You’ve thought about it long and hard, and now you’ve made up your mind. You want to make a career change and go into accounting.
So, what happens next?
Follow are some tips you can use to make the change as smoothly as possible, and see success in your new role.
Assess Your Decision
The first step is to make sure you have made the right decision. It’s easy to think that accounting might be right for you, but the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Are the problems you're facing due to incompatibility with your job, or just your own nature?
Browse through some job boards and make sure that there are accounting jobs out there in your area, and that you aren’t putting yourself in a position where you may end up unemployed. Check the average starting salaries and be sure that this is a change you want.
You’ve thought about it long and hard, and now you’ve made up your mind. You want to make a career change and go into accounting.
Prepare Your Qualifications
If you do not have any formal accounting qualifications, now is the time to get them. Don’t quit your current job just yet. You still can work while you study, which gives you an income you can rely on during your learning.
Distance learning or online courses work best for those changing career tracks. Look up the qualifications normally needed for those jobs, and start from the lowest level so that you learn everything that you will need in your work. Your aim is not just to build up your CV, but also to have the actual knowledge that you will need while working.
Choose Your Qualifications
At some stage, you'll need to decide whether to go into management accounting or financial accounting. It’s better to make this choice now, as it may inform the decisions that you make while you study and find your first job.
Management accounting is about looking at data to see how a business could make more profits, and coming up with strategies that you can present to senior management for how to go forward. Financial accounting, on the other hand, is about reporting on the financial information of each period for your client, and making sure that it meets regulations. This is more about number crunching than management.
Apply to Jobs
Now it’s time to start finding accountant jobs that you are qualified for and applying to them. You can start looking around as soon as you are qualified – but again, don’t quit your current job just yet. It could take you a while to find work, and you do not want to be out of pocket if that happens.
Make sure you're able to make the switch smoothly by handing in your notice as soon as you accept a new position. If possible, try to arrange a small break of at least a week between leaving your old career and starting the next. This will allow you to clear your mind and get into accountancy without any thoughts from your background.
Use Your Background
Don’t be afraid to use the knowledge that you already have. Depending on what industry you worked in previously, you may have ideas and information that your colleagues do not. Use this to inform your work and perform better than you could without it. This is a great way to make the transition really work for you instead of seeing your lack of experience as a negative factor.
Once you have made the switch, you also can continue to study in order to gain a higher level of qualifications, which will open you up to better paid roles in the future.
To find more resources about the different options for college and starting a career in accounting, check out ConsumerAffairs.com's "Online Accounting Degree Programs" guide. You can see the resource by clicking HERE.
Savannah Wardle
Savannah Wardle is an active blogger and marketing professional passionate about all aspects of entrepreneurship and self-improvement. Currently working at Bankopening.co.uk, she aims to help people improve their businesses with healthy work-life balance.