Thinking about career change: Currently Qualified Accountant

[Donza]

Hi, i'm pondering a career change. I currently work at a major blue-chip as a Finance manager. Tasks involve driving the business forward etc through management accounting etc.

Pay is good, could be better (cant it always!). But i feel as though my hearts not in it anymore.

I am nearly 28 years of age, and just feel like there is so much more to life.

I currently pump in 40-50 hours a week at work, live away from family and friends. ( Although Looking to move back home this december)

I travelled for a year at 24, probably the best experience of my life.

Has anyone here changed vocation or their career?

I am looking into trading in hot food or becoming a franchisee of sorts..

 

[jaymanek]

yep me... i did 4 years at JPMorgan after graduating and for similar reasons moved back to the midlands and opened mercland...

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=25184

I gave up the spare parts thing as that made little money for the work involved and then mercland was born...

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Brave move but the great thing about brave moves is that you know you must really want to do it, and it therefore must be the right thing for you.

Sounds like you want your own business, but that's not the only way of changing your career path. You just need to think like you're playing a game of chess planning several moves ahead, but all the while looking for common threads which will enable you to transfer your skills in the right direction.

Easier said that done, but I managed it. I started in retail banking but decided I wanted to work in the people aspect of change, so I hatched a plan to move to corporate banking, then on to a project which was training corporate bankers. From there I got a job working in training within HR, and then moved to be a HR change consultant with a specialism in training.

I then decided I wanted to get into IT, so I engineered my way on to projects which were IT focussed as a consultant. Thus far all moves were within a single blue chip company. There was no obvious route to IT so I moved to a completely different industry which enabled the switch to IT, but working in IT on training and change. So very similar role but working in IT rather than HR.

I now have a few more moves mapped out the next of which I'm working on as we speak.

Some thoughts. Are there any projects within the organisation looking for finance experience. That could be a good spring board in several directions, and will give you a fresh challenge and some easily transferable skills and experience whilst you plan what you want to be doing longer term.

There's a heap of luck involved, but there's also a whole heap of look involved too. By that I mean you have to look ahead to where you want to be, look for the best route to take you there and the skills required, and then finally look for the opportunities that will take you step by step to your goal.

Of course your goal will continually shift you'll never really get there. But that's half of the fun!!

Good luck with your decision.

PS I would love to be a traffic cop but sadly I fear that I'm past the point now where I could make the transition. That probably means I don't want it badly enough, because if I did, I would have found a way.

 

[scumbag]

I didn't change career, but when I got to the point of not caring about the job I did, I started looking for a change. It came about 18months later, and I moved 300miles away, into a similar role, but with the advantage it was a start up operation. So I could use all the things I was taught, all the years ago, to help the new staff with no experince.

It also gave us the chance to do thing right, rather than having to spend time explaining to other why it needs changing against their stuck in the mud ways.

I have since moved higher in the operation, and it appears that the boss, won't be with us for that much longer either. I need to extract some more info out of him before he moves on.

 

[Dieselman]

 

[timskemp]

Hi, i'm pondering a career change.

I am looking into trading in hot food or becoming a franchisee of sorts..

heh - that reminds me, few months ago dropped in at a roadside hot food van - usual type of thing, burgers / sausages / bacon etc.

Said to the bloke - I know you from somewhere - turns out he used to be the service manager at a local IT company I used to use!

 

[verytalldave]

Become a piping designer. Get a working knowledge of AutoCad/Microstation and PDS/PDMS. Should take 1-2 years to get up to speed. Current London hourly rates are £45-60. With 50-60 hours per week possible - work it out.

 

[Gucci]

Become a piping designer.

I'm a Creative Director - and still design - a piping designer?

 

[Jukie]

I tuned my back on an IT career at the age of 41 and joined the police last year. Was looking for a complete change of direction and a new challenge. I'd lost interest in IT even though I was in a solid, if unspectacular, job in a relatively safe industry sector.

I've no regrets.

 

[television]

My youngest son was an accountant but loved computers, some years ago he went freelance, as he understood accountancy he has had major contracts with every large well know bank in the UK, and the money he earns makes me feel that I wouild be better off in staying in bed

 

[Ian B Walker]

I used to work for Parcelfarce as a shift manager. Prior to that I was Export and Sales manager for a company in Kenya. Cutting a long story short, after spitting out my dummy I started 124works. Oh why did I not do this 10 years ago. The stress of working for yourself beats the stress of working for someone else, when at the end of the day, what you earn is yours (ok tax man takes some, no, a lot) but whatever is left leaves a rosy glow.

 

[glojo]

I can't think of any thing worse than being in a job you don't enjoy. Common sense will dictate that we all have responsibilities and we must be in a position to put bread on our families plates.

Respect for what your thinking of doing and good luck with any decision. To me money will never be the be all and end all and in my personal opinion you cannot put a price on either happiness or contentment.

Good luck,
Yours very sincerely
John

 

[jaymanek]

(ok tax man takes some, no, a lot) but whatever is left leaves a rosy glow.

