Manners Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 Hi all, I'm currently in a well paid job as an engineer. I'm the right side of 30 however I like to have an eye on the future as well as living in the moment. Iv always enjoyed working with numbers and I'm considering taking some accountancy qualifications in my free time just to keep my mind ticking and also to layout a plan in the future. There are some sage qualifications on groupon at the moment which seem a good deal, just wondering if anyone on here is already in the job and could tell me what I would need and if they are desired by companies etc. And if the studying is worth it, obviously the wages differ around the country but I don't want to put in a lot of time and effort to not have it repaid. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 Can I ask why you want to change? Only because to me engineering (probably rather naively) sounds such an interesting skill. Guess it depends what your engineering. To give my tuppenceworth on accounting I'd say studying in spare time to become ACA/ACCA takes a long time and needs day leave for university study. Friend of mine did it whilst working for the bank we were at. She had to drop to part time to accommodate it and it took her years. Dollar was good after though Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 Finding Sage bookkeepers is difficult at the moment so you wont go short of work once youve got the skills. Id pay £25K for a good, experienced bookkeeper, a bit more for an AAT qualified management accountant, maybe £30K ....... and then the sky is the limit depending on what you want to specialise in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manners Posted November 19, 2015 Author Share Posted November 19, 2015 Its not really a case of wanting to, its just a failsafe if the business goes under or if I become too old and arthritic too carry on in the same industry. I love my job to be fair even though it's not glamorous at all. I just like having an escape plan. I was afraid you would say that it would take years... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manners Posted November 19, 2015 Author Share Posted November 19, 2015 Oh right that's definitely worth the investment then. Although I can't buy experience... If its something I can do in my part time for a small company then I would consider that too as I often find myself bored now I have completed my relevant nvqs and hncs etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliveBoy Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 speak to Flex on here, he's a bean counter 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenLandy Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 I'm ACCA qualified and qualified in Feb this year. If you're not going to do it properly, then why bother? ACCA is at least 3 years of commitment, not the odd evening here or there. You also need 3 years of experience to become qualified. A sage qualification isn't "proper" accountancy - that would be more of a book keeping role, although I personally wouldn't put much value on that qualification as again you won't have any experience. Not like it isn't something you can't pick up if things did turn bad tbh. Even if you went for more of a billy-basic qualification like AAT, you're still talking a few years to get through it, and again, anyone paying anything worth working for will want the experience to go with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Payco Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 (edited) Mr Qualified here. ACCA and CIMA. It's like modding a z. Years of hard work and dedication, not something that can be achieved overnight. Stick with Engineering is my advice unless you want to start a whole new learning curve and life. Edited November 19, 2015 by Payco 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenLandy Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 ACCA and CIMA? Are you some sadistic, exam-loving being? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flex Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 Happy for you to give me a call dude, I'm CIMA qualified, have worked as company accountant/financial controller level within several SME's but now run my own accounting practice which I find interesting, challenging and rewarding all at the same time. PM me your number and best time to chat, I'm away tomorrow, back Tuesday. Peace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 I was only discussing engineers at the weekend. There is a huge shortage of Engineers worldwide in a variety of fields, so I am led to believe. Accounting won't take you around the world - whereas Engineering certainly can. Nothing wrong with a back up plan - but thinks the earning potential hugely greater with engineering and way more interesting, challenging - IMO. ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Payco Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 GreenLandy. I am and sadly MICM qualified too. Currently global head of a Credit department but it all comes into play. Like the salary but if I lived my life again.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manners Posted November 19, 2015 Author Share Posted November 19, 2015 Thanks for all the replies guys. Like I say its just something to keep my mind going and maybe fall as a backup plan at the moment. The problem is I am massively overpaid for my job. In the area I am earning around 8-10k more than the equivalent position at another company. Iv enjoyed working with numbers since I was a kid. And would actually find it fun in the evenings doing something like this, so the time for completion is irrelevant at the moment. Its just a thought I guess.