Studying AAT part time, working full-time

[Workandstudy]

I am currently working as a civil engineer and it's just not for me anymore. Been in this job for 10 years and want to move into accountancy.

Thinking of studying for the AAT Level 2 part time whilst staying at my current job so I can still bring in a decent wage in the meantime. And then either look for a job or continue on with level 3 etc.

I have looked at jobs but most are super entry level without a qualification or something to demonstrate my interest.

Any one else done this?how long did it take? I think ill do distance learning in the evening. The nearest college that offers evening classes is over an hour away so I think ill just do distance learning.

I have a maths and engineering background so hoping I should be fine with the figures side of things.

I did the AAT foundation (level 2?) a few years ago when I was working part time. I did distance learning. There were about 5 or 6 exams, which had to be booked in advance. It cost around £1k for the materials, AAT membership, and exam entries.

I spent probably one day a week studying and it took me about 7 months to complete.

The other thing you could look at is getting a certification in some accountancy software, for example Sage, Xero or Quickbooks.

I started AAT at level 3, my local college let me start there as I already had (an unrelated) degree, I did one day a week and it took two years to do level 3 and 4

Now I'm studying CIMA with a training contract so I get paid for the study time

I've done distance learning at home with full time work (no kids at the time) it was fairly easy and straight forward, just timetable in study time

@TheMagicDeckchair 1 day a week for 7 months sounds quick. Were you doing a full day of studying though as you were presumably not working on that day?

@MissSmiley I was considering going straight to level 3 but think I will start at level 2 and just start from basics. I'm hoping to eventually secure a training contract to do ACCA or CIMA at some point.

@cleanbreak2022 how long did it take you to complete? Was distance learning just reading through material or were there actual presentations and teaching videos?

@Workandstudy it took me a year but I did dither about for the first half, it was only when I realised I would have to pay another fee if I didn't complete it within the 12 months.

I tended to study on a Sunday, I think 7 months as pp mentioned is fair.

There's loads of YouTube help and I had a tutor I could email.

@Workandstudy yes, I worked 3 days a week so studied on one of my days off. I remember some of the exams had to be booked 6 weeks in advance so I could have done it in maybe 6 months. I studied the bookkeeping element many years ago and I did CICM which had an accounting element so it wasn’t completely new to me.

I haven’t done any further study as I’ve had 3 kids since then and I don’t have the time!

I’ve worked in finance for years (credit control, sales ledger, purchase ledger, VAT returns etc) and I’m not sure you would walk into a high paying job with just AAT alone. On the job training and experience in accounting systems is important, possibly more so than an AAT qualification alone. When I recruited a finance manager to cover mat leave, relevant experience was more important than qualifications. Good Excel skills will count for a lot, as there’s an element of data manipulation to import to software.

Just putting that out there before you spend a lot of time and money on a qualification that may not get you a massive pay rise above entry level jobs. It’s certainly useful but not necessarily a ticket into a well-paid accountancy job.

@TheMagicDeckchair Oh yes I know I won't be on big money immediately but I figured having an AAT qualification may give me more options when applying for jobs as I've noticed very few jobs are available for people with no accountancy background or qualifications unless you're after 16K a year. So even an extra few grand would be worth it for me.

Thanks for everyone's responses so far. Been really helpful.

I'm currently looking at Kaplan. Trying to decide between the distance learning route, or the on-demand classes (slightly more expensive but not as expensive as live classes).

Anyone had any experience with on-demand? Or will distance-learning suffice for AAT Level 2?

As a graduate you could go straight into ACA/ACCA/CIMA either in a company or a practice. No idea about salary, when I started before the flood it was £8500 but has probably gone up a groat or two since then.

I was going to say the same, why start with AAT? I’d go straight for ACCA or CIMA.

I did CIMA whilst working full time (banking Head Office). Applied for support it it wasn’t any sort of training contract.

@newtb @Chewbecca
I would go straight to ACCA or CIMA but I'm not currently in a finance role and I believe you'd need work experience to sign off some modules?

