The 5 year plan to £50k

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solado said:
Looking forward I have accepted that £50k is going to be way out of my reach but I would like to improve myself an enter a career of sorts but no idea where to go, I am sick of doing Admin.

I am below average intelligence and thing's don't come easily, I have a HND in IT and business and my target is still to earn £25k - £30k a year without working myself into the ground. On my current salary I need to work almost 60- 65 hours a week to make that kind of money which isn't a realistic approach.

Ugh, having no direction in life and not knowing what my calling is sucks. My brothers racking in a 6 figures at 24 and I can't even think about next week.
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What is your brother doing? What does he have to do and what sacrifices does he have to make to bring in that much?

One thing I have learned is to not go chasing money, but find out what you enjoy and THEN work out a way of getting paid for doing it.
 
Sui said:
Got my final (hopefully) ACCA exam on Wednesday, not as prepared as I'd like to be but will see how it goes. House buying turned out to big quite a large distraction! :p

If it goes well, I'll hopefully be able to find something to lead me on the path to 50k, but probably not straight off the bat.

Advanced Performance Management (P5) is the exam for those in the know.

P.S Congrats Diddums, good luck with it.
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Good luck tomorrow! I sat my final exam today, P2, so hoping that's it now! :)
 
Sui said:
Got my final (hopefully) ACCA exam on Wednesday, not as prepared as I'd like to be but will see how it goes. House buying turned out to big quite a large distraction! :p

If it goes well, I'll hopefully be able to find something to lead me on the path to 50k, but probably not straight off the bat.

Advanced Performance Management (P5) is the exam for those in the know.

P.S Congrats Diddums, good luck with it.
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Just noticed you're location, you're really not far from me at all.

Surprised you're struggling to get over £50k as a finalist given the local market. Are you practice or industry? Whats your area of expertise?
 
Rids said:
Just noticed you're location, you're really not far from me at all.

Surprised you're struggling to get over £50k as a finalist given the local market. Are you practice or industry? Whats your area of expertise?
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Since Uni I've been in industry at the same firm (5.5 years) as an assistant accountant, started as AP for 6 months then went into management accounting, where I pretty much work from month end to month end (then the weekly forecasts, yearly budget) and other misc ad hoc stuff. I kept telling myself I'll leave when I'm qualified, but has taken me ages to actually knuckle down and get on with it, I'm at the stage where I really don't enjoy the job I currently do. I wouldn't really say I've been able to develop an area of expertise as there hasn't really been any opportunity.

I really want to be looking at new jobs now, however I was thinking the best option would be to wait until the final exam is passed and go for a fully qualified role rather than part qualified. A further current hiccup is I'm currently in the process to buy a house, and I don't want to rock the boat of that and have the mortgage company pull the offer out.

Most jobs I can see are around the £35k level.
 
If accountancy by itself isn't doing it for you and if you're into tech (since you're posting here) you could maybe try the approach a friend of mine did, go work at a accountancy or financial software firm as a consultant/CS person/Business analyst etc... learn the software really well then go contracting. Standard contractor rates in the city are no secret, but also keep in mind that if you're a qualified accountant and you have relevant domain knowledge + tech skills + you're up to date on the latest financial regulations then you can become very useful and in turn very valuable.
 
dowie said:
If accountancy by itself isn't doing it for you and if you're into tech (since you're posting here) you could maybe try the approach a friend of mine did, go work at a accountancy or financial software firm as a consultant/CS person/Business analyst etc... learn the software really well then go contracting. Standard contractor rates in the city are no secret, but also keep in mind that if you're a qualified accountant and you have relevant domain knowledge + tech skills + you're up to date on the latest financial regulations then you can become very useful and in turn very valuable.
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Very useful to know. I’ve been in practice for 10 years and have been pondering a change once I’m qualified. Started my exams very late so have a lot of experience on the job compared to many other finalists. I’ve been thinking of jobs that will combine both IT and accounting and that sounds ideal :)
 
My story...

