Accountacy advice???

I'm currently in year 12 and its going pretty bad - i picked Biology, chemistry and Psycology. I had planned to do something in medicine but now have changed my mind and want to be an accountant.

If i was to do A - levels for this year and during it take the exams for aat course and do like the level 1 and level 2 would that help me gain an apprenticeship at like Pwt or nationwide with decent salary. I want to build on a lot of experience and i like accountancy aswell. I got told its experience over the a levels

Seriously - accountancy at the professional level is a job that relies on academic skills. You need to be able to develop and demonstrate these - don't even think of dropping 'A' levels or reducing your focus if you want to get a decent job. The large employers take grades very seriously.

AAT is a great course, but better taken after A levels if that is the route you chose to follow. Many firms offer apprenticeships which will give you time to go to college and progress with qualifications.

There are multiple routes into accounting/accountancy. You may want to refer to the ACA page which lays out some of these routes (and has a handy tool that will help you identify some that are relevant for you). A-level Maths, while far beyond the scope of maths used by an accountant in general, may be a useful option to take alongside that, to broaden your options a little and demonstrate you have better than average mathematical preparation, which may benefit an application.

You could also consider changing your options to some more relevant to your interests, such as Economics or Business (not both) and Law or something similar, with Maths as mentioned (or possibly another subject, but Maths would open many Accounting/Finance degrees to you as well as being suitable for applying to apprenticeships in this vein). You could do those exams at the same time, if you liked, but that is only one part of AAT accreditation and I believe you normally need to be working in a relevant role to fully complete the accreditation (which can then dovetail on to ACA chartership).

Thanks, but if i fail A -levels then im done. My point is can i work my way up without the qualifications - just going on the specific various accountacy courses and just learning all the trade

You can get a fair way without qualifications if you learn on the job - this is getting a lot harder and employers tend to look at exam passes, but plenty of people do it. I've worked with a finance manager who had one GSCE (in art) and a two week book keeping course. BUT she had great experience - you need some luck to get this - I have lots of people with degrees applying for basic admin work.

AAT can be a great course. If you want to progress you can move onto ACA/ ACCA or CIMA. One member of this forum passed AAT and got admission to the second year of a degree. There are plenty of possibilities. I think apprenticeships are great as you get to learn without taking a huge risk of time and money.

How badly are your 'A' levels going?

is the ACA good then is it better than AAT or you do both - do AAT first then do the ACA

i JUST DONt get them and find it hard and boring but ill manage - tell me more about accountancy is the online courses gonna help me with an apprenticeships

I doubt any apprenticeships will look for accounts qualifications, at least for school leavers. You could google 'accountancy apprenticeship' and 'AAT apprenticeship' in your area and see what they look for. I think work experience/ job shadowing is a good idea as it gives some insight and shows a real interest - your school may well be able to arrange this.

You can sit exams when you've finished your 'A' levels - lots of colleges offer one day a week courses which seem to work pretty well as they incorporate IT and systems training. I've come across people who took these while working in bars/ restaurants as a way to move into office work.

I wanna be a charted accountant at the top level but i can't change my a levels now because its possibly too late and i know i should of picked economics and business but uno mistake now i wanna pick up from this and get to alternative routes

Chartered Accountancy firms and those who recruit trainee accountants really don't care about economics and business A levels. The only people who ever say that are economics and business teachers who want to attract people to their courses!

Sciences are great A levels to apply with - Maths is a bit of a plus, and AS level could be of value,

true but they want 120 ucas points and theres no way ill get them grades with Biology and chemistry A level, if i dropped them and picked Business and Economics that would help me surely.

They didnt specify what subject, and if i was to get 120 ucas points then i might aswell apply into bloody medicine because they are so high grades.

120 points is bbb? You wont get anywhere near an interview for medicine with that.

Oh ok so if i get BBB and thats 120 ucas points i can just apply to be a chartered accountant because after all biology and chemistry and psycology they should be greatly regarded.

btw thank alot.

I should stick to a levels and work my ass of and if i get like BBB or along the lines of that i have accountancy.

But whats better a chartered accountant or medicine , i would much prefer a chartered accountant but which ever one is more rewarding, and i like to work in like cities and business related sectors

good luck! By the way - lots of people with far less than BBB get jobs in accounting and go on to qualify. A levels tend to be a somewhat good predictor of success in professional exams but there are plenty of exceptions.

I'm not sure which profession would suit you the most - you can read a lot on here and other websites. Medicine pretty much guarantees you a career if you pass the exams, but it looks very arduous with lots of anti-social hours to me. The people who like it seem to have a real passion.

true but surely if i was to finish a levels and do good hopefully i could get to be a chartered accountant because there would be pleanty of trainee programs and many people dont like, know or have the gradesm/ passion for accountancy.
I heard it has an income of £75K-£200K is that true, Im just want a profession that i like and thats some what rewarding

I guess plenty of CA's earn in the range you have suggested but I think those are high pay rates. The ICAEW website has a survey which states the average income for a Chartered Accountant ( I'd guess with several years of post qualification experience) as being around £90k. This average will be pushed up by very high earners, especially those working in the City.

I'm sure sure there is quite a lot of jobs on offer for chartered accountants once they get there training done with.

So basically my plan is to finish a levels and get like CC in Biology and Chemistry and Get an A in Psycology. Then i also have some work experience in accountancy and im also an confident person and love the job. I apply for the graduate trainee accountant and get in.

I dont need to go to uni to be a chartered accountant right?

The graduate trainee accoutant courses are for me just after i finish my a levels