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Is doing a degree or apprenticeship better for accounting and finance?

I don’t know which one I should do.

If you know that you want to have a career in accountancy, then an apprenticeship that gets you on a path to the accountancy qualifications is the way to go I would say. Once you have your ICAEW qualification, nobody cares whether you did a degree before that. If you're not that sure about where to take your career yet, then maybe a degree will offer you a bit more flexibility as you will have that more generally accepted qualification.

That's the purely career part - then there's weighing up all the other considerations: how you like to learn (more theoretical vs more practical), the student experience vs getting work experience, the getting paid or getting into debt.

Reply 2

BeingBoring

If you go with one of the larger firms such as KPMG or Deloitte then an apprenticeship is an excellent way to go. In fact there was an article in one of the papers this week with someone from KPMG who was saying that their apprenticeship scheme was in far higher demand than their graduate scheme so even they are seeing the shift in focus amongst applicants. At the very worst (assuming you put the effort in) you should end as a graduate with a full university degree and three years work experience with a top firm. As a great many students struggle to find work after graduating, having that experience puts you at a huge advantage, and in reality most apprenticeship providers are looking for candidates who will want to stay on and work for them anyway so you should step straight into full time work with them. Having said all of that, it's not for everyone - you will only be given one or maybe two days a week for your uni work and would be expected to do anything more in your own time at weekends or evenings. As the same time you also have a role at work to fulfill so it can be demanding, but there should be support and understanding - they want you to succeed! You do need to be regularly looking out for them though (a couple times a week at least), they tend to advertise them early and they close once applications reach a certain number which can happen quickly for the providers which are in demand. Be careful with the smaller employers as they often advertise a 'degree apprenticeship' but when you look at it there is no actual degree on offer they get around it by claiming that you will get the chance to study for a degree at some later date if you turn out to be a great employee - I personally don't think these people should be allowed to do this, but quite a few do and you need to read the ads carefully. Good luck with whichever path you choose!

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 3

TooTaxing

Just to add that amongst the Big 4, I think only PWC offers an actual degree apprenticeship. The other firms offer a pathway to a tax or accounting qualification such as CIOT or ICAEW (though it may be different for the technology pathways, don't know much about those). So you'd come out with an accounting qualification but not a degree.

Reply 4

ajj2000

Original post by TooTaxing

Interesting - do you have a link to the degree apprenticeship for accounting (as opposed to IT)? I know the flying start degrees are well thought of but they are not really an apprenticeship for funding purposes.

Reply 5

LouiseRu

Apprenticeships offer the advantage of immediate entry into the work place with supported training and experience.
Accountancy is a very competitive market to try to enter.
The higher the level you try to enter at say Graduate rather than school leaver the greater the competition.

Big employers will take on non relevant Graduates to train as accountants so the pool of possible candidates is very wide for them.
Doing the apprenticeship will give you very valuable work experience and you will have more money than a typical student but less time.
You will have to do full time work and study unless they choose to give you some time off to do so.
You will need a serious work ethic for this.

If you want to be an accountant having an accounting qualification is of the greater importance than having a degree as it is this that qualifies you for a job.
Being a student you will generally have more time for yourself but less money.
Doing a relevant degree with give you a chance to exempt yourself from sitting some of the exams to qualify.
This is the biggest advantage of the degree route.

Keep in mind that we are forecast to be on the verge of a recession shortly.
So a job offer now is worth more than potentially finding one in the near future
when the job market may be poor for new entrants.
I am an accountant working in industry.
Through work I have meet a number of people who have done apprenticeship schemes.
None of them have ever regretted it.
My job has also made me aware of how competitive it is to land a place on a graduate scheme.

Reply 6

ajj2000

Original post by LouiseRu

Keep in mind that we are forecast to be on the verge of a recession shortly.
So a job offer now is worth more than potentially finding one in the near future
when the job market may be poor for new entrants.

This is hugely important. The toughest barrier is normally getting your first job and some experience. If you can get it now it might be very valuable - no guarantee you would get the same opportunity in the future.

Reply 7

OliTaylor05

Original post by Alecia Jones

I don’t know which one I should do.

If you want other options than solely accountancy do a degree, if you only want to do accountancy do an apprenticeship.

I've applied to Bishop Fleming Launchpad and got offered a position this week, as an A-Level yr 13 student. And I get my ACA in 5 years, quicker then you'd get it if you went to uni.