I have to say thats probably the only thing i dont like about being self employed...my accountant telling me to write a XK cheque at the end of my first year resulted in a very high blood pressure for a few days...
It somehow seems less when its taken in bits every month by your employer!

 

[st4]

I can't think of any thing worse than being in a job you don't enjoy. Common sense will dictate that we all have responsibilities and we must be in a position to put bread on our families plates.

Respect for what your thinking of doing and good luck with any decision. To me money will never be the be all and end all and in my personal opinion you cannot put a price on either happiness or contentment.

Good luck,
Yours very sincerely
John

Thanks John. This echo's a dilema I may have/want to have.

Currently I work in admin in Glasgow, and I am involved in a project in Belfast that has more to do with compliance. I'd rather like to break into this field, and maybe over there, as I've taken to the people in the Belfast office and to NI as a whole.

I have a more senior role in the project in Belfast, than my job description in Glasgow (whichs puts me near the bottom of the heap).

I know if I was offered a job over there, I'd take it tomorrow from a work wise view point, but it would mean giving up my frankly self indulgent/carefree irresponsible lifestyle.

After working over in NI and getting my teeth into this project, I am now disconteneted with my work in Glasgow, and dreading having to go back there for Wednesday, Thursday & Friday. Until I saw the Belfast office, people over there and a job role that I could have (most important) I was delighted with my job.

Anyway to advice the Donza, is that he is a not long qaulified CA (which will have been quite some task to achieve) so don't do anything rash, as you may not have fully reaped the rewards (i.e. money and seniority) of the time/effort you put in to get this far career wise but if you think that its a career you really don't want, go for it; but make sure the path you take up is the one you want & that a change of job/dip in income is a luxury you can afford.

I supose if it goes t1t5 up for you, you'll still be qualified as a CA so have something to fall back on.

 

[timskemp]

I have to say thats probably the only thing i dont like about being self employed...my accountant telling me to write a XK cheque at the end of my first year resulted in a very high blood pressure for a few days...
It somehow seems less when its taken in bits every month by your employer!

Indeed it does, but if you're paying it, you've earned it. I have certainly enjoyed the years where I've had the minor pain of writing out 9-15 grand cheques to the tax man more than the years when they've been small, or none.

Making the payment is painful, enjoying the remainder is nice though.

 

[DITTRICH]

You have to ask yourself whether it is the particular company you are working for or the people you are working with that are the problem rather than you being fed up with the job itself. Speaking as an accountant myself, I would say that no matter where you work or what you do, when you work underneath others whose bidding you have to do and to whom you are beholden, you will always end up wondering why most of them are twerps and tossers. I worked for a few companies and can honestly say that good managers are few and far between. So before you jump, make sure you are happy with where you are jumping to. When I left the firm I trained with I went abroad to Nigeria and then Russia which is quite a change. Years later, I'm now the FD at a medium sized and growing company that does business in 40 - 50 countries around the world. They value my international experience and I enjoy the job alot compared to some of the others I've done.
In my case it took time, but the rewards come in the end.
Les

 

[Dryce]

I would say that no matter where you work or what you do, when you work underneath others whose bidding you have to do and to whom you are beholden, you will always end up wondering why most of them are twerps and tossers.

True.

And if you stay on and get promoted what chance those underneath you who end up doing your bidding will wonder why you are such a twerp and tosser.

And you will end up at the end of each month or quarter hating the twerps and tossers that work under you as you defend your department's figures to the twerps and tossers you now report to.

Working for yourself can be quite rewarding. It can also mean long hours, risk, low initial rewards, and you lose the facility to bitch about the management to your peers. That last aspect is actually a benefit of employment that most employees don't recognise.

I would suggest that 28 is young enough to try stepping out with some provisos.

1) Don't put your house at risk.

2) If you haven't started a family yet but are planning to soon consider the impact and which comes first. It might sound counter-intuitive but I think it's better to get the family underway first.

3) Best to have a spouse/partner with a steady income

4) If you actually plan to work in business with said spouse/partner think v e r y v e r y c a r e f u l l y about the consequences of it in terms of your relationship.

 

[Dragon]

Stay where you are. Once you leap there is no going back. I know there are many who have to leap because there are no choices. If you are pretty certain you can do it go ahead. Salary working for someone is always chicken feed because they paid you less than what you are worth. You reap the benefits on your own but then there are ups and downs.

 

[mattc]

I handed my notice in earlier this year; in 2 weeks time i leave the security of good salary, good bonuses, superb final salary pension scheme because I could simply no longer hack it with the BS that is involved in large organisations.

Cannot wait to be doing it for myself; not for some corporate numpty that uses Preparation H as a lip gloss to get where he is today.

Ok - it will be scarey but at least you determine your time and hours. Follow your desire and go for it - all the best.

 

[verytalldave]

...............Cannot wait to be doing it for myself; not for some corporate numpty that uses Preparation H as a lip gloss to get where he is today.

Now THAT made me laugh.

And yet, how true.............