teaching or accounting!?!?!?! (1 Viewer)

[Tubby69]

Hello guys,

Well, i've pretty much had my mind set on teaching... that is, until i've had a word with my old p.e. teacher. she say that the pay is not that great, although, finding a job is pretty much guranteed. she suggested that i should try my luck with accounting, even though its "pretty boring calculator work". i don't think i'm that bad with numbers (had band e3 for both mx1 and mx2). So what do you guys think? Are there any courses you guys can suggest if I wish to pursue a career in the wonderful world of accounting? (and which uni's to go to). I've quite alot of "indian" people holding accounting books on the bus, so i've assumed that its quite competitive.

thanks anyways

 

[ehtefaz.hedayet]

you should honestly do what you really like, coz the idea of accounting does sound boring but does end up with good pay methinks. Teaching is not bad at all, so i think teaching would be a better option imo

 

[Sadiah]

Like the guy above said - do what you think is best.

But personally, I reckon teaching is a beautiful job:
- respective
- a lot of holidays
- flexible
- alright pay
- its fun

Plus - ever heard of "seek knowledge and serve thy nation"?

This was my school's motto =]

Plus I think if money isn't your first priority, then commit to a career that you would enjoy, rather than committing to a career in which you wake up in the morning and are like omg I cant wait till the day's over ... so you could just get your money.

Do what you think you'll enjoy!

Goodluck.

Sorry if I'm being biased coz I, myself, am doing Teaching. =]

 

[Tubby69]

i honestly like both!

but the accounting thing does sound very... bland, black and while and dull.

i'm a fun person i guess, so accounting might not... suit me.

well are there any courses u guys can suggest for account? and are there anything thing else i have to do after completing my course? cpa/ca??

 

[Sadiah]

i honestly like both!

Do both then. =]

 

[lyounamu]

You should definitely do what you really like. But if you have some courses that you equally like, you should choose the one with better pay, better job condition and holiday etc.

From what I see, your most desirable career choice is in teaching which you should definitely consider. I know that being a teacher isn't that great in terms of pay however, if you climb up the ranks e.g. deputy-principal or head of the department, you should get higher pay. Besides, teachers get great deal of holidays which they can use to make extra cash so I don't think being a teacher is any bad at all.

EDIT: read your post again. Accounting =/= counting number and shit. It's way much more than that. You should do some more research. You will actually be dissapointed later that accounting doesn't have much maths in it.

 

[Sadiah]

+1

 

[Tubby69]

You should definitely do what you really like. But if you have some courses that you equally like, you should choose the one with better pay, better job condition and holiday etc.

From what I see, your most desirable career choice is in teaching which you should definitely consider. I know that being a teacher isn't that great in terms of pay however, if you climb up the ranks e.g. deputy-principal or head of the department, you should get higher pay. Besides, teachers get great deal of holidays which they can use to make extra cash so I don't think being a teacher is any bad at all.

EDIT: read your post again. Accounting =/= counting number and shit. It's way much more than that. You should do some more research. You will actually be dissapointed later that accounting doesn't have much maths in it.

how much do teachers generally make?
is it also hard to find a job as an accountant?

 

[lyounamu]

how much do teachers generally make?
is it also hard to find a job as an accountant?

Well, I heard that you start around 40K and move up to about 70K normally.

In terms of accountant, it really depends on whether you achieved CPA, CA or not (which are the accounting certificates or whatever). If you achieved them, yeah you would be in great demand but if you haven't, you may still be in little demand but pay would be significantly worse. For example, my mum works at PwC part-time and if she got CA or CPA, she would make so much more money.

 

[ehtefaz.hedayet]

is it also hard to find a job as an accountant?

generally no.

 

[Tubby69]

wats the difference between ca and cpa and are they hard to attain?

 

[lyounamu]

wats the difference between ca and cpa and are they hard to attain?

I am not too sure about the difference. But it's all relative as to whether it is hard or not. But I know that you need to get some work experience and do some exams to achieve those certificates.

 

[Mu5hi]

Teachers start off with 50K~ p/a, but should go higher as in the next 5 years 1/3rd of teachers will retire (baby boomers retiring, article on smh about this). Head teachers earn about 70-80k, and deputies a bit more and so on. A teachers pay increases about 3% or something each year aswell.
Accountants isnt recession proof and some get real low pay 40K p/a and some get very good pay 100k p/a.

If your heart is in teaching become a teacher as you will move up the ladder alot faster and probably enjoy it and end up making more then if you became an account.

 

[Mu5hi]

I am not too sure about the difference. But it's all relative as to whether it is hard or not. But I know that you need to get some work experience and do some exams to achieve those certificates.

