Career change - RN to Accountant/Analyst?

abadacus on 05/08/2020 - 15:52
Last edited 05/08/2020 - 17:47

G'day Ozbargain,

I am 30 years old, am working as an RN for the past 9 years in NSW where three of those years have in defence (full time). I have a bachelors (Monash)+ Grad dip in Nursing (USYD).

The itch to do something different has been growing for a while now and working with money has always interested me, therefore I am considering further study and taking up majors in Accounting/finance (potentially commerce/IT double) with the intention of working as an analyst and the longer term goal of working in investment.

A few questions:

  1. Where to study, and do employers take this into consideration?
    I've mainly looked into ACU and WSU because they offer military entry pathways with minimal pre-reqs. Am I selling myself short or should I consider other institutions?

  2. Maths pre requisites - the highest level of maths I studied whilst in school was Further maths (VIC), and that was quite a while ago, are there any recommended resources that might be able to assist with the level required during undergrad?

  3. Age - will this affect my job prospects? And how are 'older' graduates viewed in the industry?

  4. Does military experience have any real world affect on securing interviews or graduate positions?

  5. Suggestions on jobs to obtain relevant industry experience whilst studying?

Education & Work

Comments

  • Bonbi on 05/08/2020 - 16:03

    What kind of analyst?

    Never heard of ACU/WSU. Why are you looking at military entry pathways if your end goal is working in investment? What does this even mean? Investment banking?

    I highly doubt military experience has any effect on securing interviews or grad positions whatsoever.

    • kerfuffle on 05/08/2020 - 16:06

      Never heard of ACU/WSU

      You wouldn't, as a Melburnian. They're both unis in NSW: Australian Catholic University and Western Sydney University

    • abadacus on 05/08/2020 - 16:21

      Looking at financial/market analyst.

      Military entry pathway = leveraging military experience for entry to study, not looking to enter the military lol

      • Quantumcat on 05/08/2020 - 16:43

        What would military experience have to do with university entry? Unless you're planning to go to Duntroon or something?

        • BrainDead on 05/08/2020 - 16:56

          It does help if your ATAR is very low, which might be why they originally chose nursing. Mature aged entry or something.

          • abadacus on 05/08/2020 - 18:00

            @BrainDead: Mature aged entry, life experience, other considerations etc. as I completed year 12 in 2012 so ATAR hasn't applied to me for quite a while now.

            • Icecold5000 on 07/08/2020 - 18:47

              @abadacus: Do you have any investment ideas? What about a thesis on why one particular company is a buy or a sell?

  • netjock on 05/08/2020 - 16:16
    +1

    Accounting/finance (potentially commerce/IT double) with the intention of working as an analyst and the longer term goal of working in investment.

    Accounting you won't be dealing with investments. You'll be dealing with people's tax returns or if you work for a company probably do financial year operating plans and medium term plans.

    Investments, depends on what you want to do:

    Research buy / sell side - basically recommending tradeable securities to buy / sell.
    Investment management - directing a managed fund / superfund what to buy
    Financial planning?

    Need more research and decide.

    • abadacus on 05/08/2020 - 16:38

      I am considering accounting for job security and working in accounting for 1-2 years post graduation, then transferring into an analyst role.

      Block-quote Research buy / sell side - basically recommending tradeable securities to buy / sell.

      Forgive my poorly worded post, this is the primary role I am looking at.

      Block-quote lnvestment management - directing a managed fund / superfund what to buy

      And this is a longer term goal/career progression.

      • netjock on 05/08/2020 - 16:46
        +1

        If you end up in accounting you'll find it hard to go into investment management you are looking at. There is transferable skills but finance fraternity is a bit set on their ways regarding what they would take. You could probably get a decent accounting job if you got credit average (60 - 69%) but for finance (70%+) and 1st class honours. I did accounting & finance.

        High flying investment management jobs are mostly overseas although local ones do pay decent money but you only have a few big hitters.

        I'd checked whether there is any role models you can reach out to in order to ask them where to start and start fostering those connections.

        If you are looking at research and investment management during reporting season you basically don't have a life because you need to digest all the data and make sometimes quick decisions.

  • mshanann on 05/08/2020 - 16:28
    +3

    A new double degree ordinarily is going to take you probably the best part of 5 years (assuming no existing credits). As a motivated mature age student you can probably knock it off in 4 years. That puts you out in to the workforce as a 35 y/o 'new' graduate competing for jobs against kids in their early 20s.

    Have you looked at whether you can enrol in a decent Masters program? You can normally knock these off in 2 years or under.

