Professional qualification during gap year

[zebes]

Are there any professional qualifications (full or part) that DS can read for during his gap year? He will be reading engineering starting September 2023 and is keen to know if there are any computing, finance or accounting related qualifications he can obtain during the next 9 months.

Any leads much welcome. Thanks!

What about doing Level 2 AAT to get basics in accounting? It takes 6-12 months.

www.aat.org.uk/qualifications-and-courses/accounting/level-2-certificate-accounting

Not from your list but he could do lean six sigma or project management courses which are highly relevant to engineering projects and work.

AAT has very little maths, it’s genuinely adding/subtracting.
What is he doing to keep up his Maths skills?
When mine studied engineering they were discouraged from a gap year as the unis wanted the maths skills to stay very fresh. If he has a plan in place then I would suggest he uses the rest of his gap year to work, travel, volunteer etc. before knuckling down to a further 3/4/5 years study.

Hi, he has enrolled in a YINI maths course and that covers further maths and a bit more and has exams. He also volunteers and works. I wonder if a modules in ACCA or CIMA may be useful in helping him learn some basic accounting and finance. Post-degree he is most likely moving into a management consulting type role if his current interests remain until then.

thanks-- he can also probably start on CIMA or ACCA. At least a couple of exams. Do you have any views on which might be better?

fabulous! thanks. I might want to do it myself...

@zebes
What a shame he doesn’t want to be an engineer. Why doesn’t he want to be one? What a waste of a space on an expensive (for the university) course!

Re ACCA or CIMA - ACCA tends to be taken in practice companies (if not doing ACA) and private companies - while CIMA tends to be taken more in public sector (local authority / NHS), but both are comparable in standing.

CIMA exams are more case study and project type scenarios where ACCA are more technical in style - comparable levels of difficulty just different learning styles which some find easier to the other.

I wouldn’t recommend doing a couple of exams in the gap year because there is a time frame to take the exams and it will start from the first exam, and the company that he goes to after Uni will probably do one rather than the other and can be any of the 3 (although ACA is predominantly practice only).

The AAT although not mathematical gives basics in accounting and my own dc found it beneficial when they did their degree in engineering as there was a finance module.

so useful to know. thanks!

He could easily complete CIMA Certificate (level 4) in the 9 -12 months. He would do a computer based exam in economics, management accounting, financial accounting & governance, law & ethics. It's feasible to take one every 1 to 2 months. PM me if you have any questions.

It is excellent that your DS is continuing his Maths and his other activities sound good. He could also consider some type of coding boot camp or course. The latter have varying durations. Computer skills will be a useful qualification for any of his potential careers.

Consulting and Management have many meanings but in context here they don’t necessarily sound engineering focussed. I would not have thought accounting qualifications particularly relevant for the type of finance/consulting career some of our STEM students go into (good Russell Group university), so therefore I wonder whether the same is true of your DS.

I tend to agree with @TizerorFizz however: Finance/Consulting/The City is an incredibly competitive sector and most Engineering degree programmes are very demanding. Enthusiasm for the subject helps a lot. It may be a long slog. Deciding later to pursue a lucrative alternative feels different to me. Of course your DS is well within his rights, no criticism there.

I think I would encourage a coding or data analytics type of course

@poetryandwine @hellsbells99. Wise words. Thanks. Any specific bootcamps or coding certifications that you can recommend or know of? Such a wide ocean out there....DS is a prolific Python Coder and has picked up Java Script from MOOCs. Is there some certification to test his knowledge against? Ideally some project to work on but he will have to wait until university starts for that I suppose. No beginner jobs for coders without a degree as far as he can see...

With regard to accounting/finance qualifications, I recall doing something similar during my gap year (30 years ago?!) and although I never eventually entered the field (or even close), the fascination of learning a bit of company law, taxation, how to read profit and loss accounts remained with me and I find it incredibly useful even now. @HewasH20 I'll DM you shortly thanks.

Engineers are everywhere, at the forefront of solving global challenges, working in multidisciplinary teams. This is why some of the largest consulting companies have engineers, medics, historians in them. Discipline-based silos are convenient when organising (undergraduate) university courses

It is worth studying for Microsoft Word and Excel exams. Many people don't realise how weak their skills are in these areas until they go for MOS exams

Hi, @gallop -

Are you the OP with a NC change fail, or someone else? Not that it matters to me.

There are so many coding qualifications and boot camps that one is spoilt for choice. A prolific Python coder might want to see if he could sit an exam offered by eg Udemy (sp?) or the Institute of Coding. Both have good reputations; IoC is a university consortiumled by Bath. He may have to take a course first. I don’t know how the (newish) IoC courses are structured but IIRC, and I may not, Udemy may be self paced. He could barrel through! There are many other options, but your DS doesn’t need to start from scratch. He needs flexibility.

A qualification or several certificates is probably helpful but a degree is really not necessary. Python and Java is an excellent combination.

For consulting, I'd say: Excel, Excel and more Excel, Power Point and Lean Six Sigma. Getting some kind of certificate is surely helpful, but a first gap year step could just be getting books on it, e.g. Harvard Review, McKinsey Publications, or maybe 'consulting'/joining or establishing a small startup (dragon den type of kitchen table entrrprise). Dh got his first job with McKinsey after co-founding a tiny start up, working on their business strategy and basically getting stuck in with everything. I don't think he earned any money, it was basically a post grad gap year, but he learned a lot following his science degree.