Is it worth doing a degree in Accounting in my early 30s?

[ladylalatub]

A few years ago, I did AAT Level 2 Foundation Certificate in Accounting and got a Distinction. I enjoyed learning about the methodologies, balancing and double-entry aspects. I would like to do AAT Level 3 or progress in accounting through an apprenticeship, but I have found it hard to get my foot in the door with a trainee accounts position/school leaver programmes. I am 32 years old and I do not have much experience with Microsoft Excel: would going back to university to study for an undergraduate degree in Accounting be a good idea? I also only did Maths at GCSE getting an A*, but that was over a decade ago: would self-studying A-Level Maths be a good idea as well?

You can probably get a Learner Loan for level 3 AAT if you meet the eligibility criteria. https://www.gov.uk/advanced-learner-loan/eligibility

Oh god no don’t apologise, I wasn’t getting at you, just trying to emphasise that the degree isn’t going to be the silver bullet you think. There are lots of ways into work and going from there, and you can probably find a company who’ll fund your qualifications. I just mean - tap into the experience here to help you find your way in to work and study.

How would you pay for uni and living costs if you went though?

Your CV might need a spruce up - there are firms out there that can help with that. Or perhaps try local recruitment firms.

What region are you in?
What is your highest level of education?

There are so many finance apprenticeships out there, don't discount the tax ones as a starting point.

careerfinder.ucas.com/jobs/finance/apprenticeship/

www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/apprentices/browse-apprenticeships

I am in the South of England. Highest level of education is A-Levels.

Yeah, I would have to get a student loan and maintenance loan which would put me in a lot of debt.

Absolutely not crucial to be an accountant. Not one of the accountants in the practice I work in have a degree in accountancy.

Yes same. Very few accountants I know have an accounting degree. I don’t know why people respond so confidently when they have no clue.

OP I would apply for an accountancy or even tax (a bit of a shortage of tax professionals means you would be in demand) apprenticeship. I've just finished my tax apprenticeship and I started it at 39.

AAT L3 contains a module which will increase your Excel competency levels. There are lots of free resources available to boost your Excel skills such as https://www.eagle-education.co.uk/study-tips/aat-excel-tips/

Keep plodding on through AAT or consider switching across to self study CIMA certificate or ACCA's first 3 papers if you want speedier results. You definitely don't need an accountancy degree, just a lucky break.

BTW I train students for their AAT, ACCA, CIMA & ICAEW professional exams, for credibility!

Employers are looking now for people to put on school leaver programmes in Sept. Yes, that is you, regardless of age! BPP, First Intuition and Kaplan will all have opportunities listed, like this:

https://kaplan.co.uk/apprenticeships/learners

Try seeing if there are any grants available with your local council, job centre.

DH has a degree in accountancy, he is a maths teacher. He would recommend doing on the job training, which is difficult if you can't get your foot in the door.
I have four ACA exams which I did as a part of a trainee accountancy pathway after my degree. Then also became a teacher!
Out of all the accountants I worked with only two had degrees, the rest had started work and done aat. Maybe fund aat yourself if possible and try to find work in a related field. DM also a retired accountant, I remember her studying for aat and then acca for years while working.

I did it at 28. Moved career from law to accounts. Did a whole second undergrad. I'm glad I did it because I hadn't used maths or that sort of problem solving since leaving school! I would have totally floundered going straight into the work place. Now chartered. Plus loads of firms wouldn't entertain my applications until I was a recent grad again!
Alternatively i would recommend applying for accounts payable / receivable jobs. They are much easier to get into because they are roles that support the accounts function, rather than actual accountants.

Just as a suggestion for more experience on your cv, I volunteer in guiding and have to keep accounts as part of my role which are all on spreadsheets and checked and verified at the end of each year. Could you find a local group and offer to take on the accounts. We would welcome any support like this where I volunteer as everyone hates doing it!!

With AAT level 2, you should be able to get an accounts assistant job in industry or public sector doing the basics, i.e. accounts payable or accounts receivable, which will give you work experience and experience in accounts software and excel, and they may support further studies. You can then use that experience to help get a trainee accountant role/apprenticeship in a practice or industry.

A degree will just waste 3 years and incur a shed load of debt and you still won't have any experience!

In these jobs did you operate the till and did you ever cash up the till and balance it at the end of your shift?

If so I would highlight this on your CV as this is basic accounting experience.

And again, I learnt everything I know about excel (including VBA coding) from google!

I'm an accountant with my own consulting business.

I'd still keep applying for accounts assistant positions, and work on your excel.

I'm an accountant and I've known people with degrees start as trainees in big4 and mid tier firms in their late 20s. You are not too old. Life experience is an advantage. There are school leaver programs too in firms like mine. You should apply.

Don't do a degree. Total waste of time and money.

Learn excel and power BI online. Then do a correspondence course to get accredited skills. You could do more in tax or insolvency or forensic or valuation would audit appeal?

Maths improves with practice. You just need to be able to add up and understand percentages and proportion. I mean I do use complicated maths but I'm a level not degree level and it's specific to my role.

Try and get a loan to keep funding your AAT. Cheaper than uni.

Which chartered qualification do you want ? Lots of my staff do ACA with icaew or icas. That's typical for big4.

They also do tax exams CIOT or chartered financial advisor (CFA)

Also look into CIMA for industry jobs and then there's theACCA.

I want people who understand what we do. Are focused on my niche area.

You need to understand business IME you can get this more from online reading.

It's a good career. Worth trying for.

If you get an admin role in a primary school they tend to have to do everything including deal with finance tasks. Then maybe move on to a specialist finance role in a MAT or high school and start studying AAT level 3 in your own time?

I believe the Open University (Future Learn?) do free online courses for the likes of Excel. I'd also do a similar course on Word. In fact, any other IT courses too as accountancy is now very much IT orientated rather than maths as it's all software, integration between data systems, data manipulation, etc.

Definitely not a degree! You can do ACCA in modules so do that, it's a great qualification. If you absolutely can't get any entry level accounting clerk type jobs, I would look to get an admin type role in a company and then see if you can evolve your job to do some accounts work, or transfer internally.

And as a strong Excel user I think the absolute best place for learning materials is YouTube.

Or, look at the big firms and see if they have access routes into their accounting apprenticeships, or look at entry level civil service and move within, lots of finance and admin roles there. Apply for HMRC - often people join entry level and then go on to do their tax exams.

Whilst I agree, the trouble is you have nothing tangible to show for it. With Futurelearn, you get a certificate so it's something tangible to put on the CV.