Realistically how hard to become an accountant without a degree and just the AAT lvl?

AAT told me that it can be done with just their lvl 4 diploma. Is this likely though!?

Thanks.

Happens every day. Why would it be unlikely?

Im getting mixed information. So whats the point in getting a degree then??

Hello there,
In my opinion While it may be harder without a degree, dedication and a proactive approach can help you succeed in an accounting career with AAT Level qualifications like,
Gaining some practical experience
Seek internships or entry-level accounting positions to build your resume.
Pursue additional certifications.
Stay updated on accounting regulations and industry trends to demonstrate your commitment to the field.
Develop a strong portfolio of your accounting work to demonstrate your competence to potential employers.

Will jot some notes later - could you give a bit of background to your interest in the subject? This is widely discussed - I don't believe that there is an over-riding opinion but the consensus seems to be that given a choice between doing an A+F degree or doing an apprenticeship most people should take the apprenticeship.

Anyway, another relevant point is I wont be able to get any work experience as a mature and private student.

I cant find any accountancy apprenticeships sadly in my city, or legal ones, this is my preferred route, but before I think about that, I need to test myself to see if Id enjoy working in either, Im getting ahead of myself.

Not sure what you mean by 'work experience' here. Actually I never understand what anyone means when they say 'work experience' unless they spell it out.

How 'mature' are you and what is your working history? What attracts you to law? In some areas there is cross over with accounting careers, in others none at all. Also - which part of the country? I'm surprised you cant find any apprenticeships to apply for.

Mature enough to absolutely be discriminated against in apprentice applications sadly..

I mean work experience as in what's offered to teenagers in formal education. I suppose I could get voluntary work somewhere. Am in SW. Just Business apprenticeships endlessly here. I am attracted to law due to being forced to deal with severe legal issues over the past 2 years, I found it interesting, and easy to remember evrything, but it was personal to me, which makes it easy. I am very emapthic though, so think I will retain info of other people's cases well. Of course I must test myself asap on both topics.

Yes an open uni dgree with bits of noth topics would be a good idea, if I can research, phone around other companies and try and somehow find out what they would aporpeciate, after I choose a specific sector!!

Is a good plan so far? Thankyou.

What do you do out of curiosity atm?

Thanks for coming back here and helping others.

"One huge question is whether you enjoy office work or not"

Unfortunately I have never done any, but I think so.

I somehow missed some of your previous message last time, I found the sherpa courses which have been renamed to theforage, going to start them tommorrow, there are quite a few ccounting, even including an auditing one by KPMG, one of the few companies I saw offering a position here recently. Sadly I was still too low a level for it (no A-level credit atm), at least I can bring up in a future interview that I enjoyed a simulation.. which I hope I will soon, hopefully it will at least let me know if I like office work!

"With law (not that I know a lot about it) its worth looking into different career paths to see if some appeal but not others. Working in probate/ conveyancing in a country town is likely to be very different to criminal law and again to silver circle type city law"

Good point, I am veering away heavily from law, but will still do some research on wages/ease of entering and job requirements for the couple of areas I was interested in.

"I struggle to imagine that there is any city in the UK without a few accounts apprenticeship schemes."
"I guess the equivalent for people outside of schools is to ask for a couple of days of shadowing. That being said this doesn't seem to be as common as it used to be."

I aim to stay in my city for at least another year or 2, I suppose that I will just have to make myself look to be a better candidate. I will phone up a few companies that I know have historically advertised apprenticeships and ask what would make me stand out as a potential candidate.

Let's assume atm, I forget about law and any open uni route. (very likely) Im prepared to get the level 4 AAT in hopefully a year, while stuyding math A levels again if I have to and then apply for the level 3 and 4 apprenticeships, hopefully I will have a good chance of level 3 then, I will be quite overquallified. However perhaps I should forget the A levels and volunteer somewhere too for a couple days? Is there actually any point to that, I suppose after I complete level 2 AAT I can get a low level postion, but If I am planning on the apprenticeship route anyway then the value of a voluntary low level position for experience is probably a waste compared to getting an A in futher maths as a private learner which I am confident in.

