is accountancy well paid and worth the effort

[ddhillon]

hi everyone,
As you can see from my last posts that i have done bookeeping course and was looking for a paid or unpaid work experience. Now after much effort i have found a place where i work part time which is 2-3 days per week as accounts assistant in a small accountancy practice since last three months. i am getting paid £6 an hour for this. I have also started my aat this month. There is no doubt i enjoy working in accounting as it gives feed to my brain and i learn new things always as i am not very creative so accounting suits me which is based on principles. i am very hard working as well. but as i am getting to know the field i have noticed that it isnt well paid or very secure. i mean pay is 22k for someone with three years experience and aat degree. which is very low . I am already earning in security career 26k but am doin dead end job . but its very secure with pension at the end of my career. end of the day everyone works for money as to go to work we all leave our family behind and put so much effort to learn new skills. i was really heart broken to learn that how much accountancy career pays back while needs so much effort to put into it. will it be a good idea for me to leave my secure but dead end job to go and hunting for low paid jobs in accounting with no security. or am i just not well informed about this career. coz of outsourcing and economic downturn is there any hope for accounting career. i will be so thankfull to everyone who will care to share their viewsand good advice

 

[Spongebob]

I am already earning in security career 26k but am doin dead end job . but its very secure with pension at the end of my career.

With all due respect that's not a career. It's a job.

Accountancy might just give you a career, if you're any good at it. For this reason I'd give it a shot.

 

[mr. mischief]

To see whether accountancy is a good field to be in long term, IMHO you only need to find out one piece of information:

What is your current practice charging you out to clients at?

My guess is that it will be something in the range £30 to £50 per hour. Now you know whether accountancy pays well if you progress through the career levels and get fully qualified.

 

[ddhillon]

thanks alot for reply. i apologise for my wrong choice of wordss as i referred security as a career.

 

[ddhillon]

thanks a lot mr. mischief, i have noticed that accountants do charge a lot of money to their clients, but the question is if i dont want to open my own accountancy practise but rather want to work for someone which suits me more . how hard will it be to progress up the career ladder. I really need very clear advice over it.

 

[Spongebob]

The members of this forum - including the accountants - are nearly all small businesspeople working for themselves.

The very concept of wanting to work for someone else will be completely alien to most here. Perhaps you're asking your question in the wrong place.

Ultimately, how your career develops is entirely down to your own abilities, drive, and personality.

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

If you want to get some idea of the salary you could earn why not do some searching on the accountancy recruitment websites and look at various salary reviews.

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

Here's one to get started with - Reed 2010 practice salary review

 

[DVWooly]

£50k+ is easy to get within 1 year of qualifying if you branch out from local practices

 

[ddhillon]

thanks to nicola j for very useful information. i checked reed's list of salary. it was very informative. i will be able to make some decision on the basis of this and other sources. thanks a lot everyone for your time and information.

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

thanks to nicola j for very useful information. i checked reed's list of salary. it was very informative. i will be able to make some decision on the basis of this and other sources. thanks a lot everyone for your time and information.

Good luck and hope all goes well for you