Hi all, I stumbled across this forum whilst trying to find the answer to my career crossroads on the internet. To explain my situation, I am a graduate but have spent my time since University working in sales departments in loans and IVA companies. Now I am looking to get a more long term career and some form of accountancy does appeal to me as I like finance, am OK with numbers and just like the potential of a possible self employed route in future.
The only problem is I am too old and mortgaged up to try and start my career in a low paid junior capacity but my current firm do not have much of an accounts team for me to switch to. So the million dollar question is, if I was to do the first few ACCA papers myself without working in an accounts environment, how easy/likely is it to get an accounts job witha salary close to 25-30k with no real accountancy experience but with the first 4/5 papers under your belt?
there are currently 349,505 ACCA students and all of them need to gain three years practical experience in order to gain membership.
Accountancy students are willing to accept almost any money to try and gain that experience which in the longer term will reap rewards.
ACCA students are able to gain jobs in companies where the experience doesn't count towards membership but it won't be anywhere close to the wage bracket that you are looking at. (or at least not for starters).
Worth noting is that you only start to be of interest to companies once you have passed the first nine papers (the skills level).
Your best approach would be if you could pass the first nine before thinking of giving up your current role and then try and find a suitable role whilst passing the final five.
Its going to be expensive, it will take over all of your life and even though the pass mark is only 50% it will take a lot longer to pass the exams than you think it will (just look at the ACCA pass rates with some papers as low as 28%!).
Sorry if this comes accross as negative but better you get the truth of what you are getting into than spend a lot of money only to drop out after the first three (which are not at all representitive of what follows in the next eleven).
sorry again but welcome to the forum,
kind regards,
Shaun.
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
