How do you get to be successful

Glynis

Ive bern thinking about this for a while now. I just want to know how you become a successful accountant. I mean get chartered become respected and move up the ladder. I'm middle aged and seem to be at the bottom of the pile. What do you have to do to make something of yourself. It can't be impossible can it?

Jo Clark

Hello Glynis

I'm still studying AAT but already feel as though I am respected at work and hope to move up the ladder over time. Regarding getting chartered I think all you can do is study hard and sit the exams. Once qualified you can then build on your current experience and also apply what you have learnt whilst studying.

JC

Bluewednesday

You don't command respect by getting a qualification, you earn respect by listening to and helping other people, by being fair and good at what you do.

katz568

Bluewednesday wrote: »

You don't command respect by getting a qualification, you earn respect by listening to and helping other people, by being fair and good at what you do.

Exactly what I was going to say.
I'm in a similar postion to you Glynis in that i finished the level 4 at a similar time and started job hunting at around the same time, however I decided not to go further with my studies until I gained employment in the accounting field in a job I felt was right for me and a job that I knew I would get the support and respect of my peers in that job for what I was doing currently and my further studies.
I have to say I have been very lucky compared to you in that I did manage to land that job recently BUT that was with putting both myself and my family out massively, including my working unpaid as a volunteer to gain experience, but still having to pay out for childcare we could ill afford to enable this, until I secured a position.
I still have not started study but hopefully will be within the next few weeks now my probation period has passed.
I think you need to step back a little. Realise just how far you have come already, but accept that you 'may' need a little break from studying right now especially seeing as you have just started a new position.
It is ok to take things a little slower, even those of us that are more mature.
Good luck

Gem7321

By working flipping hard.

Can I ask why your stereotype of a 'successful accountant' is a chartered accountant and when you say move up the ladder do you mean to a partner level role? Do you not think you've been successful in your career so far?

My idea of a successful accountant isn't necessarily someone who's chartered and sits in a big office signing off files. My idea of a successful accountant is someone who makes a living, is very good at their job and what they know, loves what they do, and makes a difference to their clients and colleagues.

Monsoon

Gem7321 wrote: »

My idea of a successful accountant isn't necessarily someone who's chartered and sits in a big office signing off files. My idea of a successful accountant is someone who makes a living, is very good at their job and what they know, loves what they do, and makes a difference to their clients and colleagues.

Agreed, 100%!

I really don't think being chartered is the be-all and end-all.

I'm 'just' a MAAT, I have a high street office, 3 fantastic members of staff, plenty of happy clients and while I'm nowhere near being rich, I'm happy. Quite a bit stressed but I get an enourmous amount of job satisfaction and I wouldn't trade this in for the world! I love it.

How do you do it? A lot of hard work and a bit of luck! And being realistic, yet ambitious. And being flexible enough to change with the changing world and new circumstances/ opportunities presented to you.

PGM

Monsoon wrote: »

Agreed, 100%!

I really don't think being chartered is the be-all and end-all.

I'm 'just' a MAAT, I have a high street office, 3 fantastic members of staff, plenty of happy clients and while I'm nowhere near being rich, I'm happy. Quite a bit stressed but I get an enourmous amount of job satisfaction and I wouldn't trade this in for the world! I love it.

How do you do it? A lot of hard work and a bit of luck! And being realistic, yet ambitious. And being flexible enough to change with the changing world and new circumstances/ opportunities presented to you.

Agreed 101%!

I suppose you judge your success by where you put the goal posts.

And then theres the work life balance which is always a compromise, and how much are you prepared to compromise?! I feel like I have done more than enough over the last 5 years doing AAT and then ACCA, its a lot of evenings and weekend that I'll never get back, and I'm not wanting to working long hours!

craggle87

Some really good replies here! I'll be honest - I would enjoy working amongst a busy city environment, I would like to have a bigger salary and an office on the top floor of a modern high rise building wouldn't go a miss. I currently have the complete opposite of all of these but already I count myself as successful. I see others who have no drive, no qualifications and have already given up. I'm the first amongst my family to have a professional membership status and it makes me proud. Keeping working hard and I'm sure the benefits will come.

JodieR

I read this briefly before I went to bed & work up thinking about it so here's my 2 pence worth...

Success is basically achieving a positive result. It's how we measure it which alters how successful something is.
Generally the sucess of a business is measured by how much money it makes as that is what a business is SUPPOSED to do;
The success of a charity would be measured by how much it has helped its chosen cause as that is what charities are SUPPOSED to do.
And of course the success of a student would be measured by how well they do in their exams.
When it comes to people it gets more complicated as we all have different ideas on what people are 'supposed' to do. For me, a successful person is someone who has identified a place in society where they feel they can contribute the most, and achieved it. Therefore, someone who's using underhand sales tactics to sell vast quantites of goods which no-one actually wants/needs may end up with a successful busienss, but I wouldn't call them a successful person.

So Glynis, in answer to your question, I think that you need to first decide whether you want to be successful in your own eyes or in society's eyes. If it's the former then you set your own 'success targets' and if that is passing ACCA and writing a book then once you have achieved this you can call yourself a success. If you want your friends/family & peers to think that you're successful then you need to evaluate what the best way is to make a positive contribution to their lives, think about how your strengths could benfit them and do all you can to make them proud, and in return they will think of you as a successful person.

blobbyh

Very philosophical Jodie. Similar to my own thoughts of when people ask "What's the meaning of life"? Disregarding the obvious biological aspect i.e. to procreate and extend the human race, to me the more accurate question should be "What's the meaning of my life"? And that's a question that can largely only be answered by others once we've gone. How did we affect the most important people in our lives when we worked at a certain place or when we were still alive?

While none of us are perfect, I think we'd all like to remembered as loving, caring and always tried to do the right and moral thing even if we didn't succeed. Success isn't necessarily measured by ourselves but often by how others viewed us and the size of the vacuum we'll leave behind.

Sorry, bit off topic I know but Jodie started it!