CPA and CA are two different associations, You need 2-4 years experience before you can apply for them. Also you got to do some exams to become certified.

 

[Tubby69]

lol, maybe i'll just stay with teaching. accounting seems too "high maintenance"

 

[Schoey93]

Hello guys,

Well, i've pretty much had my mind set on teaching... that is, until i've had a word with my old p.e. teacher. she say that the pay is not that great, although, finding a job is pretty much guranteed. she suggested that i should try my luck with accounting, even though its "pretty boring calculator work". i don't think i'm that bad with numbers (had band e3 for both mx1 and mx2). So what do you guys think? Are there any courses you guys can suggest if I wish to pursue a career in the wonderful world of accounting? (and which uni's to go to). I've quite alot of "indian" people holding accounting books on the bus, so i've assumed that its quite competitive.

thanks anyways

My dad is a fifty-two-year-old accountant and he runs his own business with another male friend (BTW my dad's not gay if it sounds like that..). He makes about $40,000 gross a year. After tax one could say he sees about $25000 of it.

Accounting is good for people who like maths, according to my dad (he did 4U back in the day and got good marks, too!)... but I would NOT do it unless you are prepared to sit through meeting after meeting discussing whether or not taxable deductions are valid or not, seriously. That is the main part of my dad's job - apart from just working with taxation, he has to discern with his business partner and employees (one being his GF, Lizz) whether or not people have made up certain deductions.

You would be surprised just how many people try to get away with FAKE deductions! And when Dad inevitably tells them "we caught ya" they often get embarrassed and find another accounting firm...


It's up to you; I wouldn't account for shit myself, but now if I be a bit more serious: it's a rewarding career. Dad's a CPA... he did a B Bus (Bachelor of Business) at UTS and then did a CPA program through Macquarie and UWS. You can also become a CPA with a degree in Taxation (B Tax @ UNSW), a B Comm or a B Eco.

The TAFE option is available... but it means you won't be a Chartered Account or a Certified Practising Accountant... which limits your 'reliability, so to speak' and your 'trustworthiness'. It's your choice.

 

[83]

haha accounting has way more than just numbers.. it's more about memorising concepts, decision-making, etc.it's actually very subjective

 

[5233andy]

I don't think accounting, generally, involves high level maths. I read in one of those university course descriptions that on the HSC level, general maths is recommended to lay a foundation.

If anything, you would do two majors, one being accounting. If you don't like being an accountant when you're out, working in the real world, use the other one.

 

[BeDifferent]

To be a teacher, your heart has to be 100% in it. The pay and holidays are great but the amount of hours doing after school work like marking, making worksheets, lesson plans etc counters it. You will be taking home a lot of work as well. Teacher's start off with 50 K plus but the pay increases with experience.

Teaching is not as easy as you think as well. Some people are brilliant academics but are completely shocking teachers. Seriously I think teachers are born not taught.

In regards to teaching education, you have to do a bachelor degree majoring in what you are teaching alongside a teaching degree. So if you are good at maths and want to teach it, you will need to study mathematics at a university level and it can get pretty hard sometimes.

Also another aspect you have to acknowledge is that if you are planning to teach high school some of the kids have behavioural problems (especially some of the schools around Western and South Western suburbs), some may have ADHD and learning difficulties, which can make your job tough. You would also need a thick skin as well. You need to be passionate about your students or they'll know.

Additionally it's a myth that there's a lot of teaching jobs available, there are but it's only certain teaching disciplines such as physics, chemistry, mathematics, industrial tech etc. Primary teachers are not in dire need so it may be difficult to find a job if you're planning to be a primary school teacher. The DET are also changing the way they hire teachers now and you might have to find teaching jobs by yourself through advertisements.

You can get more info on the Department of Education and Training Website (DET).
You can also check out the employment position available to see for yourself which areas of Sydney need which kind of teachers.

Sorry for the long post but I am passionate about teaching and extremely passionate about good teachers. Once again do teaching if you LOVE it.

 

[BeDifferent]

Another thing if you choose to do an accounting degree and then a graduate degree in teaching, you might not be approved to teach anything but "commerce" depending on your major. Accounting degrees in university have very little or no maths. You may choose to do other subjects in your elective stream to teach those subjects as "2nd teaching subjects" but most universities are not very flexible like that.

To be approved to teach a certain subject you would need a major in that subject (6 units - 2 second year, 4 third year). For example if you want to be a maths teacher you would need to do all the core maths in 1st year (usually 4 subjects), 2 or more second year subjects and 4 third year subjects. This usually changes with universities but to be eligible to teach maths in NSW, you need minimium 6 mathematics units with no less than 4 being 2nd year and above (obviously you need more than that gain a major in mathematics).

All the info you need is here
NSW Institute of Teachers: Home