Advice

smudger

Hi,

Im 16 and just finished my first year at college, but cant stand it. I'm a more practical person and really enjoy working in a hands on environment. I was hoping to give up college this year as im not doing as well as i could. I have written to accounting companies about possible trainee positions and have got a second interview for one. If i dont get that job what would you reccomend i do? Continue college or carry on in my persuit of a trainee position hoping to get one within the next year?

I would appreciate any advice

Thanks

sheelagh

Training

You don't say what you have studied at college - is it related to accounting?

If you want to progress within the accounting profession you will (probably )eventually need some formal qualifications.
I would imagine that the employer with whom you have an interview would offer you some kind of training package so you will still be at college for part of the week, but it would be job related learning.
Have chat with your local FE college (not 6th form) about studying for AAT either full time , or part time.
Our local FE college helps students to find employers who will support them through their training. They are also very flexible about enrolment - students can apply to the college in May / June, and once accepted don't have to make final decisions about subjects or course type until September. If you had this option you could continue to search for a supportive employer over the summer before deciding on full or part-time study.

Alternatively, you could enroll for an AAT course part time, and take a job in an unrelated profession whilst continuing your search for a job in accountancy.

kazseera

HEY THERE,

i hope you get the job, any way u should listen to what sheelagh is saying.

most accounting companies do school leaver programmes, so have a lil look on their websites ,no harm in applying. some of them look for ucas points.

what are you studying anyway? what dont you like about it?

I must say from a personal point of view, it is very hard to get an accounting/trainee job, id been looking for about a year and rejected like a hundred billion times*lil exajuration*

smudger

im studying Maths, Business, Accounting And ICT and what i dont like about it is that my accounting teacher is learning accounting at the same time as us. Its her first year teaching the subject and if we ask her a question it takes about a week to get the answer because she hasn't learnt it yet. How can you learn with a teacher like that!? Therefore im not achieving anywhere near my potential so have effectively wasted a year! Thanks for the advice anyway.

And sheelagh how do i go about enrolling for an AAT course part time? Because i could easily get a job with my current weekend employer to run alongside it?

Martyn

kazseera

omg thats absolutley rubbish!!!!! u cant learn like that . i can see why ur not enjoying it. hmmm

im studyin part time too...

what area are you from n i can look up colleges/places near you that offer this kind of study for you if you want.

smudger

yeah that would be great! I live between southampton and portsmouth in a place called fareham.

Did you follow this route rather than college then? and do you run your studying alongside part time work?

Regards
Martyn

kazseera

what does that come under....eg im from bham, comes under west mids


I went to college, did as levels then went on to do a btec.Now i work at barclays 4 days a week and i go to college evey thursday. looking back now, i should have just started on AAT foundation instead of going to college.*i didnt know about it then* after 3 yrs at college i was only exempt from the foundation stage which ment i went straight on to intermediate level.

smudger

South East.

I think i should of looked into doing AAT straight from school rather than college because im only going to come out with a strong AS in ICT and Maths. I will pass accounting and business but not with amazing grades.

kazseera

ive looked and found that the SOUTH DOWNS COLLEGE, HIGHBURY COLLEGE, FAREHAM COLLEGE all offer AAT study at all levels, now what you can do is go on to their websites maybe and apply that way or even pop down to the college.

u may be able to do it as a appreticeship style, you wont have to pay that way ...hope this helps

kazseera

its never too late... the faster you u get your AAT the better i think .. most people leave it til lateer....In my class at college im the 2nd youngest in the class, evryone is older than me ages range from about 25 - 46 maybe even older . i think more youngsters need to get in there personally

kazseera

errm you'll have to look into tht ask the collge .maybeee

smudger

Yeah, if i don't get this job i'm definately not returning to do my second year at college, i will go the part time college route, whilst continuing my search for employment within an accounting firm that will give me employment around my studying and maybe even pay for it!

sheelagh

A levels vs AAT

Hi Smudger,

Sorry I haven't been back all day. It sounds as if you are getting similar advice from other forum members.
It's interesting you are doing A levels. Did you get any careers guidance before making your choices? A levels certainly have value in demonstrating commitment and academic ability, but if you really are sure you want to work in accountancy AAT, followed by CIMA or ACCA will be more widely recognised than A levels and a degree. I know graduates with accounting degrees who are now studying AAT, because that's what employers are demanding. I could get on my soap-box about the poor quality of careers advice for school leavers as my own offspring are your age, but I better not!
If your weekend employer values you enough to offer you more hours, would they also consider funding your AAT studies? They might even give you an accounting related job if one becomes available.
If/when you visit your local FE college, ask if there are any schemes which would make it easier for your employer to fund you studies. There are lots of schemes around, but sometimes you have to dig for information.

Good luck - Please let us all know how you get on.

Oh, and one more thing - have you got any family or friends you can talk this through with? Leaving 6th form and changing direction after one year is a big decision. If my youngsters were doing that, I'd want to know, and offer help and support.

smudger

Thanks both of you for your advice!

I have spoken with my parents and they will fully support me if i didn't get the job and started my AAT qualification as a day release course. Last question is, is there any other qualifications that would be of use to me that i could take at the same time, either a home study course or another evening or day release course. I'm looking at attending south downs college for the AAT qualifications.