Real salaries

Adam144

Hello

Does anybody have an idea what the salary for AAT Level 4 qualified really is? I don't know if you ever felt the same way, but I finished Level 4 AAT around 5 months ago, got the MAAT status and started my ACCA through my current employer. I do understand the ACCA course is also a cost to my employer, which may reduce my salary, but I am doing it under the apprenticeship and we get funding, so my employer only pays 10% of the total costs...

Does anybody know how much the average firm in Yorkshire pays to the Assistant Accountant, who completed AAT Level 4 (I have got 4 years of relevant experience) and is doing ACCA? Or without ACCA? I get £18.5k per annum, which seems really really low, and I don't know if that is a hint to look for another job?

I would appreciate any feedback from you, who are in the similar position. At least I would really be able to compare the earnings, and maybe find out I am exaggerating..

RosieJane

I would agree that it is low and would put an Assistant Accountant position at circa £25k.

I was earning more than £18.5k prior to starting AAT Level 3 in a sales ledger role.

amurray

Hi Adam,

Only just come across this post but check out the AAT Salary Guide - https://www.aat.org.uk/salary - this should give you some assistance.

gemma89

I am getting 19k and had no experience in accounts when I started my role - I am accounts assistant and do purchase and sales ledger, payroll and am training up on bank reconciliations next.

MichaelNorton

Honestly, you will take the contract for the professional accountant and like it

You are getting 20% off the job training and your employer knows you will earn £30k when qualified so what are you realistically going to do?

Comparing to AAT level 4 is just not the same job or role and there are very different rates for the aat4 person depending upon if they are newly qualified or say the office manger


When you qualify they know as well you will have the shoe on the other foot and you will press for the wage hike so just suck it up little trooper for now

If it's any consolation when I trained I was on £10k in London

fedemenni

I can say that it all depends from yourself and how well you know what you do. One of my colleagues is fully ACCA qualified and he is a Finance Coordinator which earns about £28k. I am a Finance Assistant and not fully AAT qualified and I am a Finance Assistant earning about £4k less than him.

sjtoomer

I am based in East Yorkshire and an entry-level job (i.e. Sales/Purchase Ledger Clerk, Payroll Assistant, Accounts Assistant, etc.) is £18K - £19K, Assistant Accountant and Finance Assistant are £21K - £23K, so frankly not what I would classify as good salaries, for the responsibility/technicality of those jobs and for the difficulty of the AAT Qualifications. Employers now are even demanding AAT Qualifications (and also experience) for entry-level jobs, which I think is ridiculous, but it seems to be an employer's market out there, so they can demand as much as possible for as little a wage as possible, at the moment. Either the AAT have over-estimated the potential wages with their Qualifications or Employers are under-valuing the AAT Qualifications. I also get the impression that the UK is saturated with AAT-Qualified Accountants/Book-Keepers. I have AAT L2 & L3 Book-Keeping (costing me £1,500 to do) and no sniff of an entry-level job in 6 months to date, although I was hoping that the AAT Qualifications would make it easier for me to get an entry-level Accounting & Finance job; all I can do is to keep applying for jobs and hope that some employer out there will take a chance on employing someone older who is qualified but not experienced in Accounting & Finance. The hunt for a job continues... I am not sure about doing any further AAT study until I get an entry-level job at least; I am proud of having done my AAT Qualifications, but I am not sure if Employers are valuing them and I am not sure if I will actually get a job with them. I have to just wait and see...