# Should I train to be an accountant?



## cypher79 (Jul 3, 2012)

I've decided that i finally need to get a career, im tired of either being unemployed or working crappy dead end jobs so i was thinking of training to become an accountant. Theres an AAT level 2 course starting in September at my local college which looks like it could be a good place to start. I dont really know anything about accounting  but it seems like as good a job as any and seems a stable career field.

Anyone know anything about this kind of thing? Would this qualification be enough to get employment with?


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## Cid (Jul 3, 2012)

Do you have a degree? Background in anything related? If not um... Hopeless I would think.


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## Puddy_Tat (Jul 3, 2012)

In answer to  the question, it probably depends whether you're looking to become someone who works in an accounts department, or a fully qualified chartered accountant sort of thing.

I don't know whether it's the kind of profession where you can join at an entry sort of level and work your way through the qualifications, or whether it's the sort where you either join as a graduate trainee and get somewhere, or join at entry level and stay there so that the graduate types can be fast-tracked past you.

The AAT's website may be a good place to start research, also the National Careers Service (someone mentioned them on a thread yesterday) might be worth talking to.


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## Mr_Nice (Jul 3, 2012)

How many beans can you count


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## cypher79 (Jul 3, 2012)

Cid said:


> Do you have a degree? Background in anything related? If not um... Hopeless I would think.


 
No i dont have a degree or anything related but the course i saw said you dont need previous experience. And why is it a must to have a background in anything related? Plenty of people switch to totally different careers.



Puddy_Tat said:


> In answer to the question, it probably depends whether you're looking to become someone who works in an accounts department, or a fully qualified chartered accountant sort of thing.
> 
> I don't know whether it's the kind of profession where you can join at an entry sort of level and work your way through the qualifications, or whether it's the sort where you either join as a graduate trainee and get somewhere, or join at entry level and stay there so that the graduate types can be fast-tracked past you.
> 
> The AAT's website may be a good place to start research, also the National Careers Service (someone mentioned them on a thread yesterday) might be worth talking to.


 
I'm looking to get in at an entry level really and seeing what happens. I had a look at some trainee accountant vacancies online and it seems the AAT level 2 is fine but most of them say you need a years experience within a practice 

My dads mate is a chartered accountant so i should have a word with him really. I'll take a look at those links you posted too, cheers 



Mr_Nice said:


> How many beans can you count


 
I have a snazzy calculator


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## Cid (Jul 3, 2012)

cypher79 said:


> No i dont have a degree or anything related but the course i saw said you dont need previous experience. And why is it a must to have a background in anything related? Plenty of people switch to totally different careers.


 
In terms of having experience for getting a position as a trainee, which might allow you to find a position... Yeah, plenty of people switch careers, but the job market is er... somewhat oversubscribed at the moment.



> I'm looking to get in at an entry level really and seeing what happens. I had a look at some trainee accountant vacancies online and it seems the AAT level 2 is fine but most of them say you need a years experience within a practice


 
I imagine that's because they're looking for people who've been working in accounts and are seeking to formalise their experience; i.e cheap employee who'll improve (by doing the rest of the qualification) without too much risk.



> My dads mate is a chartered accountant so i should have a word with him really. I'll take a look at those links you posted too, cheers


 
Chartered accountancy requires taking exams which allow you to be registered with the institute of chartered accountants; sort of degree length of study (bit longer I think), but you can do it while you work afaik... Why accountancy though? 




> I have a snazzy calculator


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## Cid (Jul 3, 2012)

http://careers.icaew.com/school-students-leavers


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## nagapie (Jul 3, 2012)

I always tell mr nags he should train to be an accountant as he already works in payroll so similar but better dosh; then I can stop working. Surely you need a degree?


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## EastEnder (Jul 3, 2012)

A good accountant is worth every penny, a bad accountant doesn't know how much that is.


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## Bob_the_lost (Jul 3, 2012)

I know someone who left school at 18 and got a job as a trainee accountant. There are such roles around.


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## weltweit (Jul 3, 2012)

Some of the financial directors I have worked with have worked in all sorts of industries, it seems if you are a financial director (probably a chartered accountant) you can move between industries quite flexibly.


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## trashpony (Jul 3, 2012)

It used to be that training as an accountant was something you did after leaving school. Nowadays, a degree is required before taking CAA if you want to work for any reputable firm.

If you don't have a degree, I would contact a load of local accountancy firms to see on what basis they take trainees on. If they won't accept an AAT qualification, there's bugger all point in spending the money.


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## equationgirl (Jul 3, 2012)

There are financial controller positions where experience and non-degree level qualifications is fine. 

