Sorry, I just do not think that is ok that someone who is spending a life studying should be paid almost the same as someone with no qualification at all.
I see everyday this kinds of ads for experienced accountants paid 20 k and I am wondering why the offer is so low ?
I would kindly ask the opinion of the senior members of the forum.
Kind regards,
Adrian
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This is just my personal opinion. Advice should be sought from a suitably qualified Accountant.
P.S. I only ride a motorbike because I want to dry my clothes faster
There are just to many accountants chasing two few jobs.
In 2000, a trainee with a degree straight out of university with no experience would command starting salary of £25,000. Substantial increases to retain trainee would quickly follow.
Low salaries pose a problem with long term retention of staff, as there are many other opportunities for accounting calibre people.
On the brighter side there seems to be a slight increase in remuneration being offered.
Front cover of PQ this month is the shock story that where the Chartered Accountants benevolent fund paid out supermarket food vouchers to one unfortunate recipient last year, this year they paid out to six!
Where there are chartered accountants who cannot find enough money to eat then such holds little hope for those further down the food chain.
The added issue with accountants is that they may be considered overqualified for lower level roles which they would be quite happy to take.
These are bad times when we have experienced qualified chartered certifieds willing to accept almost any money to find work but rather finding themselves stacking shelves in Tesco's so what hope do PQs and newly qualifieds have of commanding the rates that they should be receiving.
Add to this the issue of experience where people cannot practice without signed off experience so there are many out there who would gladly pay to be able to gain the experience requirement so accepting a role as an accountant paid less than a living wage is not as rare as you may think.
Industry is very different to practice and those who train in industry tend to stay with a firm or industry sector with closely related firms (such as banking) and get handsomly rewarded but the key is that they move from firm to firm based on their experience, not due to their letters which are almost a given that they will have ACCA or CIMA after their names.
I agree totally with the sentiment of the thread that it is a ridiculous situation that we have some very, very clever people who would earn twice as much driving a tube train.
Conversely, as touched upon by Ralph above (by the way, hi Ralph, welcome to the forum), those with the right bits of paper do not necessarily end up in traditional accounting roles as the knowledge gained puts one in a position to run companies successfully rather than merely service them, or worse still mop up after those without the right qualifications have had a go at management!
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.
not everyone who goes down this path becomes an accountant. Many of those whose businesses in any field become a success have their roots in an accountancy qualification that have better prepared them to think around issues.
An accountancy qualification gives business owners more credibility in the eyes of financial institutions when it comes to raising finance.
Those without qualification may have brilliant ideas and be very skilled at what they do but lack of correct training stands as another barrier between them and the finance they need rather than insufficient finance which ends up killing rather than helping the fledgling business.
Many who go on to work in industry rather than practice, espechially banking and high finance can earn substantial sums although to be fair without the correct experience behind you those doors will remain firmly closed to those trying to break into that industry.
The above said, if one applies for job below them it is still possible to work your way into the situations to gain the right experience (#1)and you would not even have managed to get in at the ground floor without a quality qualification behind you.
Think of AAT as a foundation stone upon which to build.
Think how little of the following would have been available to you had you not achieved it (I think that you are still a couple off finishing aren't you?).
From completing AAT you could...
- Be of interest to practice
- Be taken more seriously by temping agencies (a great source of experience).
- Get exemptions from lower level ACCA / CIMA / ACA papers.
- Work towards gaining MAAT MIP status and build a small practice.
- Convert to IFA and gain a practice certificate that way
There are plenty of other doors creaking open due to your qualification but you need always to bear in mind that the qualification is a starting, not end point.
Experience brings the money. Not the bit of paper that we hold.
The bit of paper helps us gain that experience.
I've said it before but I'll reiterate it as I feel that its an important point in that those who enter this business or take the qualifications looking for money will never find it but for those who enter it loving accountancy and seeking perfection then the money will eventually follow.
To find the money, seek to be the best as the best is always in demand.
Right, thats used up all of my inspirational speech quota for this month... I'll now go and bring balance back to the force by telling some others to go despaire.
All the best,
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.
