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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To go back to uni?

37 replies

BrieAndChilli · 03/01/2015 00:51

Ds2 starts school in September. I currently work part time as a waitress earning £100 a week.
The general idea for a while has been for me to go back to uni and do my accountancy degree (I did one year a long time ago)
DH made a comment to someone the other day in response to them asking about me going back to uni and he said 'I was hoping for her to go back to work and bring in some more money'
I'm now doubting what the best thing to do is, especially as looking into it DH earns too much for us to get the childcare grant

Figures are
Student loan etx would give me £500 a month but after school club for 3 kids would be £500 a month (£25 a day).
Petrol to and fro to uni (30 miles each way) would be about an extra £100 a month then what I spend now
Then there's books etc
I currently work 3-4 evenings a week about £100 which I wouldn't be able to do really as would need time to study, spend time with kids/DH, house work, cooking etc.
or I could get a minimum wage admin job which would bring in about £1000 a month but after childcare would leave about £500 a month but kids wouldn't be able to do swimming , chess club etx that they currently do, not have friends for tea etc plus school holiday care for 3 would probably wipe out the rest of my wages.
I just don't know what to do for the best. All I do know is I need a change, me working several nights til the early hours (te being knackered all the next day) is killing us, we can never do anything on the weekend as I have to be back for work, can't go and visit our families etc plus I don't get holiday pay, stress if I want a night off etc etc. it's a badly run restaurant and I'm too old to be enthusiastic with customers etc etc!!

OP posts:
trufflesnout · 03/01/2015 01:06

Would you actually like to go to university? All the hurdles you'd need to overcome are manageable, but it sounds like something you're considering because your DH brought it up.

Scrumbled · 03/01/2015 02:04

I was going to ask the same as truffles.

How much is university compared to studying for a accountancy exams independently?
What would your earning potential be in 5 years, university or other qualification, be compared to no further education?
What could your quality of family life be in 10 years if you carried on education now?
15 years from now? With older children and an established career?

The cooking, cleaning, share of the holiday childcare can be shared between you both for the long term gain. It's shit and relentless but it will pass. It sounds like you al exhausted anyway. You doing daytime childcare, and whatever else, then working evenings.

I

wobblyweebles · 03/01/2015 02:05

Do you want to be an accountant? If you do then definitely go back to uni. You will earn much more once you qualify and long run it will be worth it.

If not then I would stop and think about what else you really do want to do, and see if there is a relevant degree.

My mum went back to college when I was a teen and retrained as a speech therapist. She had a successful career, earned good money, and it was very good for her. Tough for us because we had so little money during her degree but it paid off in teh long run.

bideyinn · 03/01/2015 02:14

Think long term, go back to uni, be all you can be etc, it will be worth it.

anothernumberone · 03/01/2015 02:23

My dad did his accountancy exams via a professional body although he did have an engineering degree which obviously was completely unrelated but nonetheless helpful. CIMA I think they are called. He did management and not financial accounting which appears, according to my brother who unsurprisingly is a financial accountant, to be easier. Would that be possible? He worked at the same time.

Simile · 03/01/2015 04:37

If it's what you want to do then you can manage all the issues you have raised. My H left just before I started my University course. In the first few months I nearly killed myself keeping a part-time job and being a lone parent (negligible childcare from H). A friend of mine with a lovely H did manage to keep her part-time job going but I know she's also found that difficult at times. Could you decrease your hours slightly?

You don't have to buy any books as the library will be well stocked. I always take lunch+ drinks in with me to keep costs down too.

Look long-term. Will doing this University course get you into a better career and, more importantly, make you happy? If yes, then go for it.

Wonc · 03/01/2015 04:55

Do it.
I did it with three children under 8. It was difficult at times, but I'm in a much better position now - financially and emotionally. The knowledge that I can provide well for myself if anything ever goes wrong is immense.

amigababy · 03/01/2015 05:34

Have a read of this

[http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/workin/accountancy.htm]

Having a degree doesn't qualify you as an accountant, you would still need a separate professional qualification per the link, so more studying/ expense for more years after the degree. Or you could skip the degree and go straight to the professional qualification.
Dh is cima and hugely well paid. I did ACCA and it has suited me finding smaller jobs that fitted round child care, but still decent hourly rate. Neither of us has a degree, he studied by day release at a former poly, I just did home study while holding down a full time day job. They gave time off for exams but the rest of the time I studied evenings and weekends.