It was also the financial implication as well of applying for a trainee accountant role. I have a mortgage by myself and I am a high earner at the moment so thought it would be wiser to go slow and try out AAT first before going fully in with the higher qualifications and a new job.

Why not apply for a training contract for ACA with one of the big firms - I think that they start at about £33k?

I did aat level 2 basically because work was offering it and my job is vaguely related to finance. It’s not really but, all the revenue is viewed by my department.

it took me one day a week and took a year. Though I had 2.5 months when my mum died.

My employer just wanted me to do it, an extra qualification never hurts and they gave me the time off to do it.

My personal opinion was that it was ok. But if you want to be an accountant it seemed like a long way to do as there seems to be a lot more after that. I won’t be doing level 3, work are paying for me to do Prince2 or Prince2 agile now. So I am going with that.

I did AAT level 2 in one year, one evening class a week. But then I was working in an accounts department so a lot of it was familiar to me already.

I'd just apply for a training contract in practice if you want to be an accountant. Big 4 have offices all round the country, mainly WFH now which should cut about 10 hours a week off your working time (commuting) and I think should pay about £30k to start - it was £27k about 5 years ago.

It will be hideously hard work, and I didn't much enjoy my training contract but if you want to become an accountant that will make much more sense than doing AAT.

For ACCA you can start the exams without being in an accounting role. (I'm fairly sure the same for CIMA, but I only have indirect experience of that qualification.)

Technically you could do all the ACCA exams and achieve affiliate status, then tackle the practical experience requirements separately afterwards (3 years' experience plus specific practical objectives). Although I wouldn't recommend waiting until the very end of the exams to start the practical side.

People who are career changing generally make a start on ACCA, pass the first 3-6 exams to prove capability etc then secure a job with a training contract off the back of that.

Doing AAT first is just adding unnecessary time and expense onto the process of qualifying.

I'm a chartered accountant.

I would recommend just getting a training contract with a big firm . If you have any decent degree it's fine. You just have an extra set of foundation exams vs the people who studied finance or accounting at uni.

This is a much quicker and financially lucrative way to get qualified and the firm will pay for your exams and study leave

It might have changed but when I did CIMA, you needed to submit a file of experience within 5 years of completing final exams. In other words, you didn't need to working working in accounting at the time of studying.

AAT would be a more useful starting point if you are going into industry, not so much for accountancy practice, so it depends what you are interested in.

Big4 is cutthroat and trainees are expendable resources. Unless you're chasing status and £ , it's not where I'd recommend aiming for a fulfilling career, work/life balance or meaningful experience as a career changer.

Training contracts outside Big4 aren't miserable, but still lead to rewarding and successful careers. Three years of training contract misery aren't actually a prerequisite for the profession.

You’ll manage this absolutely no problem at all!

I took about 6 months for level 2 but could have done it a lot quicker. With regards to the method of teaching it’s purely personal preference - I like just working through a text book and there are so many useful Youtube videos.

People on these threads ALWAYS say go straight to ACCA/CIMA but the basics that AAT will teach you (that people from an accountancy background often don’t realise that people don’t know) give you such a good grounding to progress later on. Even if someone’s done it and they managed fine they don’t know how much easier they could have found it having done AAT first.

Plus it’s a big thing to get into before you even know if you like accountancy.

I did the level 2 in 2019. Studied it through a local college 2 evenings a week but then had to switch to remote learning cos Covid! I'm the same as you - working in a totally unrelated field but no degree - so wanted to go basic first. I'm glad I did as I'm now doing the level 3 and it's much harder! Level 2 gave me a really good basic knowledge. I'm now looking for jobs and there's loads out there!

AAT is an accounting support qualification. You will struggle to match high earnings without one of the chartered qualifications.

In my case I have a degree, AAT, ATT and CIMA.

You can start CIMA with a degree. Get a few exams then apply for relevant job.

Why do you not look at options within the police force. They do graduate and on graduate apprenticeships for accounting - my son started last year (he already had level 2 AAT) and is almost finished his level 3 now. The salaries are excellent and he is given one day off a week for college/study. It was a gruelling process to get in though as, due to the high salary, lots of people went for the three available roles.

that should be graduate and NON graduate