    My better half for example - she went from - B.IT undergraduate degree > went back to uni and got a Masters of Commerce > got a job at mid-size Accounting firm > studied and became CA qualified (institute of Chartered Accountants) > corp finance roles

    If you can get the Masters and shoot for Dean's Commendation for Academic Excellence - you will look pretty decent on paper and still be relatively young.

    I think the military and medical background could be advantageous for landing more traditional accounting style roles in those industries - I'm not sure it will be of much use for investment/finance other than the discipline side of things.

    Good luck though!

    • abadacus on 05/08/2020 - 18:51

      Thanks!
      From my initial research I somehow came to the conclusion that a Masters of Commerce was a specialisation course but I had another search and now know it definitely is not. Whereabouts did your better half end up studying and with which majors?

      • mshanann on 05/08/2020 - 20:47

        University of Queensland - majored in Accounting - it took ~18 months - but that was doing summer school and also there were a few credits from the undergrad degree. A number of the big four accounting firms back in March laid staff off back in March due to Covid. So whether or not accounting is a good specialty remains to be seen. Any university course at the moment would be risky, given the number of new grads coming out in the next year or so that will struggle to find work.

        • TChalla on 06/08/2020 - 01:52
          +1

          They let go the consulting staff, the Audit and Tax divisions are operating at 100%+ utilisation.

  • friedsnowdays on 05/08/2020 - 16:41

    In my experience working for large corporates in the finance space.

    Graduate intakes have a heavy focus on diversity which includes (a small number of):
    -"mature-age" candidates, mainly seems to be those in their 30s who are looking to change career
    -military candidates

    So assuming you do well in your degree + manage to secure some relevant industry experience I could see you having a good shot at a graduate program.

    To secure experience I would look to get in contact with military employee groups in large corporates and try to network in that way to secure internships/ vacation work. You can try and find these people on LinkedIn by searching things like "Company Name + Military" as you may find posts from the companies themselves or individuals who are part of those groups.

    I would say that hustling to get relevant experience and especially building a network inside the type of company you want to work for (e.g. with those military employee groups) and getting them to refer you when it comes to graduate recruitment time would be the best option. Especially once you've gotten your first role in the industry I find no one really cares where you went to Uni.

  • BrainDead on 05/08/2020 - 16:54
    +7

    Don't brother. There are no jobs. Why jump out of a good industry to join the rat race?

    If you are scared because of the coronavirus, then go for it; but 100% expect to be on the dole because of so many unemployed accounting/finance graduates

    • mini2 on 05/08/2020 - 21:20

      You mean race to the bottom?

  • Drakesy on 05/08/2020 - 16:57
    +1

    Firstly, good on ya for jumping into a career change.

    Secondly, when i went through engineering there were mature age students doing exactly what you're doing, they were previously teachers on 80-90k a year.
    Once they finished their masters they didn't realise how little grads were paid these days (this is moreso applicable to commerce/accounting grads with uni's flooding the market), $45-$60k a year working up to 12 hour days was too much of a hit for some of them with families to take, or their lifestyle was leveraged up to their existing wage. Although no doubt for you, no longer having shift work would be a nice changeup

    Consequentially many finished the degree but didn't take up jobs in the sector.

    Assuming though you've considered this and are living within your means then go for it.

  • shaybisc on 05/08/2020 - 17:44
    +1

    Do you own a home? My first thought on reading was, this bloke will never own their own home with that bold move. Might end up a hedge fund billionaire. What would I know? But that was my gut reaction.

  • knasty on 05/08/2020 - 17:59
    +1

    Bookkeeping may be a good stepping stone…quicker for the qualification and the work tends to be flexible. It's something the grads mentioned above tend not to want to do. Lots of people out there running small businesses who don't really run the bookkeeping aspect properly and would be willing to pay for help so they can focus on what they do well.

  • shaybisc on 05/08/2020 - 18:08

    Do you have to be good at maths to succeed as an accountant?

    ‘Whilst it’s handy to be good with numbers, I don’t believe you have to be a genius at maths to be a successful accountant. You need to be able to analyse numbers but your proficiency at adding and subtracting does not necessarily need to be higher than the average person. At school, if you’re interested in subjects such as accounting, economics and other business-related subjects, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy accounting as a career.’

    https://this.deakin.edu.au/career/whats-it-really-like-to-be…

    • pantsparty on 05/08/2020 - 21:35

      I am an accountant and can confirm, you don’t need to be any good at maths. That’s what Excel is for!

  • nephilim on 05/08/2020 - 21:26

    Atleast you know you can’t fail, since it’s was a skill shortage degree which 50,000 Chinese students have completed in last 15 years with limited English to intermediate english

  • msimpatient on 06/08/2020 - 15:02

    Have you considered doing some ACFI work? It's nursing based, all about numbers and can pay extremely well.

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