16yo - crap GCSEs, too much time skateboarding and playing videogames
18yo - crap A levels, too much time playing videogames and mucking around on PCs, coding etc
21yo - dropped out of uni after three years (computer science and maths) - too much theory and maths and not enough development/infra for me
22-23yo - traveled a bit then worked as a barman/chef for min wage as I didn't think I could get an IT job and, well, women
24yo -14k - quit job after saving a bit up, studied A+/N+, applied for an IT software support job, interviewer realised I did know my stuff with computers, so got the job
24yo - 17k rise after a few months for proving myself
25yo - 19k rise, move to 2nd line
26-28yo - 24k rise when I said I was leaving after I found out they'd hired a grad for 21k who was a complete idiot
(Was making 30-36k this period due to overtime - playing videogames and watching TV in the office waiting for support calls to come in at £100 a day. Also got a CCNA in my spare time for fun)
28yo - 28k - Switched to a more business/database related role, technically a pay cut without the OT, but got into SQL this way and also a $20bn company on CV
31yo - 32k from small rises, but during this time got many SQL certs and a shedload of experience managing big databases, ERPs, financial systems, infrastructure etc
32yo (6 months ago) - moved to India on a contract with company

I'm on the cusp of finishing this job and looking for a high level SQL job for 40++, I'll be happy with that considering I dossed through formal education, but when I type it all out and look back, I did move way slower than I could. It's exactly as described by someone earlier - comfort - when you have enough money for most things you want, and the job is easy enough.

Lessons learned for me, and experiences of friends in IT;
1. You don't know you can't do/get something unless you try
2. The only way to get a significant pay rise is to get promoted, switch roles, or threaten to leave
3. If none of the above has happened within a few years, it's time to go
4. If you think a job sounds like only amazingly talented people will be applying for it so why bother, you can guarantee that people with abysmal CVs will be applying for it - I've seen some hilariously bad ones - and there's less talent out there than you think sometimes - so don't be scared to try
5. Don't stop looking at job adverts after getting a job, no matter how well you did to get it, or how good it is. Stay on top of the going rate for your work and how the skills landscape is changing.
 
Sui said:
Since Uni I've been in industry at the same firm (5.5 years) as an assistant accountant, started as AP for 6 months then went into management accounting, where I pretty much work from month end to month end (then the weekly forecasts, yearly budget) and other misc ad hoc stuff. I kept telling myself I'll leave when I'm qualified, but has taken me ages to actually knuckle down and get on with it, I'm at the stage where I really don't enjoy the job I currently do. I wouldn't really say I've been able to develop an area of expertise as there hasn't really been any opportunity.

I really want to be looking at new jobs now, however I was thinking the best option would be to wait until the final exam is passed and go for a fully qualified role rather than part qualified. A further current hiccup is I'm currently in the process to buy a house, and I don't want to rock the boat of that and have the mortgage company pull the offer out.

Most jobs I can see are around the £35k level.
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I think there is your problem, 5.5 years in the same place without progression through the ranks (at least job title wise) - it definitely makes sense at this stage to hold fire until the final exam is passed and you've secured your new place before you consider changing jobs. For the next couple of years you might well want to hop about a bit to get your salary up - do 18 months to 2 years in the role, learn everything you can, and then look to change the next step. Thats the easiest way to climb up the earnings ladder.

Also I'd advise you to find what it is that you enjoy doing - and see if you can carve a career down that path. Accountancy can be soul crushingly destroying if you're not interested in what you do and are just following a process. Personally the idea of FP&A or standard management accounting makes me want to push myself in the balls wearing a barbed wire glove - yet I know it appeals to many.
 
Rids said:
I think there is your problem, 5.5 years in the same place without progression through the ranks (at least job title wise) - it definitely makes sense at this stage to hold fire until the final exam is passed and you've secured your new place before you consider changing jobs. For the next couple of years you might well want to hop about a bit to get your salary up - do 18 months to 2 years in the role, learn everything you can, and then look to change the next step. Thats the easiest way to climb up the earnings ladder.