Also consider looking at AAT, [https://www.aat.org.uk/]
a qualification in its own right, and a stepping stone to the other qualification s too, can also be done at home.

amigababy · 03/01/2015 05:35

I need to Learn how to do links!

trufflesnout · 03/01/2015 06:18

Use two square brackets either side instead of one

www.kent.ac.uk/careers/workin/accountancy.htm
www.aat.org.uk/

fixed Smile

amigababy · 03/01/2015 06:22

Thank you Grin

HomeIsWhereTheHeartIs · 03/01/2015 06:47

My husband started off with an apprenticeship and did his AAT, which took about 3 years (starting at age 16) by year 3 he earned about £1000/month, and now he is doing his CIMA exams. You don't need to go to uni to be an accountant. What would work best for you?

Original poster
BrieAndChilli · 03/01/2015 09:39

I do want to be an accountant (I think) I got an A at A level and have always been good at figures. I can't afford to pay for training myself upfront so either needs to be able to paid for by student finance or through a company training scheme who all seem to take graduates.
Plus not finishing my degree is my one regret in life (along with not buying a house before we went travelling and working abroad,
As we now have no hope of getting on the ladder) so getting a degree would be good for my soul and future career prospects.
The only thee thing that interests me (and I am good at) is event management but there's not much call for that in rural South Wales plus to really get on in the business I feelmlike you have to be young blonde and fun not mid 30s fat and exhausted!

OP posts:
Iloveweetos · 03/01/2015 09:59

I went back to uni and did a degree with exemptions for cima/Acca. Maybe do one with the exemptions??

DaisyFlowerChain · 03/01/2015 10:00

I'd compromise and both work and study the AAT at home. It sounds like your DH doesn't want to be the sole/main earner and thought the end was in sight.

PonderousTortoise · 03/01/2015 10:01

There are training contracts available for non-graduates, so you can earn and get qualified at the same time.

Something like this - ukcareerguide.ey.com/schools/activities/ey-school-leaver/ ? Or this eu2.advorto.com/BakerTillyGSL/Brochure/SchoolLeaverOpportunities.aspx ?

being in rural South Wales I guess might limit where you can work though?

Shodan · 03/01/2015 10:01

Please go ahead and do it.

I nearly returned to uni to finish my degree when I was a lone parent, in my 30s, and wimped out because )I couldn't work out the logistics and b) I thought I was too old !! Hmm. I have regretted it ever since.

I'm now about to apply for another place, doing something different- and I'm 46! But I still feel that it's going to be well worth it.

Your employment and salary prospects will be so much better with your degree- something you can point out to your DH if he mutters about wanting you to make more money.

simbacatlivesagain · 03/01/2015 10:03

An accountancy degree isnt the best way to become an accountant

Original poster
BrieAndChilli · 03/01/2015 11:59

Simba what is the way way? Beating in mind we have no spare cash to pay upfront for training? And childcare will cost me £500 a month so apprenticeship earning £80 a week also won't work

OP posts:
DaisyFlowerChain · 03/01/2015 12:09

I agree re the degree not being the best way either, all of the accountants I know didn't do it via a degree. They took jobs in accounts, pay roll etc and either proved to their employer they were worth investing in or worked for a few years and saved for their studies.

Going to uni knowing your DH wants you to work and share the burden after supporting you for so many years would be incredibly selfish. If it meant so much to you, you could have done a degree by open uni whilst home in the day and still have worked the few nights by now.

GraysAnalogy · 03/01/2015 12:12

Is there not an open uni course for accountancy?

simbacatlivesagain · 03/01/2015 12:18

What kind of accountant do you want to be in the long term? That will determine the best route. What A levels grades etc do you have? How much do you want to earn at the end of it? Big difference between wanting to be a £200k accountant or a £40,000 accountant.

Many companies will take someone on and train them- pay for their exam fees etc. You get these jobs through recruitment agencies usually.

dreamingofsun · 03/01/2015 12:19

if you have 3 kids already at school, then my guess is that the oldest won't need childcare for much longer. think in terms of the medium/longterm and not just the costs at the moment. for many years i paid over half my salary in childcare, but i'm now reaping the rewards as kids are older

GraysAnalogy · 03/01/2015 12:21

When I worked in admin moons ago our accountant started off on payroll and did night classes in accounting at the local college and got a diploma. That was good enough for her to be an accountant on 40k in the company.

IDontDoIroning · 03/01/2015 12:27

Can you do AAT which isn't a full time course and then ACCA using some exemptions from the AAT. You might be able to get a job in an accountants or solicitors to do some book keeping.

If you do the degree you will still have to do the progessonal qualification on top anyway.