Career Change To Accountancy

I did this a few years ago, switched from science/manufacturing to accountancy. I did a full time 1 year diploma in accountancy and then a training contract for 3 years. The diploma gave me CAP 1 exemptions, so I only had to do 2 more sets of exams, so not too bad. There's no getting around the fact you'll need to do 3-3.5 years to get the relevant training, unfortunately.
The salary on a training contract is pretty awful but does go up with passing exams. The pros from a training contract are that they pay for the exams, you can get pretty decent study leave from the bigger firms, I got almost 2 months for my finals!

I was only 26 when I went back, took a hit in earnings for about 3-4 years, but don't regret it at all now. Good salary, job opportunities and no more noisy factories!

Dr.Tom wrote: »

Hi,great reply and food for thought. Thank you.

I recieved a response CAI below,seems a straight entry to the course is not possible:

A degree is required to start our programme as it is essentially a post-graduate qualification. It sits at Level 9 on the NFQ scale, and we allow entry from Level 7 onwards.

 

With one exception. We are partnered with Accounting Technicians Ireland (ATI). This is usually a two year programme, and upon completion of the programme you can start with Chartered Accountancy, and receive three exemptions from the first set of our exams (CAP 1).

 

Another option is to sit the first year ATI exams, and once you have received a Merit pass, you can start CAP 1 with no exemptions. You’ll also need to have fulfilled certain Leaving Cert / GCSE requirements.

Yes sorry that is correct, you need a degree to enter straight away.

The Aiti could be a good option to get started, certainly the more exposure you have to training, the better chance you have of getting a trainee accountant position.

I don't know about ACCA, but if you can go straight in, it is a good option as well, their exam structure is a lot more flexible so you can take exams every 3 months rather than once & a year with Cai.

Best of luck anyway, it will be an challenge but very doable!

I'm in a slightly different scenario but I was hoping someone can help me. I'm a qualified engineer with 10 years experience and am looking for an immediate career change to accountancy. What is the best route to go down?

If I left my current position would I be able to join a firm as a trainee accountant straight away whilst also studying for the ACCA exams? I've zero experience so I expect a pretty low salary (€25k?).

What salary could I expect after 1, 2 or 3 years? I understand you need 3.5 years experience to become fully qualified so sounds like a tough slog for that period between studying and finances.

Chinese whospers wrote: »

Some of the larger (big four) accountancy firms may have a use of your engineering background and take you on as a graduate.

Less so smaller firms in that regards. The Big 4 are obligated to train you with CAI.

If you wanted to go with ACCA (3 year’s experience to qualify) you'd be best to sit at least 4 exams first to show you have application. You'd have a good chance then with firms willing to take you on as a junior.
Working as an engineer and studying at night (you can do this with CAI also) for a year might be the best compromise re initial income drop.

I assume even with my engineering background I'd still be going in at entry level salary like all other graduates?

I've heard training with the Big 4 can be a nightmare, working long hours and being treated like muck. I don't know how true that is though.

I don't know if I could continue working in my current job much longer if I'm honest. I'm looking for a quick getaway!

Chinese whospers wrote: »

Big four entry (look up milk rounds) would put a value on your engineering qualification, but I'm not best placed to value it.

Big 4 can be difficult, but so can any job. The biggest problem I'd have with Big 4 training is that it can be very niche.

Alas, there's no quick fix especially if you want a half decent starting salary. Bear in mind the success you have in engineering will make you more attractive for a career in accountancy.

I've tried to search for milk rounds but can't find out much besides an explanation of what it is, which I knew already! Is there a defined window for applications? Conscious that I may have missed it now.

I am a chartered engineer as well which I would figure holds a bit of weight, especially as it comes with project management experience.

Is there another route to accountancy that I may be missing or are all options essentially 3+ years of study and experience?

You can always get a finance related role in industry our banking and do your exams that way. I started off in Finance by accident really in my early 30s

I got started working for a larger company doing Credit Control and moved into Accounts Receivable, and invoicing. From there I moved into another industry role for a small company which meant I had do a wide range of finance tasks and got a great understanding of how the business was ran, and did my exams along the way.

The plus for this is that these kinds of roles starting pay is higher than trainee accountant roles. Depending on experience and role you are looking at starting in the 30-40 range rather than low 20s which is typical for many trainee accountant roles.

Your time in a general finance role will count towards your 3 years of experience required to qualify as an ACCA accountant.

You can tend to expect standard working hours unlike larger practices which are notorious for pushing trainees hard.

On a negative side you will unlikely get much paid study time, or the same level of organised training offered in larger accountancy firms, and your employer may only pay some or you tuition or exam fees. (But this varies greatly on employer some are much better than others)

The larger accounting firms tend to target students coming out of university. Which is why they can offer such low wages.

On the plus side they offer a high level of training and considerable amount of time off to prepare for the exams, and cover all of your tuition and exam fees. People trained in the big 4 are always in demand and it looks great on your CV.

On the negative side, as above its aimed at young folks so difficult to transition if you are older, the pay is really low initially and you are worked incredibly hard and expected to put in long hours to tight deadlines. But it opens up many doors later on.

Richard Hillman wrote: »

I don't want to put anybody off. Don't not do something because some guy on the Internet had a negative experience. I just think it's important that both sides get represented.

I went to college as a Mature student. Not too mature, I think I finished at 31. Finished with a very decent GPA, missed out on first class honours late on. Had tons of exam exemptions, more than any other 3rd level course in the country at the time.

I went on a few interviews for a trainee after college and found that the tone of the interview changed after I revealed my age. I get the impression that they want somebody that is in their early 20s, full of energy and will work every hour God sends. And to be fair, they are probably right.

I spent over 10k of my own money going to college, had hardly a penny to my name in these years for anything else bar fees, books and travel. Obviously it was the biggest waste of money I have or ever will spend but it was the time wasted that I'll never get back. I finished college over 4 Years ago and even haven't applied for any sort of financial job in about 2 years.

There are lots of positive story's, I'm sure. And good experience in another industry is huge.

Again, I'm just one person. But it's important to get all sides of it.

What did you end up doing instead? That sounds like a very bad experience, hope things are working out for you