AIBU to retrain as an accountant at 28 after setbacks?

Depends what direction you want to go in. I work in industry and we favour ACCA over ACA. ACA would be more valued in practise.

Most of my female friends dislike being an accountant tbh

Why don't you look into procurement? Start with a junior buyer role that pays 30-40k and pays well as you progress, you have to be good at maths, legal and negotiating with internal and external parties

Maybe look into that. If its a different subject I think you can!

I would definitely suggest the AAT qualification. Most local colleges do courses, either one day a week or during the evenings. My dd is just coming to the end of the first year of hers.

Businesses will always need accounts staff. AI can't walk down to the warehouse and collect delivery notes and discuss goods damaged on receipt can it, or count the cash receipts and work out who's had their hand in the till.

I wouldn't let age put you off. I started on a graduate training programme for the ACA when I was 27, and I wasn't the only one in my cohort. It was a three year training contract, working and studying. I'm now ACA and CTA qualified.

I would aim for the ACA or CTA over ACCA or ATT, if you have the ability to do so. They are harder exams, but command higher salaries and will offer better career progression. The ACA is broad and will offer a wider range of future career opportunities.

Lots of firms will be looking now for their ACA graduate training intakes for September starts. So if you're set on this path I'd start looking now.

Maths pgce attracts £29,000 bursary

I think this thread is being unnecessarily negative. Accountancy is a good profession with lots of different elements. Some will be replaced by ai but lots won’t.

as you mentioned try find a training contract to work and then study alongside it (hopefully with the employer paying).

look into what kind of job you want to go into and what is available/ which qualification you want to do.

I starting taking the AAT qualifications when I was 25. I worked as an accounts assistant alongside this but was self funded. It can be hard to do it distance learning, especially the higher levels. I am fully AAT qualified and work as a self employed book keeper/accountant. I work for a range of small local companies and individuals and I have taken on several new clients over the last few years. With Mtd coming in for income tax, there are a lot of individuals that want help with their accounts. They are pushing AI on a lot of the software which is making it expensive but I can't see it replacing the work I do any time soon.

Part time may be an alternative?

Part time maths pgce?

Apprenticeship?

I would say go for it.
I also did languages and that's where my degree was.
At the age of 50, I had put myself through the AAT. My workplace didn't know about it but when they found out they refunded me the whole amount and then put me through the rest of my exams.
2 years on and I'm one of 3 company accountants and now doing more studies to specialise in other areas within accounting.
You never know what opportunies can arise.

Chartered accountant here.

I say go for it.
But don't estimate how hard it is to qualify.
I have worked in finance since leaving sixth form, started with an AAT apprentiship, but didn't start my ACCA until I was about your age (studying as a single parent working full time is not for the weak)

I was always good at maths, and as much as an understanding of maths helps pass the exams it doesn't really make for a good accountant. You are not COUNTING things your are making sure a business is ACCOUNTABLE. It is more about pattern spotting, accuracy and regulation. I don't personally think that AI is a worry for the profession as a whole, it can be a helpful tool in collating data but it can't understand it and apply standards in the way that UK standards work, or actually make decisions, businesses are just too nuanced for AI.
I would look on the careers section of AAT/ACCA/CIMA/ACA websites and try and apply for entry level jobs that offer study support and see how you get on. Accountancy makes for a great second career. Lots of woman I studied with had got into it after having children.

Businesses will always need accountants, when the economy is good or bad, you just have to be adaptable enough to move with technology.

If you speak a second language that could be a bonus in finance too. I often see jobs for French / Spanish / Chinese speaking finance professionals.

The AAT is not expensive, and once that's completed and you have the requisite experience you will have more options. You may want to move more into the software side then, or into a bilingual accounts payable role, but there will be a lot more opportunities for advancement in that industry than you currently have as a TA.

Good luck!

I’m not shooting the messenger. I think you and maybe your friend have misunderstood why she’s been made redundant

Also accountants will not be replaced with ai. AI may help pull together information but it cannot make decisions or have the knowledge to interpret that information, especially from a legal and skills perspective. I think AI will in the future help make an accountants job easier but will not replace them.

OP- one reason I’m encouraging you to be realistic is accountancy is quite bad for people who “collect” qualifications and ime those people don’t really tend to do very well at the job, which takes people and influencing leadership skills.

I don’t really rate AAT tbh. It doesn’t really help you get a job.

I have experience of this. I started doing AAT at a local college. Got an entry level job at an accountancy where they sponsored the AAT qualification and used that as a springboard to get into the public sector and get sponsored for CIMA. I was about your age too.