Changing Career
The decision to change your subject of study or career can take place at any time throughout your life. You don’t have to be having a mid-life crisis to recognise the field you’re currently working towards isn’t actually the right one. The good news is that it’s never too early or too late to change or adjust your professional direction.
If you find yourself wanting to change career, you should know that you’ve already done the hard part; sometimes it can take individuals many, many years to realise a change is needed. So, what’s the next step?
Identify Your Strengths
It could be that you already know the field you want to move into, but if not, it’s worthwhile doing some self-investigation. If you’ve just completed secondary education and are unsure of your next steps, this section also applies to you.
In order to identify the industry you’re perfectly suited to, your first task is to identify your strengths and interests. For example, if you’re great with time management, numbers and communication, a career in accounting could be the ideal one for you.
We recommend getting all your thoughts down on paper; then it might be useful to ask your friends, family members and work/class colleagues what they think. You’ll often find they’ll come up with a skill or an industry you haven’t thought of yet.
Top tip: Try out a few online career tests to narrow down the fields you’re suited to.
Research
Once you’ve identified the field in which you want to work, it’s time to do some browsing to narrow down the roles you’re interested in.
If you want to move into accountancy and you haven’t got any relevant experience, it’s worth considering studying an AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians) qualification. AAT have accounting courses available for all levels of experience. To find out which one is the right one for you, check out AAT’s Skillcheck test. Each AAT Level prepares you for a specific set of roles; head over to Aspiring Accountants’ Jobs Series to see the positions you’ll be able to apply for at each AAT Level.
Use Your Time Wisely
If you’ve already left a role or are coming to the end of secondary/higher education, you may find yourself with some free time before you start a new qualification/job. It can be tempting to just sit back, relax and enjoy the time you have off, but there are so many more ways to utilise that time effectively.
AAT have just published a great article on their Comment blog titled ‘how to make the most of your transition between jobs’; it contains a number of ways you can improve your career prospects during that time such as making yourself search engine friendly and improving your CV – it’s an article you won’t want to miss out on.
That First Role
Starting a new qualification/job in a new field can be daunting, but knowing you’re on track to achieving your dream role in a sector you thoroughly enjoy should give you the assurance you need.
If you’d like to discuss studying an AAT qualification, contact Aspiring Accountants today. We would be delighted to answer any questions you have on the accounting industry and your career prospects in the sector.
If you’d like to find out more about accounting and AAT before you get in touch, head to Aspiring Accountants’ AAT Essentials section.
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