The Student Room Group

Leaving accountancy for Tesco?

Hi everyone,

Apologies for the details that follow.

I worked at Tesco as a customer assistant whilst at college. I didn't want to go to university so was looking for accountancy jobs for when I finished college. At the same time as this I was selected to be promoted to a Team Leader at Tesco. I was going to do this role for a while until I figured out what I wanted to do (remain and work way up Tesco or go into accountancy). The day after I was asked about being a Team Leader, I got an interview for an accountancy apprenticeship. I figured it was a good opportunity so went for it and ended up being chosen.Due to the opportunity I had been given, I chose the accountancy job and left Tesco. I felt that I could go back to Tesco if I didn't get on with accountancy.

Fast forward to now, a year later. Whilst the accountancy job is going well, I have a genuine regret about not working at Tesco. I enjoyed the staff there and the atmosphere was great. The work wasn't too bad and the opportunity to have a greater responsibility really appealed to me. I am now at a crossroads. I have the opportunity to join Tesco again where I would actually be earning more money than I am now, and have the opportunity to progress fast. Also, it will take me at least another 4/5 years to be qualified as an accountant and that requires a lot of studying. I don't mind the studying but really feel like I want the responsibility and fast-paced environment of Tesco.

Am I being stupid? Or is it justifiable that I might prefer a career with Tesco than a professional accountancy career?

Many Thanks
Reply 1
Do whatever you will enjoy more.
I assume currently youre studying aat? If so that should only take 2 years to complete, and its actually pretty fun! Choosing what to do after is a pain though, and the studying becomes harder and less interesting.
If you really enjoy working at tesco, you can still study and get a qualification to fall back on, and accounting is one of the easiest subjects to learn without help from a teacher.
Good luck with whatever you decide
Reply 2
OP - it's a big decision to make and there's no 'right' answer. If you genuinely enjoy one more than the other, then perhaps you should pursue it. However I'd be careful to make the decision for the correct reasons, as it will have long term consequences on your career.

Original post by razzza
Do whatever you will enjoy more.
I assume currently youre studying aat? If so that 1) should only take 2 years to complete, and its actually pretty fun! Choosing what to do after is a pain though, and the studying becomes harder and less interesting.
If you really enjoy working at tesco, 2) you can still study and get a qualification to fall back on, and 3) accounting is one of the easiest subjects to learn without help from a teacher.
Good luck with whatever you decide


Just to add some balance to this:

1) Two years to complete the AAT yes, but that doesn't make him a qualified accountant. It'll likely take a further three years after that.

2) True, but I often wonder why people bother doing that. Takes a lot of effort to get through all the exams, yet if you don't have the experience to go with it then what's the point? Who is going to want to hire him in an accountancy role paying a PQ salary?

3) I think the majority studying accountancy qualifications would disagree. It's a serious time commitment if nothing else.
Reply 3
How much is the salary at tesco op
An important part of a job is the people you work with.

Your job will be a huge part of your life, you'll need to see, socialise and work with these people every day and probably at social events outside of work as well.

Being happy in your job is one massive factor.

Compare both jobs, decide which job has people you enjoy being around, which job has a work load/tasks you enjoy more, then look at things like salary etc.

All the money in the world isn't worth being miserable every morning and dreading going into the office.

Deep down I think you've made your choice and I think it's probably a good choice to make. :smile:

Best of luck.
It's only 5 years and you'd be on around £40-50k if you passed all the exams. 5 years down the line at Tesco...might get to store manager, where would that leave you? 25-30k? Promotion from here will be tough as you'd be fighting with all the other store managers to get to area manager and then further into head office. Your salary in accounting will increase quickly with post qualifying experience in accounting and you could be looking at £100k+ if you go into the right industries and have excellent soft skills as well as being likable and networking well.

Then again, money isn't everything and I know what you mean about fast paced environments in shops and restaurants. One of the things I dislike about it is that these sectors often have high turnover rates, people come and people go, and this somewhat distorts the 'people' benefits of working in a shop etc.

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