions including accounting a couple of times a year.

- Look at firms that specialise in the entertainment industry.