A love of spreadsheets is a must though


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## shakespearegirl (Jul 3, 2012)

One of my best friends is a financial controller of a very big design agency,has no degree and has failed his CCA course at least 4 times.

He's worked his way up within the company over 20 years though.


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## discokermit (Jul 3, 2012)

counting other peoples money. helping them to avoid tax. what a shit job.


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## OneStrike (Jul 3, 2012)

AAT is a good foundation qualification to begin an accounts career, though it is difficult to advise without knowing your aspirations or ability.  Many people far smarter than I would struggle with the later accountancy exams.
You can forget most trainee accountancy jobs as they go to red-brick grads for the most part.  You will probably have to start at accounts assistant level if you have no relevant experience, maybe even a clerk.  Of course you don't have to go via the Chartered Accountants route, if you want to work in industry there is always CIMA?


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## Wolveryeti (Jul 3, 2012)

Don't be an accountant unless you have given up on all other options. Yes it is a 'safe' job and quite well paid relatively speaking - but it is about 3 years of exams to qualify, and a career pissing around with receipts, invoices and spreadsheets, and having to be very very accurate despite the tedium. The risk is you will turn into a boring cunt.


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## geminisnake (Jul 3, 2012)

Are you good at sorting numbers out? Are you good with your own money as in keeping track of it? Do you enjoy sums and problem solving?? If you do then try it 
I started to do some accounting modules years ago and it's interesting but the concentration levels were too much for me at the time. The book I had to buy for the course was £35 at the time and that was only for two modules!!


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## nagapie (Jul 3, 2012)

discokermit said:


> counting other peoples money. helping them to avoid tax. what a shit job.


 
Yep, that's what mr nags said. He still counts people's money though.


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## Hollis (Jul 3, 2012)

AAT is a good start, if you're any good and committed you can work your way up to the dizzy heights.. Accountancy is a very democratic career - its generally how good you are that counts. ;-) 

Alternatively you could just start doing CIMA or ACCA.

Contrary to general belief once you're qualified it canb also be very varied if you want it to be.


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## Cid (Jul 3, 2012)

Think I'd rather be an optician tbh.


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## machine cat (Jul 3, 2012)

Mrs MC did a level 2 course a couple of years ago.

Everyone except her in the class had already had a job in accountancy and were just doing it because their worked paid for it.


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## Hollis (Jul 3, 2012)

Cid said:


> Think I'd rather be an optician tbh.


 
Each to their own.


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## ethel (Jul 3, 2012)

AAT can be a useful qualification to have, but it's probably worth looking for trainee vacancies as it can cost a fortune.

if you want to become a fully qualified accountant ie ICAEW, CIMA, ACCA, CIPFA you'll need about 3 years relevant experience to get the qualification.


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## Winot (Jul 6, 2012)

Hollis said:


> Each to their own.



Hang on I think you've got something in your eye.


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## dylanredefined (Jul 6, 2012)

discokermit said:


> counting other peoples money. helping them to avoid tax. what a shit job.


Its indoor work no heavy lifting no one dies if you make a mistake and pretty sure very people few attempt to kill you.
There are worse jobs.The only accountant I knew was boring though.


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## 8ball (Jul 6, 2012)

dylanredefined said:


> Its indoor work no heavy lifting no one dies if you make a mistake and pretty sure very people few attempt to kill you.


 
That's the spirit.


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## ethel (Jul 6, 2012)

Not all accountant work in tax. I don't....


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## mentalchik (Jul 6, 2012)

my youngest son flew through all 3 levels of the AAT........can't get a starting job for love nor money


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## 8ball (Jul 6, 2012)

The answer I think is no.

No, you shouldn't train to be an accountant.
Break the word down - it's almost possible to spell the word 'cunt' twice ffs!


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## Hollis (Jul 6, 2012)

dylanredefined said:


> Its indoor work no heavy lifting no one dies if you make a mistake and pretty sure very people few attempt to kill you.


 
Though i don't think you should ever be too glib about the consequences of bad accountancy.  A simple spreadsheet error or misplaced accrual can have all sorts of nasty repercussions.


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## cypher79 (Jul 7, 2012)

mentalchik said:


> my youngest son flew through all 3 levels of the AAT........can't get a starting job for love nor money


 
this is what im afraid of


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## Greebo (Jul 7, 2012)

cypher79 said:


> this is what im afraid of


Better to consider that risk now than when it's too late and you've got the extra debt.


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## Hollis (Jul 10, 2012)

cypher79 said:


> this is what im afraid of


 
Its probably easiest to try to get any job in an office and then work your way up.. someone whos qualified but with no experience will be overlooked to someone's who's learnt stuff on the job.  And tbh there's a suprising number of people who pass exams who really don't know how to do anything.


