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Feel like there must be more to life than slugging away behind a desk and giving businesses manage their taxes? You might be right — here are a few ideas to help you make a successful transition to something new.
Is your heart telling you that it’s time to make a career change from accounting? Maybe you entered the field for the money or job security, but a few years down the line, you’re feeling stuck. It might sound crazy to leave behind a respected profession, but there are plenty of alternative options at your disposal.
We’ll run through everything you need to know before leaving the accounting world for good, along with the top options for you to consider. These range from becoming a no-code programmer (yes, really) to a teacher. So, make sure you stick around!
If you’ve made a Google search for “accounting career change options” or something similar, chances are that you’re ready to make a change. But sometimes, we find ourselves doubting our feelings and need some affirmation. If so, look out for the signals outlined below.
Feeling some level of intellectual stimulation, passion, or enjoyment toward your work shouldn’t be a luxury. The more you enjoy what you do, the more likely you are to feel motivated enough to progress and earn more.
Plus, if you find your work too routine and easy, it may signal you’re capable of achieving more.
To a certain extent, it’s a natural human instinct to wonder what life would have been like if we’d taken Path A instead of Path B. But if you find yourself constantly feeling envious of others’ jobs or you spend a lot of time researching alternative careers, you might not be in the right field.
We should work to live and not live to work. If the dread or negativity you feel toward your job has started to encroach on your personal life, it’s a huge red flag. Stop punishing yourself and look for work that won’t hurt your mental health — besides, it will make you more productive.
This one connects to Sign 1. Once you no longer feel your job challenges you, chances are that you’ll become complacent. In other words, you may stop caring about trying to do the best you can in every task or aim for that promotion. Instead, you spend your time at work procrastinating and watching the clock.
Look out for signs of complacency, and work hard to combat them.
Not everyone needs to enjoy their job every single day; some people are happy to know they’re providing for their family or earning enough to maintain a high quality of life. But if you’ve reached the point in your job where even the prospect of getting a raise isn’t enough to keep you motivated, it might be time to say goodbye to your role.
You don’t need to relate to all the five signs outlined above to give yourself permission to launch into a career change. But if a few of them are resonating with you, that’s a sign that it may be time to seriously consider going down an alternative path.
Fortunately, we have all the tips on how to do exactly that — starting with our top skill for 2022, no-code development.
Have you ever felt envious of your tech friends? The sector is known for generous pay, a great work-life balance, and a roaring job market.
But did you know that you no longer need a technology-related degree or coding knowledge to join them? Welcome to the world of no-code development.
The name might throw you off, but essentially, a citizen developer is someone who can do everything a standard developer can without having to code. They’re a “normal person” capable of programming.
These days, plenty of tools and applications make it possible to develop sophisticated applications or designs in accessible and intuitive ways. For instance, you might drag and drop items instead of learning a coding language.
And many firms are embracing the trend — just check out this video from the Project Management Institute (PMI).
You may see citizen developer (or no-code/low-code) jobs advertised with other names, such as a Business Systems Analyst, Business Analyst, Process Improvement Consultant, or Process Automation Consultant, or similar.
A range of $100,000-$125,000 is very possible to achieve.
You might assume starting a new career path that’s (seemingly) unrelated to accountancy would mean you’re starting at square one. However, reaching a good level in accountancy sends a few strong signals to potential employers:
All of this proves that you could thrive in a job where you need to learn a new skill, make business decisions involving data, and communicate and collaborate effectively with a team. So, don’t undersell yourself.
Considering the demand among companies for building applications, you’re unlikely to be out of work for long once you get to grips with the basics.
Impatient about going from a novice citizen developer to a six-figure professional? The best way to get yourself ahead is through training and upskilling.
You’ll need to master essential no-code tools to be able to build marketing and workflow automations, web and mobile apps, and internal business tools.
You can learn a lot from studying on YouTube and reading relevant blog posts, but it can also be helpful to sign up for a course if you want a structured program and some support. No Code Institute is dedicated to providing exactly this, and its No-Code Foundations Program will walk you through how to become a no-code pro. In just seven weeks, you’ll be able to build everything from e-commerce sites to databases, in addition to receiving support from experts and help with creating a portfolio.
Being a citizen developer is a fantastic option, but the truth is that it’s not for everyone. If you’d like to look elsewhere (or just weigh up your options), here are six other jobs to consider.
Earning potential: $74,000-$80,000
If you like the idea of working in the tech sector or having a more business-focused role, but you find the prospect of becoming a no-code developer a little too daunting, why not consider project management? This is also a great option for accountants who feel they would benefit from more human interaction in their roles, and your organizational skills will be an asset.
Since citizen developers and project managers often work alongside each other, this can be a useful stepping stone into a more tech-focused career.
Earning potential: $74,000-$107,000
Many accountants went into the profession because they’re good at working with numbers but get tired of the lack of fulfillment. Financial advisors get a bit of both — you’ll get to see the direct results of helping your clients, but the core skills involved are very similar.
Earning potential: $71,000-$84,000
If you want to do something slightly different from accountancy with the same skillset you have now, a position as a financial analyst could be ideal. In this case, your focus will be on helping an organization to make future predictions and analyze trends rather than ensuring its finances are in check on a daily basis.
