Looking for a career change

[Ifimnottheone]

I'm looking for a career change. If I LOVE personal finance, would being a bookkeeper/accountant suit me?

I think it could, but it would really need some research to find out more about the roles in this area. Typically this is more likely to be business related. But you might love roles that include giving advice and support around personal finance. e.g. in Citizen advice, debt / money charities, financial adviser, student support roles, particularly at university level etc. As you explore roles, think about how you would like to work e.g. dealing face to face with lots of people giving them support or more away from the general public etc.
I would start with some research into the range of roles around finance and also start listing all the things you are particularly interested in. Alongside this, think about what skills you really enjoy using (even if you think you might need to get better at it) and what things you rather avoid as much as possible (the stuff that drains you, even if you are quite good at it). It is quite likely that you can transfer a lot of your existing skills, even if you might need to do additional training.
If at all possible, speak to people who do roles you are interested in. You could do a shout out on social media and ask if anyone does something related or knows someone who might be open for a chat. Linked in is also great for reaching out to people professionally. Just be honest and specific about what help you would like (not just "can I pick your brain" but more "I would love to know more about your role and how I could potentially move into this"), it makes it easier for people to say yes as they know better what you actually want. Ask if they would be open for a chat on the phone or even answer some questions via email (prepare some!). The worst they can say is no!
The key is research, research , research. And a lot of reflection on what you learn. Good luck!

It’s such a great thing to do because you can either go down the ACCA route if you can get into a firm or even do AAT yourself at home which should get you an entry position and you can work up from there. The first lot of AAT exams are more than manageable with no previous experience and you can do it all completely self study easy peasy.

Thank you for your responses. I have been thinking about this for years but haven't pursued anything as I keep thinking I may be too old (I'm 36).

You can’t go wrong with getting a student membership for AAT and having a bash at Bookkeeping Transactions and seeing how you go.