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## dylanredefined (Jul 10, 2012)

Hollis said:


> Though i don't think you should ever be too glib about the consequences of bad accountancy. A simple spreadsheet error or misplaced accrual can have all sorts of nasty repercussions.


        This is very true ,but,the corpses that might create will not be your problem to deal  with normally.Though dead patients are easier to deal with than live ones (thoughts like that are  one of the many reason I am no longer a nurse)


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## smmudge (Jan 18, 2018)

I'm seriously thinking of doing this. I keep getting promoted at work which is nice and has made me realise that I can probably do more than I do, and earn more. I've always been very academic & can pick up concepts quickly, and I love numbers and calculations. 

I've bought a study text for the first module of the ACCA, and am looking at entry level accounts jobs. I already work in finance so it's not a huge leap. A lot of the job ads say they want AAT qualified or studying, which I looked at, but I thought well if I want to do ACCA I'd rather just start on that than spend money & time doing AAT. Also it actually looks like less hassle to self-study the ACCA, as in there seems to be more self learning study texts & resources available.


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## farmerbarleymow (Jan 18, 2018)

smmudge said:


> I'm seriously thinking of doing this.



Please don't - you'll become very boring. 

(((boring accountants)))


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## Leafster (Jan 19, 2018)

smmudge said:


> I'm seriously thinking of doing this. I keep getting promoted at work which is nice and has made me realise that I can probably do more than I do, and earn more. I've always been very academic & can pick up concepts quickly, and I love numbers and calculations.
> 
> I've bought a study text for the first module of the ACCA, and am looking at entry level accounts jobs. I already work in finance so it's not a huge leap. A lot of the job ads say they want AAT qualified or studying, which I looked at, but I thought well if I want to do ACCA I'd rather just start on that than spend money & time doing AAT. Also it actually looks like less hassle to self-study the ACCA, as in there seems to be more self learning study texts & resources available.


I found the self-study route a bit difficult with juggling work and other things. Can you see if your work will pay for study courses? I was working in practice when I was training and they paid for nearly all the courses and gave me time off. I was studying alongside others who were working in industry and commerce and many of them had their courses paid for by their employers. It's a long time since I was training but there were plenty of private colleges which provided good quality tuition which made the process easier. 

Good luck with it!


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## smmudge (Jan 19, 2018)

Leafster said:


> I found the self-study route a bit difficult with juggling work and other things. Can you see if your work will pay for study courses? I was working in practice when I was training and they paid for nearly all the courses and gave me time off. I was studying alongside others who were working in industry and commerce and many of them had their courses paid for by their employers. It's a long time since I was training but there were plenty of private colleges which provided good quality tuition which made the process easier.
> 
> Good luck with it!



My plan is to start off self-studying, as a lot of jobs ask for part qualified or studying, then if I get a few modules and get the first certificate, get a job that will support me to do the rest.

It might be a big if depending how I find it, make the time etc like you say. I've got the book for the first module through today though, it looks interesting and not completely incomprehensible.


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## equationgirl (Jan 19, 2018)

smmudge said:


> My plan is to start off self-studying, as a lot of jobs ask for part qualified or studying, then if I get a few modules and get the first certificate, get a job that will support me to do the rest.
> 
> It might be a big if depending how I find it, make the time etc like you say. I've got the book for the first module through today though, it looks interesting and not completely incomprehensible.


A friend of mine is doing AAT self study qualifications and getting on OK with it. Says the webinars are not bad but sometimes have to be rescheduled from the other end because they don't work properly.


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## 8ball (Jan 19, 2018)

I wonder how vulnerable being an accountant is to the anticipated increase in automation...


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## dessiato (Jan 19, 2018)

Years ago I used to teach AAT. I'd recommend it as a good practical based accountancy qualification. There's also the Association of Taxation Technicians which a tax oriented course similar to AAT. I'd recommend that too.


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## 8ball (Jan 19, 2018)

dessiato said:


> Years ago I used to teach AAT. I'd recommend it as a good practical based accountancy qualification. There's also the Association of Taxation Technicians which a tax oriented course similar to AAT. I'd recommend that too.



I assume the course costs are tax-deductible.


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## equationgirl (Jan 19, 2018)

8ball said:


> I wonder how vulnerable being an accountant is to the anticipated increase in automation...


Not very, going by our finance department. There seems to be so much that has to be manually changed and checked - automation may create invoices, for example, but it doesn't check them or point out if they are wrong.


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## 8ball (Jan 20, 2018)

equationgirl said:


> Not very, going by our finance department. There seems to be so much that has to be manually changed and checked - automation may create invoices, for example, but it doesn't check them or point out if they are wrong.



That kinda sounds like the things the new AI kit will be really good at.


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