Also I'd advise you to find what it is that you enjoy doing - and see if you can carve a career down that path. Accountancy can be soul crushingly destroying if you're not interested in what you do and are just following a process. Personally the idea of FP&A or standard management accounting makes me want to push myself in the balls wearing a barbed wire glove - yet I know it appeals to many.
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Are you in accounting? If so, would be interested to hear what career path you have taken :) Apologies if you have already mentioned it in the thread previously!
 
Quick question If I'm in a role where the salary won't go up by much more and I'm not learning anything new, when would be a reasonable time to leave?

12 months? 18 months?

I just don't want it to look bad on my CV.
 
flibbage0 said:
Quick question If I'm in a role where the salary won't go up by much more and I'm not learning anything new, when would be a reasonable time to leave?

12 months? 18 months?

I just don't want it to look bad on my CV.
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Depends on your age and how far into your career you are IMO. If it's a first job as a graduate then it would raise concerns, if you had 5+ years experience then it wouldn't bother me.
 
Maccy said:
Depends on your age and how far into your career you are IMO. If it's a first job as a graduate then it would raise concerns, if you had 5+ years experience then it wouldn't bother me.
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25, 2nd job after graduating, (although the 1st one transitioned into the 2nd one at the same company)
 
lee1101 said:
Are you in accounting? If so, would be interested to hear what career path you have taken :) Apologies if you have already mentioned it in the thread previously!
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Management accounting is probably one of the worst paid areas in practice, not sure about industry, especially at manager and below levels. It’s basically one of the easier areas.

I started off in audit, with a 6 month secondment into my stat accounts preparation department. Then after about 2 years I moved into corporate tax, which I’ve always found interesting. Currently doing very well and at a smaller firm so I have a very good balance between pay and an actual life. I could easily earn more if I went back into the big 4 in London, but that would be sacrificing my private life which is a non-starter for me.
 
It shouldn't really, people do it all the time and it can easily be explained for a first job, especially if you're pivoting into something else. An example a friend of mine joined one of the big 4 accountancy firms on a "grad scheme" as a tax consultant **** knows why he did it as he really wasn't the sort of person you'd expect would be into that. Sure enough the idea of studying for 3 more years while working didn't appeal and he quit, got a job in a media firm as an account manager and got to go out drinking with clients mid week and taking as many drugs as he used to back in uni.

flibbage0 said:
Quick question If I'm in a role where the salary won't go up by much more and I'm not learning anything new, when would be a reasonable time to leave?

12 months? 18 months?

I just don't want it to look bad on my CV.
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Leave now, as long as the next job is somewhere where you will be likely to stay then it won't look bad on your CV. (I left a job after 2-3 weeks early on in my career, that really really upset the recruiter!) You'll have no gap in employment so it is clear you chose to move and you hopefully put in more like 2-3 years min at the next place then your CV will be fine and the short stint at the first place is easily explainable.
 
Moses said:
Why would a year raise concerns in the context of someone leaving somewhere which doesn't offer advancement in terms of money or, more importantly, skills/knowledge/etc?
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As long as that can be properly conveyed to the recruiter/interviewer then fine, if it was just a CV handed to me with <1 year in a first role then it would raise concerns that they're not dependable and committed, and could likely jump ship again in the short term.
 
I had a two consecutive jobs where I was there 6, then 5 months, and it was never ever an issue.

Perfectly good reasons for moving and it has never been mentioned in any of my interviews etc since.

Quick edit to say didn’t twig this was a first role we’re talking about, still as long as the reasons are valid I wouldn’t see it a problem
 
Moses said:
One of the things missing from most stories is the location and hours. Because £50k in London working ninety hour weeks is less desirable than earning significant less up north whilst working 9-5. There are loads of other factors to consider, but they're two of the biggest.
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I'm currently on over 50k working 2-3 days a week but not in the UK.
 
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