Currently I work as a Storeman in a horticultural firm. This means long 50 hours a week, minimum wage, etc. I have noticed I can earn similar wages working about 36 hours a week as a Finance Officer/similar. However these roles require AAT qualification or experience of SAGE. I'm not really sure what is a "trustworthy" course to take to get this experience and with COVID-19 and the other issues that are going on I need to have the best CV possible. Can anyone suggest anything that might help?
Associate
Don’t mean to come across as rude.... are you currently getting paid overtime working 50 hours a week on min wage? That is crazy if not...
AAT is more to do with accounts payable / receivable as far as I know.. getting experience with sage is going to be hard if you don’t know the basics of accounts, aat level 1 would be a good start to see if you would enjoy it.
AAT is more to do with accounts payable / receivable as far as I know.. getting experience with sage is going to be hard if you don’t know the basics of accounts, aat level 1 would be a good start to see if you would enjoy it.
Try to find something you'll likely enjoy, I'd not base a career decision on whether you could earn x amount working y hours. There are plenty of potential roles out there that likely pay more than you're currently earning and/or might well have much better career progression opportunities - if you have enough spare time then perhaps look at taking a part time course etc.. related to a role you mgiht enjoy. Hopefully things might be better re: Covid etc.. by the time you finish it.
Soldato
AAT covers basically all basic accounting, so double entry bookeeping mainly, learning how the P&L and Balance sheets work and then performance ratios.
To echo dowie's comments, this seems a bit random - what are the drivers behind you wanting to pursue a career in finance? The way you've described this makes it sound as though you have just 'noticed you can earn similar', sort of stumbled across it as an option rather than being something you've been actively researching. There's obviously loads of jobs that pay the equivalent of 50hrs min wage so I guess what I'm asking is is why Finance Officer versus one of the other jobs? Some of them might not even need additional qualifications.
AAT should be a breeze, at least for the first couple of levels. I wouldn't expect you need a course provider, just buy the books from Amazon and book the exams yourself.
Getting Sage experience might be a challenge without experience, only way you're likely to get that is an entry level role which would be sizeable pay drop.
I'd also never heard of a 'Finance Officer' before seeing this thread, and I've spent the last 12 years working in finance.
Getting Sage experience might be a challenge without experience, only way you're likely to get that is an entry level role which would be sizeable pay drop.
I'd also never heard of a 'Finance Officer' before seeing this thread, and I've spent the last 12 years working in finance.
Associate
- Joined
- 13 Sep 2010
- Posts
- 2,329
Consider the change in working environment and personalities you may encounter moving between industries and job types.
An office based role will be very different from one when you are some what physically active.
You may enjoy the challenge or you might find you loathe it.
Any eye for detail, good logic and common sense will serve you well. You do not need to be incredibly academic to qualify but as studies get harder and more time consuming they will start to test you and your patience!
(Chartered Accountant)
An office based role will be very different from one when you are some what physically active.
You may enjoy the challenge or you might find you loathe it.
Any eye for detail, good logic and common sense will serve you well. You do not need to be incredibly academic to qualify but as studies get harder and more time consuming they will start to test you and your patience!
(Chartered Accountant)