One last question and I should be good thanks! Have heard from a few Americans that auditing is a really good entry point into accounting, would you agree? KPMG is recruiting nationaly for that regularly, after I get better qualifications, it could potentially be perfect to aim for!

Wow - you've done loads of research! Lots to unpack. Could I just clarify somethings. You state : "Im prepared to get the level 4 AAT in hopefully a year, while stuyding math A levels again if I have to and then apply for the level 3 and 4 apprenticeships, hopefully I will have a good chance of level 3 then, I will be quite overquallified." was the level 4 a typo? did you mean level 2?

The total qualification time for level 4 says 1000 odd hours which I thought I could speed up to do in under a year, perhaps this is overlooking exam time or I can't speed it up for other reasons?

I remain unclear about your thoughts regarding AAT. I'm not sure why you would look to complete AAT and then look for an apprenticeship? Any reasons?

My rough thoughts - and I'm assuming that you have and need some type of income:

- you could work your way through AAT while working in a non accounting role and apply for entry level accounts positions. Generally people start at level 2 although I believe that you can self study the material and avoid the exams diving straight into level 3 once you are up to speed on the level 2 materials.

I think the rough guide from people studying on day release is that they take each level over a year (say 30 weeks of college 6 hours a day plus a max of 4 hours homework/ revision). So - 10 hours x 30 per level = 300 hours plus time for exams. I've come across people who completed all of AAT (level 4 from scratch) in one year without being full time on it. I guess if you allowed 1000 hours that would be about 20 hours a week so doable in a lot of circumstances.

I'm not sure how you sit the exams post covid - this would be worth finding out as it might be a logistical nightmare.

'..., while stuyding math A levels again if I have to...'

I can think of perfectly good reasons for taking maths A levels - not sure what your reasoning for doing so is?

while stuyding math A levels again if I have to and then apply for the level 3 and 4 apprenticeships

I think referring to 'level 3' and 'level 4' apprenticeships is a bit ambiguous. Perhaps think of accounting apprenticeships in different buckets:

- apprenticeships which put you through AAT and look for GCSE level for entry

- apprenticeships which put you through AAT and look for A levels for entry

- apprenticeships which look to completing professional exams such as ACA - these normally require strong A levels or completion of AAT and good experience.

However perhaps I should forget the A levels and volunteer somewhere too for a couple days? Is there actually any point to that, I suppose after I complete level 2 AAT I can get a low level postion, but If I am planning on the apprenticeship route anyway then the value of a voluntary low level position for experience is probably a waste compared to getting an A in futher maths as a private learner which I am confident in.


I don't think these thoughts tie together into a coherent job hunting/ career progression strategy.

What sort of volunteering position are you contemplating? Something accounting related or Oxfam shop type work?

If accounting related its not that some experience might not be valuable, its that you are unlikely to find anything meaningful unless through personal connections. Even then 2 days a week from a standing start in an informal position doesn't generally add a huge amount to your skillset.

You would probably be better off getting an entry level clerical/ accounts position. Completing level 2 would assist with finding such a role and in progressing once you have the job.

A levels in maths/ FM might also help to find a job. Not because maths has much relevance to low level accounting positions (classical civilisation would be almost as much value) but it can stand out to an employer.

There is nothing magical about apprenticeships and you should certainly look for non apprenticeship entry level positions as well as apprenticeships. They are a method of funding employers use to train entry level staff. Lots in their favour but plenty of other routes in especially if you are able to self study.

Have heard from a few Americans that auditing is a really good entry point into accounting, would you agree? KPMG is recruiting nationaly for that regularly, after I get better qualifications, it could potentially be perfect to aim for!

Yes - without doubt. If anything I would say its much more true in the UK than the US.

Any other non uni option would require me to get a low level job, impress employers and have them fund my further studying.. right? Problem here is I really am not capable of working above 40 hours a week for more than a couple months at a time.. historically if I do that for too long things start slowly collapsing. working in the low level job+ studying will mean years of 60 hour weeks, thats not going to happen... so I was willing to take the lower pay of apprenticeship routes becasue its perfect in every other way for me.