Career change question.

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rayonline

525 posts

Ultimate Geek

Topic # 107196 8-Aug-2012 15:52
I have some degrees, have done some work about 8-10yrs in total. Started from call centre to admin to analyst in the public sector. You know government admin reports etc. in the finance team doing the non-financial stuff. Now, I did a short course in accounting b/c I wanted to get into the numbers. I was on 70k, some of the other places might pay less at 65k. A lot of the finance roles ask for experience, even some of the account receivable/payable roles advertised by agencies ask the same - even for temp roles or 3 months fixed term. Now and then there might be some roles, at the 32k that might be suitable for uni graduates. It is a big drop from my last role but just want your opinion on this please ... It seems that to move from a non-finc analyst role into a finc analyst role still in the public sector is difficult. And if I do take up a 32k temp role, would employers caution this? Many thanks.

stevenz

1966 posts

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Reply # 669695 8-Aug-2012 16:28
Are your existing degrees relevant to the position(s) you're looking at at all? Finance is one of the industries where the bits of paper you have are pretty important. "You are" = "You're" - Not "Your". "They are" = "They're" - Not "Their" or "There". You probably mean "lose" not "loose". There's no such word as "Alot". On the internet, wasting time, since '89.

rayonline

525 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 669702 8-Aug-2012 16:34
My degrees, a double degree in economics and management and recently a graduate certificate in accounting which was the fastest way than doing another Bachelor. It's only been some weeks but .. the job adverts tended to ask for job experience in a related field. Thanks, keen for your feedback :) Got a careers advisor appointment in two weeks. I know that when I was in my non-finc role, if the finance guy was away, someone with some skills while not finc could do that temporarily. But at the job seek front, seems more difficult. They tended to ask for job-experience in a/c pay/rec which is accounting systems or financial accounting. But I thought they wanted on the job skill in processing a/c's. And for some of the analyst roles, they might want a former financial analyst.

stevenz

1966 posts

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Reply # 669703 8-Aug-2012 16:37
Give some of the bigger financial services outfits (KPMG/PWC/Deloitte etc) a call, or see if they have an HR section on their websites - they often have grad-level roles available, although they may want to do them at a certain time of year as batch-intake. "You are" = "You're" - Not "Your". "They are" = "They're" - Not "Their" or "There". You probably mean "lose" not "loose". There's no such word as "Alot". On the internet, wasting time, since '89.

rayonline

525 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 669716 8-Aug-2012 16:45
One issue with that :) The big accounting firms may want a Bachelor b/c it covers more papers like commercial law and auditing. My course was too quick to cover those. I didn't want to spend 3 or 4yrs for another Bachelor degree.

eracode

805 posts

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Reply # 669721 8-Aug-2012 16:50
If you could stomach working for a bank (they get a lot of bad press but can be very interesting places to work) - your qualifications would fit in well because banks have people doing all sorts of stuff using those type of quals. I believe most banks have an Employment page on their websites.

AliMac

38 posts

Geek

Reply # 669746 8-Aug-2012 17:47
Having just left a payroll/accounts receivable roll (to re train in a completely different field) my now ex employers looked for someone experienced mostly so they could find someone that could use various software such as ace payroll and quickbooks. It meant that the new person could do the bulk of the job without needing lots of training to get them up to speed. My suggestion is that you should make sure that you are proficient in accounting and payroll software if not already. Temp work will give You experience but amount of time in work can be patchy and you still usually need to be quite experienced to even get temp work.

Elpie

707 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 669888 9-Aug-2012 00:34
rayonline: One issue with that :) The big accounting firms may want a Bachelor b/c it covers more papers like commercial law and auditing. My course was too quick to cover those. I didn't want to spend 3 or 4yrs for another Bachelor degree. My advice - don't look for possible barriers to doing what you want to do. A few years ago, I wanted to change career and couldn't find job advertisements that looked for my skills. So, I researched companies and decided not to wait for ads. I wrote to the top managers of two multinational companies I wanted to work for and said little more than that I wanted to work for them, I had skills they needed, and I would call their receptionist on x-day to make an appointment to come in and tell them why I was a good fit for their company. That was it. I got the appointments and, in one case, was taken out for a very nice lunch. No job. I was hired by the other company because, while they had no vacancies advertised, they wanted people on board who were creative and had a bit of cheek. What I am really saying is - if you want to make a move, look for a way to make it happen. There are still a lot of jobs that become available but never get to being advertised. Don't assume what skills companies may want. Assumptions can shoot you in the foot. Whatever direction you take, I wish you all the very best.