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 If you're not going to do it properly, then why bother? I know a guy who never completed his AAT thats now taking £80K as a Management Accountant, Ive also trained myself and my staff to use Sage and they arent on a bad crack either. Not everyone wants to suffer 4 years of exams and reading boring ass tax legislation, it doesnt mean that they cant be accountants of some sort though. For balance I should also add that one of my best mates completed his ACCA and had his own practice by the time he was 26 and has been driving brand new M3's and Porsches while spending money like water ever since 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliveBoy Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 boring ass tax legislation my bread and butter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenLandy Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 If you're not going to do it properly, then why bother? I know a guy who never completed his AAT thats now taking £80K as a Management Accountant, Ive also trained myself and my staff to use Sage and they arent on a bad crack either. Not everyone wants to suffer 4 years of exams and reading boring ass tax legislation, it doesnt mean that they cant be accountants of some sort though. For balance I should also add that one of my best mates completed his ACCA and had his own practice by the time he was 26 and has been driving brand new M3's and Porsches while spending money like water ever since I wouldn't really count being able to use Sage as being an accountant though. Sure it's very useful, but not the sort of thing I would think that you would want to be stopping engineering for. And I'm sure your mate wasn't just doing odd bits of accounting in his spare time. And tbh, whilst 80k may seem like a lot, in the grand scheme of things, it's still fairly tame in the accounting world. All the lease/HP free BMWs and F type Jags in the car park tell me that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 Dude, I own a recruitment company - bookkeepers fall into the same category as accountants, just at the bottom end of the scale. My guys would be able to walk into a bookkeeping job most places, and use that as a platform to move into something more akin to "true" accountancy, they would certainly be more attractive than someone who didnt have any bookkeeping at all. Theres not a lot of office based skills that will allow you to walk into a reasonably paid job without any qualifications, but bookkeeping/Sage does IMO. Likewise, there arent a lot of jobs that will pay you £80K without any specific qualifications, thats what I was getting at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenLandy Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 Fair enough "dude". And you can always tell the unqualified/inexperienced ones from the very few who really know what they're doing, half my job is sorting out their mess. Plus your point is only really true from the industry side of things. A book keeper would rarely/never walk into practice straight away. But we digress. If Manners wants something that is a backup plan if everything hits the fan, then yes I guess book keeping could cover the bills and does allow for some tinkering. To be honest Manners, if you're really keen to be playing with numbers, maybe do a bit of a google on Sage and general basic book keeping. If you get competent you may find a small business whos books you could do a few evenings a month. Depends how much you want to spend your free time doing so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybp Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 My wife's ACCA qualified and picked up her Degree on the way through and she's going to do her masters next year just for fun but she also has 17+ yrs experience she works with a lot of people who have either the experience or the qualifications but the combination is what earns the big money. she pays more in tax than i earn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manners Posted November 19, 2015 Author Share Posted November 19, 2015 Greenland, thanks for summarising things there. It is to me a hobby/free time job thought at the moment, however, with some experience, this could open doors in the future, I don't expect to earn 80k doing it, and I earn more than enough to do what I want with my life at the moment. So I'll have a look Into things and see what is out there in the local area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Can I make another suggestion mate. Especially with your engineering background. If you're purely thinking of long term and have no particular attraction to accounting other than its good money and desk based what about doing your Prince2 and or SixSigma. Project managers earn a fricking fortune. In the finance industry a contracting project manager will be on an absolute minimum of 400 a day and employed 40-70k (doc might be able to verify). It's money for old rope as well provided you can talk the talk. I did prince2 before I decided I was going to go crackers doing a job I hated for another 15 years and I could have walked into a junior PM job even with limited experience. Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Also would add they will be a lot cheaper to study and a lot easier to fit into day to day life. You can even do a 3 day course to get upto practitioner level in Prince with the knowledge academy Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Now thats a bloody good suggestion, Project Managers often dont have to have any specific knowledge other than how to manage a project so those that do have an engineering, IT or production background tend to be very attractive in those industries. Prince2, 6S/Lean, PMP etc could well be worth a look as theres still a lot of number crunching but its a lot more likely to dovetail with what youre doing at the moment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manners Posted November 21, 2015 Author Share Posted November 21, 2015 Ricey, thankyou so much, I didn't even consider that pathway. It makes sense to study alongside my current career and I can stay in the game and gain experience until the time comes to move on and hang the tools up. My workplace offer an 'accountability' role in the company where you take on a specific area and organise contractors, maintenance schedules, work orders, budgeting etc etc each summer, iv always turned my nose up at it because there is no financial gain to be had, however the experience might be exactly what I need to push on later in life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fodder Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 +1 for project management. I work in IT and good PM's are worth their weight in gold.... The not so good PM's seem to do well too. I see more Prince2 qualified than SixSigma though so I'd go the Prince route. As Ricey said the role of a PM doesn't have to have actual experience of the industry but it does help. The summer accountability scheme your place of work offers sounds like an ideal learning opportunity alongside any PM qualifications as essentially what you've described is the meat of the work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.