Fund accountant entry level or graduate accounting trainee

Muse23

hi, i'm starting work at fund accounting company in dublin pretty soon.i started applying for jobs as trainee accountant after i finished my accountancy masters back in august, mainly with big 4 and medium sized firms.also applied for the fund accountant position,which i got offer for.at the time of offer,didn't have any other offers so i accepted,definitely wud prefer it to nothin.i had been intending to go aca, have cap1 and cap2.but would have to do acca if stayed with fund accounting firm.
don't really mind doing acca, i've read about both and not lookin for feedback on the two qualifications or the fact it may now take longer to get thru exams.but basically,was thinking of keeping applying for 2012 intake for medium and big 4 accountancy firms, maybe for audit graduate program.hav applications in before recent deadlines,waitin for response from them.
just wonderin, how wud potential accounting firm look upon my intent to leave current firm or the fact i have a job,wud they see it as a positive thing,good ambition wantin to leav for better,etc.or wud they look at it negatively?
ideal scenario wud b to get accepted for september 2012 intake and wud b workin for under a year in fund accounting place and then movin on,try get away with startin down acca route.wudnt even mind enterin a 3.5 year contract if necessary for accounting firm. I get that it may look bad if u enter a job knowing u'll b leaving for another job soon but wuda thot it'd b understandable if i got offer after i started job and wanted to leave for better career prospects.
fairly long winded but any feedback appreciated.
also,wud workin for medium/small sized accounting practice for training contract be better for career progression than workin as entry level fund accountant for same period?

xXlollsXx

When I left college (four years ago) I wanted to become a financial accountant but couldn't get a job as one so took a
Fund accounting job to keep me going. Since then I've been stuck in funds, it's a rut to no end, it's a far cry from being an accountant, fund accounting has got nothing to do with actual accountancy. It's an admin job and outside of Dublin anyways you'll be paid in line with the same as working in good supermarket. In fact though I think that If you actually worked in lidle or aldi you'd get paid more. When your working in financial services you get 1.5 days per exam which is nothing compared with practices so all your hols will go towards your exams. So if your prepared to get paid nothing, throw your degee out the window because you could teach a monkey to be be a fund accountant then I'd advise you to be one, other than that I'd say steer clear of it as it hard to get out of and you loose all credibility of being a genuine accountant when you go down this road.

abcshamo

xXlollsXx wrote: »

When I left college (four years ago) I wanted to become a financial accountant but couldn't get a job as one so took a
Fund accounting job to keep me going. Since then I've been stuck in funds, it's a rut to no end, it's a far cry from being an accountant, fund accounting has got nothing to do with actual accountancy. It's an admin job and outside of Dublin anyways you'll be paid in line with the same as working in good supermarket. In fact though I think that If you actually worked in lidle or aldi you'd get paid more. When your working in financial services you get 1.5 days per exam which is nothing compared with practices so all your hols will go towards your exams. So if your prepared to get paid nothing, throw your degee out the window because you could teach a monkey to be be a fund accountant then I'd advise you to be one, other than that I'd say steer clear of it as it hard to get out of and you loose all credibility of being a genuine accountant when you go down this road.

I totally agree with you. I was a fund accountant. In fact everyone can be an fund accountant....

phunkymonk

abcshamo wrote: »

I totally agree with you. I was a fund accountant. In fact everyone can be an fund accountant....

im also in this line of work but hoping to step out of the industry within the next 12 months exams pending!if i get qualified and stay there i feel like i will have thrown away a great career opportunity to actually work as an accountant..the hours are ****e,pay not great at the minute tho overall prospects seem good in that u could move up quickly but its so routine could drive you nuts!if your main motivation is money this could be a career for you as the next 10 yrs could see a big demand for fund accountants in ireland..but if its accounting you want to work in then stay away,the level of training you receive in a big 4 firm is not comparable to working in funds,try for an accountancy practice and accept if u get one..there will be stages where you will hate auditing but as far as experience goes it really is more valuable than working a normal accounting job or god forbid in funds...