PANiCnz

356 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 669911 9-Aug-2012 07:43
rayonline: One issue with that :) The big accounting firms may want a Bachelor b/c it covers more papers like commercial law and auditing. My course was too quick to cover those. I didn't want to spend 3 or 4yrs for another Bachelor degree. Depends what area of these firms you want to work in. Is your heart totally set on finance? You combination of IT skills, accounting and management qualifications would probably be seen favorably in the right area. The Big Four tend to recruit graduates during the year for a February start, I think you've just missed the last round. Starting as a graduate wouldn't be all that fun but would give you an avenue to get experience and you're CA.

Jaxson

4254 posts

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Reply # 669913 9-Aug-2012 07:55
Elpie: What I am really saying is - if you want to make a move, look for a way to make it happen. Geekzone needs a 'Like' button. Well said Elpie!

Kiwipixter

243 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 669933 9-Aug-2012 09:12
rayonline: My degrees, a double degree in economics and management and recently a graduate certificate in accounting which was the fastest way than doing another Bachelor. ... What are you doing here on Geekzone? You should be working towards a management role with your qualifications and experience. If you want to get into finance my only advice is to get into Excel.

gzt

3243 posts

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Reply # 670007 9-Aug-2012 12:06
Many employers/interviewers are interested in expertise and not so concerned about an exact skills fit for the position so don't let that hold you back. Same for replying to ads. Just make sure you understand exactly how your experience matches up with the skill set so you can take the right orientation in the interview. After a few interviews you will start getting a better picture of that - talking to people already in the position and in the industry first is a good idea. Temp agencies tend to seek an exact 1:1 match where they can. Not always a good idea if you are changing career path. It is possible you would fit into some business analyst roles within the finance industry and elsewhere but getting the first one could be challenge. Maybe others here have some suggestions on that. Another area you could look at going into is ERP / SAP type stuff. A lot of that is done on consulting - but have a chat to the majors and see what you might need to do and if they are interested. With your qualifications and experience a starting role in that area could see you moving up fairly quickly. Government/ public experience can be a major plus if they have those clients.

rayonline

525 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 670014 9-Aug-2012 12:16
Thanks for the advise all. Really appreciate it. A bit fed up with agencies, have met two in person and as a result of that one employer. I felt that the agencies asked q's that the info was already in the CV and the employer had a fixed term contract. Which is fine, it builds on my BA skills, a bit of finance is always good but I couldn't dodge the fact that I just did an accounting course which they were a bit ... Been googling about agencies also. Kiwipixter: rayonline: My degrees, a double degree in economics and management and recently a graduate certificate in accounting which was the fastest way than doing another Bachelor. ... What are you doing here on Geekzone? You should be working towards a management role with your qualifications and experience. If you want to get into finance my only advice is to get into Excel. Well, I am a geek :D Not at a work capacity, but at home. Management role maybe not, I like doing the analyst work. IMO students may do a management degree but most/many managers don't become managers but through seniority at work. Althou some people call office jobs as middle management without having real managerial responsibility. :)

cldlr76

217 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 671092 11-Aug-2012 16:45
Kiwipixter: What are you doing here on Geekzone? You should be working towards a management role with your qualifications and experience. If you want to get into finance my only advice is to get into Excel. Just about anybody can draw a graph and put together a pivot table in excel, if you serious about it you would be better learning SQL and SAS. With regards to taking a big drop in salary, that depends on your personal situation, personally with a couple of kids and a big mortgage I couldn't afford to cut my salary in half, but if you can afford it I would do it, especially if you back yourself to learn quickly, prove yourself and therefore earn more money in quick time. Employers (good ones at least) will be impressed with your dedication and determination to get into an area that you're passionate about, and that attitude will get you further in an interview than a bit of paper from a university (within reason, probably wouldn't work if you wanted to become a doctor).

joyoue

40 posts

Geek

Reply # 671843 13-Aug-2012 15:01
It sounds like you have the perfect fit for getting into consulting. A mix of IT and good basic finance knowledge. I had to change my career not so long ago from Finance and Accounting to IT and now I work as a consultant doing ERP implementations. All the work I do pulls from my experience as a former finance worker and whatever IT experience/knowledge I've picked up in the last few years. I'd say keep your options wide open and not box yourself off into the 'finance' category. Speaking from experience, there's a niche market out there for anyone with finance knowledge who is able to translate the information in such a way that your regular IT person can understand and vice-versa.