Voting for TSRs Ultimate Study Playlist is NOW OPEN >>

Can I get a job in the finance sector with an access course

Hi I'm new to this
I messed about in secondary school and just passed my GCSES and I had plans to get into football but I got injured for a whole six months and missed out on trials, I recovered and got injured again with my knee and hamstring, so I went into college and I spent 1 year working hard to get grades up and the last 2 years doing my A Levels, I worked hard in the first year but in the second year, I had personal issues and that resulted in me failing all my subjects. Ive been working for the last 2 years but have come to realise that it's not worth it and I want to do something better with my life, I wanted to become a Personal Trainer but unlucky for me again, I've suffered from Scapular Dyskenisis and looks like that career path isn't going to happen as I get constant discomfort on my shoulder.

I've recently found out about Access Course as a way of getting my life back on track and I want to do something like Economics or finance as I've always had an interest in finance and how the economy works

My question for you guys is "Can I get a job once I've graduated uni and they see I done an access course"
The reason I ask this is because I've seen some post on other websites talking about how they haven't got a job since graduating uni after their access and some say that have got jobs, but the finance sector especially in London where it is a Alpha ++ means it good to work here but very competitive and i don't want to waste 3 more years doing a degree and then coming out and firms not accepting me because I done access course and not a levels and that I'll be 25 by the time I graduate

You advice would be greatly appreciated

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

BlackSweetness

As long as you have a degree with at least a 2:1 youll be fine! Its more your character and how you present yourself than a piece of paper

Reply 2

Klix88

Original post by JerryA

My question for you guys is "Can I get a job once I've graduated uni and they see I done an access course"

Some big city employers have used UCAS points as an entry filiter on top of degree results. As Access courses don't carry UCAS points, this has been a problem.

However... This system seems to be on its way out. KPMG recently scrapped the UCAS points requirement in order to recruit from a wider talent pool. You'll find that others will now follow suit. It's probable that the issue won't exist by the time you graduate,

Reply 3

JerryA

thank for the response guys
yeah ive been reading posts and people are saying because access course dont give ucas points, i shouldnt waste my time on it but some people are saying the access course is equivalent so i can write that down on the application. so i dont know if i should do the access course and try my best but all the good places to work want to ucas points as well as degree,
so im a bit lost and i dont want to work my butt off and get a good degree but then my personal problems which affected my college experience which results in my failing my a levels and doing an access course and finding out because of ucas points i wont get accepted
especially since ive been working in retail and have matured and i hate the mediocre life. besides whenever i do something, i always want to be at the top

Reply 4

callum_law

In 2017, Access will be assigned UCAS points. This includes Access awarded prior to 2017 (as long as the award is of 45 credits and not 55/60, which some people's are). So if you received 45 credits at distinction, the UCAS tariff would give you comparable points to AAA (which will be awarded 144 UCAS points in the scheme proposed for 2017).

There is no reason that Access should hinder you on the basis of limited UCAS points. Plus if you got into UCL for economics, level 3 requirements will generally be waived.

Reply 5

kaizzu

Original post by callum_law

So you don't get any UCAS points if your access course was for 60 credits?

Reply 6

callum_law

Original post by kaizzu

So you don't get any UCAS points if your access course was for 60 credits?

When I say "45 credits" I am talking about graded credits. If you have 45 graded credits and 15 ungraded (60 credits in total), that is perfectly normal and you can claim UCAS points for them. However, because the new UCAS points will be based on 45 credits and the grades associated with 45 credits, it will be difficult to claim points for 60 graded credits.

The exception would likely be if you achieved all your grades at a particular grade; if you achieved all 60 at distinction or merit or pass, you could easily make a comparison with 45 credits and claim the points as if you achieved 45 at distinction or merit or pass.

Reply 7

john2054

access courses these days are pretty rough. if you think it will be much easier compared to a levels than you're in for a shock im afraid. also the actual degree is harder even still, and it gets harder each year. If you're so worried about the access course now, do you really think you can hack a full four years of hard work, and it's not directed or guided like a levels. At university, you are pretty much on your own.

Reply 8

callum_law

Original post by john2054

I think you're over-egging the difficulty of the course and university. Maybe you had tremendous difficulty with both, but it does not mean other learners will follow suit.

Reply 9

john2054

Original post by callum_law

I think you're over-egging the difficulty of the course and university. Maybe you had tremendous difficulty with both, but it does not mean other learners will follow suit.

i did not have tremendous difficulty with both. But just the flippant way some users engage with this site and these topics, with such a frivilous attitude doesn't bode well. Do you really think that there is no reason why half of people drop out from start to finish callum??

Reply 10

callum_law

Original post by john2054

Do you really think that there is no reason why half of people drop out from start to finish callum??

The drop-out rate is far lower than 50%. Around 23% drop out or transfer their course to a different centre. Still the drop-out rate is quite high but this can largely be attributed by the type of learners who attempt the course: people from low participation areas and people with parental obligations. Learners generally struggle with their own circumstances rather than the course content.

Reply 11

john2054

Original post by callum_law

The drop-out rate is far lower than 50%

really and what statistics are you basing this information on?

