Maths graduate thinking about doing AAT, which level?

System
System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
edited June 18 in AAT student discussion
I'm a 26 year old maths graduate who has moved up to the North East.
Had a baby a year ago and wanting to return to the work place. Taught maths for a while but am bored of it. Have been trying to get appropriate accountancy jobs e.g aca trainee, accounts assistant but have only had one interview as an accounts clerk which was a disaster as they pretty much told me that I was over qualified.
Where do I start? Would doing AAT assist me in getting a job within the accountancy field? Should I start at Intermediate or Technician?

Comments

  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:Maths graduate thinking about doing AAT, which level?

    There is an interactive accounting test on www.osbornebooks.co.uk which you can test yourself. This covers the units within the AAT syllabus. This may help you to decide, depending on your scoring.
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:Maths graduate thinking about doing AAT, which level?

    Addition to recent post
    The test is on their home page within the resources section. Units 5,6,& 7 cover Intermediate level, not found any Techician level test though.
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:Maths graduate thinking about doing AAT, which level?

    Hi

    If you want to become an AAT member you'll need to complete both intermediate and technician levels. Also, the ACCA grant AAT expemtions based on having completed intermediate and technician.

    Neil
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:Maths graduate thinking about doing AAT, which level?

    Dear pseudonym

    I have the honour of being a lecturer in management and cost accounting.
    I have re-read your posting and think you must think very seriously about your first question. Only if you think AAT would be appropriate for you should you consider Intermediate or Technician as your starting point.
    At 26 you are young, so I hope you don't mind me suggesting that you look for a job in an accounts office to see whether you enjoy it. As I am sure many accountants will tell you, accounts and maths are quite different. If you haven't tried accounts before, you could start planning a whole career without knowing if you would like it.

    I think Maths graduates are excellent students. On the Technician AAT units such as PCR and on the CIMA decision making unit Maths graduates have a natural flair for numbers and can rearrange formulae, apply elementary calculus and distribution curves. So, they tend to do well.
    But, don't jump into a career simply because you are a well prepared student for the course. Most mathematical techniques are seen in exams, and never used in accountancy careers.

    I hope this helps.

    Sandy

  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:Maths graduate thinking about doing AAT, which level?

    Hi Pseudonym,

    Following the above posts. I'm a qualified Accountant (both AAT and ACCA) and can wholly relate to what Sandy is saying.

    Accountancy (by its very nature) does involve a lot of numbers. However, maths - in its entirety - would not be enough to give you the scope to enable you to undertake the work either an Accounting Technician or Chartered Accountant would perform. Again, as Sandy has stated above, some accountancy papers do require maths orientated approaches (e.g. formulae or algebra) but on the whole, Accountancy is not really predominantly maths orentiated.

    It is important (certainly at the point you are at in your career) that you make the right decisions. Yes, an accountant has to be good at numbers but this shouldn't influence your decision to train as an accountant. I make no hesitations in saying that to train to become an accountant is hard. "Hard" being the operative word. It takes a long time, requires a lot of dedication and, like any other profession, is extremely demanding.

    I am not trying to put you off, but you must be under no illusions when it comes to making the decision to train to become an accountant. I would hate for you to make the wrong decision. HOWEVER, if you feel that you should study AAT then go for it! Why not - you will only spend the rest of your life thinking "what if..." if you didn't.

    Good luck with whatever you decide.

    Kind regards
    Steve
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:Maths graduate thinking about doing AAT, which level?

    Many thanks to everyone who have replied.

    I can totally understand why I'm being advised to gain some experience first. I have attempted to do so by applying to accounts assistant type jobs, joining agencies in the hope that they'll give me a temp job to help me decide whether I'd enjoy working in the accountancy sector. However, even junior positions require you to have some experience or be part AAT qualified. I don't have either but I have done a short module on the principles of accounting and finance during my undergrad course. I'm voluntary treasurer for a local charity so that would give me a bit of finance related experience but apart from that How do I get round this?

    I've read tons of literature on training to be a chartered accountant already so I am fully aware that it is demanding and that some sacrifices regarding social life will be made when or if I decided to train.

    Anyway, thanks again. I'm going to see about this on-line test.

    O

  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:Maths graduate thinking about doing AAT, which level?

    If you are aiming at becoming a chartered accountant, you could miss the AAT course completely.
    It would mean using your degree to gain exemptions from exams for ACCA (the Certified Accountancy professional body). I don't know exactly how many exams you could gain but exemption from, but you would be closer to becoming a Certified Accountant.

    The AAT route would take you to a position where you could be exempt the first stage of ACCA, but that would be after passing the Intermediate and Technician stages.

    There is a lot of hard work involved in becoming qualified, so you will need to be sure that the type of work you'll end up doing is work you really want to do.

    Beware stories of huge salaries to accountants, it can make the job sound enticing, but these salaries are paid because the job isn't very sexy and to be able to do it you have to have worked extemely hard and passed a lot of (tough) exams on the way. There are other ways (than chartered accountancy) to make lots of money. They all tend to require hard work, but the hard work can be very different.
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:Maths graduate thinking about doing AAT, which level?

    thanks Sandy for your advice.

    The reason why I'm considering AAT is because I'm having problems with getting past the application stage when applying for graduate trainee positions. Most employers ask for a 2.1 and mean just that. Competition means that I wouldn't get very far with my degree class. I thought that if I'd started studying AAT off my own back then it would at least demonstrate that I'm genuinely interested in the profession.

    I'm aware of the low salaries. I'm in the North East at present. Changing from teaching to accountancy would mean a £10k salary drop.
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:Maths graduate thinking about doing AAT, which level?

    Hi,

    I've recently been in a similar situation myself. I'm a 29 yr old business graduate, who needed to career change to fit around domestic circumstances.

    I am good with figures and did Maths A-Level as well as some accounting at Uni, but I found that most jobs asked for either experience or a qualification.

    I did a book-keeping course at the local college which covered the fundamentals, then was successful in gaining a trainee post in a local firm. I am now starting the AAT at intermediate level.

    I think that you would probably be fine starting at intermediate in terms of the level of the work, but that you do need to be sure that you understand double entry as it is the foundation of all accounting. Think of it as trying to study A-level maths without having done GCSE first!

    Also, be realistic about salaries, I took a £7k paycut to get my trainee post, but I know that it will help in the future as I will have experience as well as the qualification.

    Good luck with it all!
  • System
    System Posts: 100,534 🤖 Admin 🤖
    Re:Maths graduate thinking about doing AAT, which level?

    Hey. Just a bit of advice if you do look for a job (depending on where abouts in the north east you are)

    Proctor & Gamble in Newcastle are currently recruiting for finance staff and take on graduates to totally inexperienced. ALSO...they are good payers! and do a lot of benefits...one being that they train you up themselves and put you through your AAT (start you at the level they think is relevant) and the your CIMA. They also do flexi time which wud be great considering you have just had a baby! You can just apply online through their website. I'm plugging it although i dont even work there! Haha! I work in a small practice in Hexham.

    If thats no good or your no where near there, try going through Hays, corepeople recruitment, plus catalyst or Jobcentreplus. They tend to have jobs in the north east on their website which provide study support!

    Hope my babbling on has helped! although probably not!

    Stace

    xxxx

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