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Bookkeeping career

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    #2
    tanit
    Registered Users Posts: 325 ✭✭tanit


    lizzie92 wrote: »
    This post has been deleted.

    To be honest with you if you are already willing to pay that much I would recommend you to do Accounting Technicians. They have an online version - Accounting Technicians Online Study of their course and regardless of how good the bookkeeping course is you are never going to be more than level 5 in the National Framework Qualification Accounting Technicians after 2 years will mean you are level 6 which is the equivalent to 2 years of College and if you want to continue forward with either college or a professional accounting qualification you are already on the way as you get exemptions for a bunch of college courses that will take you to Honours degree (level 8) or professional accountancy bodies that will take you to level 9.

    Accounting Technicians is very doable if you are working at the same time full time and the course is very practical and work orientated. If you want to stop after 1 year you get a certification and after 2 years you get the full blown qualification plus you become and member after 2 years of experience and then you can continue to other studies if you feel so. A bookkeeping course regardless of how good it is won't leave you with so many open doors after. It's definitely going to be more expensive than the booking course but you can do it 2 subjects per year and it will be the same amount it will take you a bit longer.

    Alternatively you can go for the IPASS Payroll qualification that will also get you a level 6 qualification. It will restrict your options after: as far as I know you don't get exemptions for professional accountancy bodies after and I'm not sure the ones you can get for college but it's a great certification as well and they have diplomas to further your education into Human Resources and Vat issues. The IPASS qualification is highly regarded by big companies or Payroll services, but not so much by other businesses (they would prefer someone with more general knowledge of accounting issues such as an accounting technician) that said they are very well paid because of their specialist knowledge in payroll and every business needs to do payroll. I've met people with the qualification and at some point I toyed with the idea of doing it myself after Technicians but I went for the accountancy professional qualifications

    Any of the 2 will be much, much better than a bookkeeping course and after 2 years if you want to stop and not continue you will have great certifications on your CV. It's going to be longer than a bookkeeping course but they are in my opinion, better spent money and time.

    I would go for accounting technicians as it covers more subjects (tax, accounting, law, etc) and covers a significant chunk of the IPASS certification (when they can't get someone IPASS certified they go for an Accounting Technician). That said I'm very biased towards Accounting Technicians because that's what I did myself (I'm a member)


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    #3
    lizzie92
    Registered Users Posts: 44 ✭lizzie92


    This post has been deleted.


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    #4
    gill1362
    Registered Users Posts: 4 ✭gill1362


    Hi Lizze - I could have written your post!! Am thinking too about doing the Accounting Technician course but was wondering should I do a bookkeeping course first too just to test the waters.


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    #5
    QueenieB
    Registered Users Posts: 23 ✭QueenieB


    Hi Lizzie92, Tanit's advice is the best you'll get, if you're serious about pursuing another career avenue. Too many online services are offering very attractive-looking courses at 'reasonable' rates, promising all kinds of qualifications and opportunities. Stick with reputable training providers whose qualifications will be recognised and accepted as the standards by employers. The cheap and attractive options all over the Internet are exactly that - cheap and attractive, but not useful, relevant, recognised or value for money. A lot of them don't provide some very pertinent information, e.g. Career Academy provide a link to a certificate that you print off yourself! and you receive only a generic Pass/Fail grade, with no breakdown of your assessments and no correlation of the certificate to current Irish standards. It is an Australian company that has recently launched in Ireland. Despite their advertising blurb, none of their courses are accredited by any Irish organisations and without any discernible criteria for assessment, the certificate is worthless (the one you have to print off yourself!). Be sure to find information about accreditation if you are going to spend a lot of your time training for a new career. ICB are well recognised in Ireland now and have very good materials so look closely at the training provider to ensure you will get ongoing learning support, etc. Best of luck to you!


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    #6
    ebbsy
    Registered Users Posts: 6,747 ✭✭✭ebbsy


    The best course you can do is practical experience, do you know somebody that can show you the ropes ?

    Doing these courses is grand but they do not prepare you for the real world in my view.


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    #7
    QueenieB
    Registered Users Posts: 23 ✭QueenieB


    Very true ebbsy, nothing like getting stuck in. It can be tricky though. You can't get a job without experience and can't experience without a job! But then again, you get lucky. Have you considered offering your time for free in return for training (if you have the time!) Is there an accounting department where you work who might let you learn some skills?Some good courses give you a good grounding in what to expect. After that, download free samples of accounting packages and practise with thouse. If it is accounting you are interested in, check out www.opentuition.com. It has all the learning material for ACCA, CIMA, exam papers, etc. Excellent resource, if you decide to pursue more professional accounting training. Best of luck to you!


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