If this is the case, then why was the compulsory meeting for year two and three joint honours students at derby last week, only about 40-50 people actually attended. Compare this to a year ago when i went to a similar access meeting and the hall was packed (over 300 people)? So why is that?

Do you really think that all of those students transferred to different universities and that is why they weren't there in the hall yesterday?

Or is it possible that lots of people who have got so far in the education, find that they haven't got the combination of commitment, confidence, initiative and sheer bloody mindedness to hack a degree, when the salt hits the pan.

Sure a number of people do make it, but now i appreciate why those students who throw those silly square hats in the air look so happy on their graduation day. School may be a walk in the park, but university most certainly is not i'm afraid. And if you think it is, i suggest you try actually going to one tomorrow, okay?

Thanks john

Reply 12

callum_law

Original post by john2054

really and what statistics are you basing this information on?

http://www.accesstohe.ac.uk/AboutUs/Publications/Documents/Access-to-HE-Key-statistics-2013-14.pdf

Do you really think that all of those students transferred to different universities and that is why they weren't there in the hall yesterday?

The statistics I gave you were for people who did not complete their Access course. It has nothing to do with university drop-out rates. I cannot guess as to why people at Derby University did not go to the great hall yesterday, no.

Reply 13

john2054

Original post by callum_law

http://www.accesstohe.ac.uk/AboutUs/Publications/Documents/Access-to-HE-Key-statistics-2013-14.pdf

The statistics I gave you were for people who did not complete their Access course. It has nothing to do with university drop-out rates. I cannot guess as to why people at Derby University did not go to the great hall yesterday, no.

yes it is true they have tightened up terribly to clamp down on the drop outs. Have you ever done access callum?

Reply 14

callum_law

Original post by john2054

yes it is true they have tightened up terribly to clamp down on the drop outs. Have you ever done access callum?

Yes. Hence my commenting extensively on a thread about Access.

Reply 15

john2054

i'm surprised you think it is easy then. have you also got a degree>?

Reply 16

callum_law

Original post by john2054

i'm surprised you think it is easy then. have you also got a degree>?

I never said it's easy. I said you were making it sound harder than it is.

I am halfway into a law degree.

Reply 17

john2054

We both agree then that access doesn't hinder you from getting a job. But if you reread the op's original comments, you can clearly see that here is someone who has to drastically do some serious 'educational learning input' in order to get up to a degree standard. I'm sorry but 'nearly getting in to trials' at football won't help you with uni work. Also for you, being in your second year at law, you understand how difficult university life is. You also understand the requirements for self dedicated learning, and hopefully what employers and the job market is like today. Ergo it is competitive. This being said, you should not understand both the difficulty and excellence of an access qualification. I took mine before they were graded, it was pass or fail in my day. And i just scraped a pass. So yes i did find it difficult. Also now that i am coming to the end of my fifth and final year at uni, i don't think most people would have stuck it out this long. I am at derby, which is seen as a relative light weight in some respects, but also ranks highly for graduate employment, which is also important. And also bearing in mind that the op hasn't said another single word since his opening salvo, do you really think this is someone who could hack a four year access degree combo, where the work starts hard, and gets harder each year? Plus there is no one to hold your hand, like at school? Finally what university are you going to if you mind my asking, and what do you want to do when you finish education? Thanks, Callum.

Reply 18

JerryA

Original post by john2054

I'm here haha, yeah thats another thing I'm kinda worried for which is me maintaining focus doing the access, I think I can because in my first year of college I was able to get grades high enough to do A Levels.
My friends were also kind of worried for me when I told them I want to study ( they all go top unis like Brunel, Kent etc) an ,access course and go uni because they know me as someone who doesn't study and someone who's hands on and that's why I wanted to go into sports but I always get injuries which set me back, they were telling me it's hard but I told I was able to get my GCSES up and my first year, I managed to pass all my A Levels.

And I could see where they were coming from, but I thought I'd prove them wrong so on my own I read some self help books to get my confidence back up and to change my mentality into a more optimistic and positive one
Since then I've been reading and studying finance books and history books trying to understand it and it's going well, even my friends notice it as I can understand what they say when we have intellectual conversations, they're all kinda proud of me especially coming from someone who never reads and I used to make fun of all them, and also I've had a habit of just naturally reading everyday, I've read about 10 books these last couple of months and they're all big books,
And after the access and uni, I plan to go into investing or stockbroking as its something I like since I was young, aside from sports, besides I'm planning to invest myself in shares
Btw, I do read the comments but i was just lazy and forget to respond.

Reply 19

JoeTSR

Original post by john2054

I don't know. I left my secondary 1.5 terms before GCSEs, admittedly didn't really study for GCSEs until the week or two before. Got 5A/A*s, the rest Bs. I did a little bit of A levels. Doing an access course at the moment, and it's not so bad. On the bio section at the moment. I've done 3 credits+ per week distance learning, every unit at distinction (ungraded units at indicative distinctions, even if they're technically only passes), with all but one being distinctions for all descriptors (the introductory ungraded bio unit, I was getting a little sick of units that didn't count for anything tbh).

If you're self-motivated, and your main problem with school was that things moved too slowly, making you get bored, then an Access course is a piece of piss in comparison to A levels imo (knock on wood).