Career advice

[Headless Rat]

I know this is a question for the careers section but they never seem to answer there while B&S people always oblige so willingly!Anyway, I'm tied to a contract in an accountancy firm till next year but when the day comes that I can leave I want to know exactly what I want to do so I can just go for it. The thing is though that there is so much choice out there that it's very difficult to decide what I want to do and what is actually available. Ok, so obviously I'm training to be an accountant, I love languages, don't like working in big places, enjoy meeting people, being involved in many & varied tasks with room to use one's creativity and initiative, would like a very decent salary, hate snobbery and places full of pretentious people, hate working long hours, 9-6 is fine enough , and I detest working with large spreadsheets full of meaningless 8 digit numbers......think those are all of my criteria for the perfect job!Demanding I know, but if anyone has a job like this or knows of someone with one, can you just provide me with a brief description of the type of business or role they are in?Thanks a million!

[VillageVicar]

Headless: If you feel you're drifting at present and you want something that inspires you and possibly changes your course for the rest of your life, might you consider a 2 year stint with the VSO? You'll still receive a subsistence salary, based on locale. But you'll also gain a wealth of experience that can never be gained in the City! Investing in others may help in investing in yourself. Big companies are attracted to those who understand the concepts of corporate and social responsibility.

http://www.vso.org.uk

I wish you well

Fr Bill

[Sasha13]

You're training to be an accountant but you don't like spreadsheets?

You would like a 'very decent salary' but don't want to work long hours?

You hate snobbery and places full of pretentious people (most work places have snobs)?

I think you need to think differently in order to find your dream job. Instead of focusing on what you don't like, think in more detail about what you do like, and more importantly what you're good at.

Be prepared if you're changing field, to start at the bottom and earn less than a 'very decent salary'.

Good luck.

[Headless Rat]

Thanks Fr. Bill! I think a lot of it is that I feel really stuck in a rut. I know it's a really "good" company to work for , but the job is so dull, meaningless and unfulfilling. Some voluntary work is a good idea!

[Headless Rat]

Sasha, I don't like what I do, hence the reason for trying to find a career which does not include spreadsheets.
A decent salary is not an unreasonable request as one has o be realistic. Also, I won't be starting from the bottom again because when I leave I will have 3.5 years work experience and a very worthwhile qualification under my belt.

[Sasha13]

OK, fair enough, you want to leave accounting.

I presume that the qualification is in accounting though? If so you may well have 3.5 yrs experience, but unless the skills that you have learnt are directly transferable to whatever it is that you decide to do next then it's almost inevitable that you would have to start at, or near, the bottom.

Wanting a decent salary in itself is not a bad thing - it will just rule out a lot of jobs if you say to yourself I'm not willing to earn anything less than �X

[blondie123]

What about teaching? a friend of mine was an accountant and decided to become a teacher. if you already have a degree, you would only need to do one year course.

[cambus]

What about The National Trust or English Heritage, both pretty laid back organisations.

[Emu2005]

I'm a qualified accountant with a few years experience and too am very bored and looking for a change. I am hoping to move into the public sector which I think I would find more fulfilling, but although I want a fair salary I don't expect to earn as much in the public sector as I would elsewhere.
I don't mean to sound negative but I think you may be dreaming a bit if you want a different job with a very decent salary and all those perks. Have you thought about project management? You might find that a bit more interesting than normal accounting, and you can do a qualification in that. Other than that, I don't really have much advice I'm afraid, but if you find something as good as what you want please let me know what it is!!!

[JK2]

Maybe you would be more interested if the subject matter of the accounting was more interesting - e.g. a film production company working on budgets for instance, or a fashion organisation - or something that really interests you so that the figures related to something more interesting.