Hey, did I sign up for this?

Question; do you know what your signing up for?…because I didn’t. Brighton university gave me the accounting knowledge that I would need to excel in my current role, however not the practical knowledge of what it would actually be like. Nobody can really. Unless you’ve gone out and experienced it for yourself, it’s nothing like the movies (not sure if there are too many accounting films actually). No Wolf of Wall Street, no Bolivian nose candy culture and it isn’t a sad, boring, repetitive career. Just wanted to get that out of the way.

What I will tell you is the pros and cons that I’ve currently experienced within my short time after university. First things first, YOU DON’T HAVE TO STAY LATE! The idea that you will be pulling long hours isn’t true. Your work is ‘your work’, however you manage your time is up to you, just make sure it’s done. From my time spent in an actual work environment; I’ve only had to stay really late about 5 or 6 times, which isn’t a lot. It will differ from place to place, but it isn’t a requirement. You won’t need the independent knowledge you’ve gained until you’ve furthered your career. Usually it’s as simple as 1+1=2, the only time you’ll need to roll up your sleeves is when 1+1=5, which doesn’t happen often, especially if your on top of your work. So the stuff you don’t get or understand now, you’ll gain later. The last thing I’ll say is respect. People fear numbers, for reasons I don’t really understand, but because of this, they will appease to your deadlines and take what you have to say seriously.

Cons. The most important thing is that you may seem separate to the company. My previous company made it so that the finance department didn’t receive the same perks as the rest of the company. No company phone, no company allowance and no company events. This is because some places see what they do as ‘The kill’ and your job is to clean, prep and cook the kill. You know, the hard part.

It will be a hard grind. More exams, if you chose to take them, which will require you to do independent studying and these exams are not cheap. People outside of the company hate you, the reason being is the fact they believe that you have all the say, with regards to money going out because you are Don Expesciano in their eyes, so be prepared.

M