Earning potential: $70,000-$85,000
On the surface, working in communication and being an accountant might sound as far apart as you can get. But if you’re dying to learn a brand-new skillset, this could be the perfect way to do it. Most people working in marketing or communications lack specialist knowledge about accounting, yet all accounting firms need help with their communications — meaning there’s a gap in the market for people like you.
Earning potential: $50,000-$70,000
Feel that you lack a sense of purpose in the accounting world? Teaching offers that in fistfuls. Teachers who go into the profession after working another job first are often able to provide a kind of guidance and real-life experience that many of their peers can’t. While it might not have a reputation for high-paying work, you can make a significant amount if you progress into leadership.
Okay, so you’ve lined up some viable alternatives to accounting and you’re becoming increasingly convinced that making the shift could be the right decision. What next? Here are a few things you need to know.
All those years spent training and working as an accountant don’t need to go to waste just because you’re switching careers. Here are some critical skills that will help you to progress as you pursue something new.
An accountant that lacks attention to detail won’t be one that keeps their job for very long. This is also a skill that practically every profession under the sun benefits from.
Accountants are often so inherently reliable that they don’t even realize what a valuable skill they have and how rare it is. In your applications, highlight the times you’ve stuck to deadlines, juggled projects, or handled sensitive information while following proper conduct.
Sure, as an accountant, you might not be hacking into NASA. But it’s a career that requires you to use software on a daily basis and requires a level of digital literacy you can apply to other fields.
Accountancy is all about analyzing vast amounts of data and being able to come to conclusions about what it means and how you should act on it. That’s invaluable for many other professions.
To an outsider, accountancy might seem like the kind of job that’s all about working with numbers. In reality, you’ll often have to explain your work and its implications to non-accountants, meaning that written and spoken communication skills are essential.
Working with numbers day in and day out shows that you know how to work with data. This is fast becoming something all professions require, from marketing to sales to journalism.
Now, we finally reach what is arguably the most important part of this article. How can you make that career change from accounting? Although there are some variations depending on the job you’re hoping to land in the end, you should be able to follow the basic framework below.
We’ve mentioned multiple career paths you could consider, and your first step should be narrowing things down. Randomly applying for jobs in different fields and hoping that things fall into place or that somebody else will make your decision for you? Probably not going to work.
Start by narrowing down what it is about your current job you dislike (or like), then think about which jobs might offer that for you. In some cases, you may be able to get what you want from the same position at a different company or a different role at the same company rather than making a career change.
Now you’ve decided on the career you want to pursue, you need to build a plan for how you’re going to get there. You’ll need to:
Put together, this information should help you figure out what steps you need to take to get where you need to be. Time to fire up Google!
Based on the information you’ve gathered from the previous step, it’s time to upskill by getting the qualifications you need to kickstart your career. However, this will vary depending on the path you decide to take. In some cases, you might decide to complete a Master’s degree; in others, you might be able to learn everything you need to know from YouTube.
However, the most usual case is that you’ll land somewhere in between and complete some kind of license, short course, or diploma — whether it’s at a local center or online.
Reaching out to a network is something you may want to do before or alongside upskilling. But once you have the qualifications you need, it’s definitely time to pay attention to put your focus here.
Let everyone you know about your plans for an upcoming career change, and you never know who they might be able to put you in contact with. It also helps to post on LinkedIn so that an even wider network knows about your ambitions. If you’re lucky, you might be able to meet people for a quick chat and jumpstart your new career.
Check out this article on optimizing your LinkedIn for a career change.
If you’re lucky, you may have stumbled across someone willing to mentor you in the stage above. But if not, now is a great time to work with a formal career coach or mentor to help you get to where you need to be. Yes, it’s an upfront investment — but if it means you land a better-paying job more quickly, you’ll earn that money back straightaway.
A coach may give you some tough love or they may give you the encouragement to apply for that job you feel underqualified for. Either way, you’ll be able to do it in confidence.
At this point, there’s nothing holding you back from starting your job applications. Try to choose quality over quantity here, and take your time applying for the positions you genuinely like and feel a good fit for. To a certain extent, it’s always going to be a numbers game, but you can still influence your own odds.
If you’ve decided that the world of no-code is your career of choice, then ensuring you know how to use the tools needed for the job is essential. While it’s theoretically possible to learn everything you need to know independently using free online resources, the process is a lot quicker and easier if you enlist support.
That’s where No Code Institute comes in. Instead of you feeling around in the dark for clues and not knowing if you’re on the right path, take part in its tailor-made program to learn the skills you need. You’ll also receive help with finding a job thanks to access to career coaches and a ready-made network for you to tap into.
The program is specially designed for people that don’t have technical skills but do have the right aptitude and attitude.
Deciding to make a career change is never going to be easy, especially when you work in a field as respected and comfortable as accounting. But if you feel it’s not right for you, that’s all that matters. The good news is your time hasn’t been wasted, because the skill set of an accountant is in demand everywhere, including the profitable world of tech.
See yourself becoming a citizen developer? NoCode Institute’s Foundation Program will get you there in seven weeks and maximize your chances of landing the job of your dreams after.
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