Dichotomous
Two of the four Big accountancy firms have two-day placement scheme thingies, so you can go along and find out what they actually do. In the case of one, you have to fill in a two-page form with your qualifications, your most challenging work experience, and why you want to go to their scheme thingy, and email it. In the case of the other, you have go through their entire graduate recruitment process - long (though not nearly as long as some I've done) online application form, online tests, first-round interview, and assessment day. Go, as they say, figure. If I was going to put myself through all that I'd at least want it to be in pursuit of an actual job.
(This is slightly similar, incidentally, to what put me off volunteering for a certain cetacean-preserving charity. I was willing to go along for a few days and help out; I wasn't willing to have to fill in application forms and go to interviews for the privilege of donating my time to them. Of course as Meg pointed out, I can't really afford to be working for nothing either. Unfortunately though it's not a case of working for nothing or working for something, rather a case of working for nothing or not working for nothing. Which still isn't cut-and-dried, in my opinion...)
(This is slightly similar, incidentally, to what put me off volunteering for a certain cetacean-preserving charity. I was willing to go along for a few days and help out; I wasn't willing to have to fill in application forms and go to interviews for the privilege of donating my time to them. Of course as Meg pointed out, I can't really afford to be working for nothing either. Unfortunately though it's not a case of working for nothing or working for something, rather a case of working for nothing or not working for nothing. Which still isn't cut-and-dried, in my opinion...)
posted by Z31 at 4:54 pm
16 Comments:
Well, I would say go for it, because i can only benefit you, from the experience of going through the whole process, which you must be sick and tired of, and also so you can find out what tey do :) but then i'm not you...
Clearly all accountants do is play with abaci, so it is not worth the effort.
Also re: post about accountant salaries being too low, I presume you know that at the big accountancy firms the salaries are entirely reasonable and frankly into silly territory when you pass the ACA/ACCA.
Finally, if you are bored, read "Stumbling on Happiness" by Daniel Gilbert. Who'd have thought an {experimental?} psychologist could write so well?
[Note: Happiness not guaranteed. Your statutory rights can go to hell]
Alex: Nah. I'm willing to go through that process in pursuit of a proper job, not in pursuit of a two-day placement. Plus time is running out...
Whoever: I appreciate that the big firms are at the upper end of the salary band, but it still looks like salaries on qualification are about £40,000 in London, £30,000 elsewhere. Maybe that is entirely reasonable, but I know people whose starting salaries are in that range. Perhaps I should just stop worrying about that.
I did meet an accountant once; I'm sure I heard him say he'd expect a six-figure salary within five years. But I can't see how that's possible, even if he meant five years after qualification, if you only start on £40,000 then.
Oh, I saw the Gilbert reviewed in New Scientist. Might read it sometime. Though at present I can't spend £9.89 on my own entertainment!
You're complaning that 40k isn't enough? Seriously?? When you can't afford to spend £10 on a book?
I think you'd be much happier on a lot less doing something you might actually enjoy. But cf. Gilbert, working out wht that might be is slightly tricky...
To clarify;
1) I both dislike my job and don’t get paid enough for it, hence any advice I give is clearly ineffective.
2) I’m sure you know more people who aren’t on salaries anywhere near that, than those who are. It’s not a competition. Can’t we all just be communists?
3) In that spirit, I’ll lend you the book when I’ve finished with it… :)
1) Deary me. Aren't you a consultant? Don't they both love their jobs and get paid huge salaries for them? :P
2) Actually most of the people I know are still students, so yeah.
This is £40,000 after three years, and then only if you're in London (though I would consider it if I was earning over £30,000 - can't see how I could live there on £20,000). It's reasonable, I know, and you're right that I probably would hate the kinds of jobs that pay £35,000 at once. And indeed almost certainly couldn't get them.
I agree that I might be happier on a lot less doing something I might enjoy - that's why I'm looking at accountancy. Besides which I can't think of anything else I haven't already tried... hehe.
Hey! £40k after three years? I'm lucky if I get a starting salary of £16k and there's no way it's going to rise that much in three years :) For a salary, I'd say that was pretty good. Whether or not accountancy is a good job is another question entirely, though...
I think you're losing sight of just HOW crap the salaries are in (slightly) more interesting jobs ;)
Yeah but we're not talking about the evil world of IB, are we? Plus I assume Goldman Sachs is a German company. It's hard to know how to qualify your ability when you just get a drop-down menu of 'Native - Fluent - Intermediate - Basic - None'.
CHP has nothing to do with accounting; it's a consulting firm providing IT consulting to the asset finance industry. It has one of the largest publicised starting salaries - I suspect many banks and some consultancies pay more but are too coy to admit it. CHP also stands for Combined Heat and Power, which is almost certainly the more important meaning for us all... [postpones discourse on environmentally-friendly technology].
Emma: Do you think you can live on £16k? I guess it'd be possible as long as you weren't in London, and significantly easier if you could find someone to share with. Since I don't think I'm really suited to London we'd better talk about £30k in three years rather than £40k. It comes in the category of 'unspectacular but at least you get to have some kind of life outside work', which sounds good to me.
Hopefully in the next few days I'll have a better idea of whether accountancy is a good job - I know people will argue for something more 'interesting' but to be honest there isn't really anything that interests me, I just want to be doing something and it might as well be something well-paid! That said though, I'm holding out a hope that accountancy actually might be interesting, whatever Monty Python said...
Oh, evidently the comment I was responding too about language ability was on another post. No matter.
to*
Aren't Goldman an American company?
TCH
Wikipedia says you're quite right, it is an American company. But Goldman himself was German and indeed Jewish - as the name suggests.
Have worked out that it's just about possible - even in London. I could afford rent, but not much else. I'd have to busk at weekends to pick up extra cash. It does piss me off that arts jobs pay so badly - especially when most of them want at least 2 years experience in whatever. I suppose I'm supposed to get that doing unpaid work?? No wonder it's said the arts are the preserve of the middle classes.
I'm not really dissing accountancy ;) If there's nothing else you'd rather do, then it's sensible to go for something that's stable and a good earner.
I think, having seen something of how expensive London property is, I'd be tempted to suggest you live with your parents... but I can imagine that might be seen as a retrograde step!
Round here you need six months' experience for most temporary jobs, which is rather upsetting. All this stuff about graduates not being able to get experience because they don't have any has turned out to be unfortunately true in a lot of sectors! And I've seen these unpaid internships - "we pay travel expenses within Zone 1"; not much good when I live a £100 train ride away.
I'm tempted to wheel out my theory that it's graduate recruitment (in general), not university entrance, that these days is biased towards the privately-educated 'middle' classes... but think I'll refrain for now!
I like home and I get on well with my parents, but I want to move out as soon as possible! I had thought that the pull of cheap rent at home would be difficult to resist, but it's not. I'd rather be scraping by but be independent. There's a friend I want to share living space with, and she's looking in the next couple of months, so I NEED a job by then!
Post a Comment
<< Home