Looking to retrain: calling all accountants!

meds12_2

Hi all,
I'm going on maternity leave very shortly and have been looking into retraining as an accountant - but I need some advice!

Brief employment experience:
A secondary school science and A-level psychology teacher (so nothing financial for the past few years, although I have previously been employed to do freelance statistics, and was the manager of a £1m per annum turnover company before I went to Uni)

My qualifications:
PGCE in science
BSc Human Psychology (lots of focus on statistics) from a good university (was awarded a scholarship while I was there for a study into the reliability of neuroimaging techniques in the neuroscience department)
A good set of GCSE's (lowest grade a "B")
Plus other unrelated qualifications

My problems:
1. I do not have A-levels (left school after GCSE's and went straight to work, took a science Foundation course in order to access the degree). Would the fact I have a degree, and already teach to A-level standard, mean I do not need A-levels, or would I need to take a couple over the next year?

2. Not sure which qualification is best to take, given my lack of experience / qualifications in the sector. AAT seems to be a good route to take as a distance learning course, to get me into it, but can anyone confirm this?

Would like to stay in my job for at least the next 5 years, as I do enjoy it, and the holidays are good for me as I have a young child and one on the way, so an evening or distance learning course that doesn't require me to be working in the industry would suit me very well. I realise of course, that to qualify as an accountant I would eventually need to gain employment in the sector.

Can anyone offer any advice? Thanks in advance! :beer:

dmg24

Why do you want to be an accountant? There are so many different roles, you would be best to determine what type of accountancy you with to pursue.

Any

Hi meds,
There is several threads on the subject already, I will try to find them.

In my personal opinion - if you have NO experience and background what so ever you might need some lecturing live (or via the internet) as it is extremely important you understand the basic principals (T accounts, double entry, asset v revenue) - the whole rest of any qualification relies on it.

But that is just my opinion.

Any

Right, this thread I think is very good and pretty much answers your questions..

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2406529

Any

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2521051

Judas

As a graduate no chance the OP should be thinking AAT and instead should go for ACCA.

With a degree you may get some exemptions although with a totally unrelated degree these would be minimal.

Use someone like KAPLAN and use their distance learning coupled with revision/tutor classes.

You will also need to look at gaining relevant work experience and will need 3 years to qualify.

the other option is to look at graduate training contracts with accountancy firms.

Any

I completely agree with Judas about the degree and doing AAT.

However she will find the beginnings hard with no basic knowledge-this can be solved by doing quick crash course in Bookkeeping - Kaplan used to do this for people going on ACCA.

meds12_2

Hi
Thank you everyone for your replies - would you know if the fact I do not have A-levels count against me? I remember speaking to someone from KPMG a few years ago who said it shouldn't, but most websites state you need at least 2 A-levels to do this.

Why do I want to do this? While I am not sure which area I would like to end up in, I think it would be something that I would be quite good at. I enjoy planning finances, and am very logical and good at and enjoy statistics and report writing. Basically, I was the geek that taught themselves binary in primary school (although that sounds more impressive than it is, however I am the sort of person that likes sitting and working through figures), and I would like to feel challenged by the work that I do in a more academic way than I currently am.

Thanks again everyone!

heretolearn_2

Management accounting might suit you then, if you think you'd enjoy analysing and thinking about what you are doing, and inputting into decision making.

jessicamb

It might not be an issue but have you considered the drop in salary that you might have to take. As a qualified science teacher I guess that you are on a reasonable salary. A junior accountant would typically start at anwhere between £15-£20k I should think, progressing as you pass exams and take on more responsibilities, depending on area and role. I'm pretty sure that that is less than teachers earn. It would probably only be a temporary dip as in a few years when you got qualified then your salary would go back up to £30k+ but something to consider.

meds12_2

Hi
Thanks again for your help - you really are focussing my mind on the key issues. I have found the Basic Certificate in Accounting - run by CIMA, and might do that while I'm on maternity leave and beyond (depending on how long it takes) to get the basic knowledge, or take the book keeping course recommended by Any.

In terms of a salary drop - I'm only part-time, and after childcare costs and petrol (I work miles away), I currently come out with about £600 per month, so I wouldn't think the dip would be too great if I converted to full-time, especially if I could leave the job transfer until the new baby is 3 or so. If it does work out that I take home a bit less for a few years, I'm quite happy to do that in order to get a more satisfying career.

Cheers all!