Accounting Career

Every organization that deals in any kind of transaction requires the services of an accountant No organization, small or big can run without maintaining accounts. If you wish to be and accountant then you need to evaluate the present and future economic activities of the company and manage the funds and assets and liabilities of the organization

Roles of an Accountant in a broad sense:

Record business transactions

Prepare Financial Statements

Calculate cost and financial accounts

Calculation of computing cost and efficiency gains

Preparing tax strategy

Handling tax filing

If you have a knack for mathematics and desire to see a long tail of figures flowing down then you can select a career in accountancy. You must have an analytical head and a manipulative mind to be able to handle accounts of any organization.

Areas of specialization

The Accounting stream has many areas of specialization. Some of the popular functional areas are listed below:

Audit

{{If you wish to be an auditor then you would be required to check ledger books and financial statements. This is a completely computerize work. Audit is one of the most important functions of the accounting system. If you select a career in auditing then you would have theoretical and accounting subjects in your specialization.

Financial Accounting

As a Financial accountant you would have to gather information from the general ledgers to prepare financial statements. Financial accounts give in-depth information about liquidity ratio, equity ratio etc which help in determining the financial strength of the organization and help the business to take specific decisions  regarding acquisition , merger and other long and short term financial projections

Management Accounting

If you wish to be a part of decision making, handling capital budgets and work on business analysis the Management Accounts is the career for you. Superficially it all looks very simple and easy but you would have to handle cost analysis and contract analysis etc. All your efforts would be directed towards controlling expenses. As a management accountant your would be required to work together with marketing and financial managers

Budget Analysis

There are many job opportunities for Budget analysts. Your basic functional area would be to develop and organize financial plans You would be required to have competitive skills in calculations and also negotiation skills. As you would be involved in negotiations so you should also possess good communication skills

Income Tax

Tax accounting is interesting but only if you are able to understand the tax code and use them accurately. As a tax accountant you would be required to prepare corporate and personal income tax statements. You would also have the responsibility to build strategies for deferring taxes, when to expense items, how to approach a merger or acquisition, etc.

At times while working you realize that you are not meant for the job you are into. You feel out of place and the only thing that comes on your mind is to quit the present job and get into a new one. Do you really want a change in career or you just need a break. Consider a few things and then take the big decision.

Know yourself

Think about the things that you don’t like at your work place. Is your boss exploiting your expertise or is the politics giving you unnecessary worries? Or it is that you wanted to become someone else. It could also be the work pressure that is bothering you. Make a list of all your dislikes. After this, list out all your likes, what kind of a work atmosphere would you prefer? What kind of profile would you like to have? What is your passion? Spare some quality time for yourself and find out all those things that you want and that you don’t want. Be clear with your thoughts; don’t get them affected by other people or other factors.

Planning a new career

Once you have been able to discover your likes and passion then try to find out what kind of career you can choose. measure all the careers that you can have around your passion. Suppose you are an engineer and realize that your passion lies in wildlife photography then you can go for a career change for sure but before that you need to get trained in the new field too. Will you be able to leave your present career and start planning a new career from the scratch? You will have to take proper education and course before entering into the new field.

Social network

You should have a social network of people who can help you in advising and who can show you career leads. Ask them about their companies try to get yourself introduced to new and influential people in the industry.  

Mentor

Changing career is far more difficult decision than changing the job. Taking this decision alone is not recommended. I would always advice that you should find a good mentor when you plan to change your career. A mentor would show you the right direction . I don’t say that your mentor should be a highly influential person but if he is then you have better chances to be introduced to more and more people of your chosen field. Your mentor may also help you with his references and contacts.

Experience

When you start a new career you start it from the beginning . I have already said that you need to go for training or a course in the field that you wish to enter now. When you are changing that means you are starting from square one so it would be better to join a part time job while you are studying. This would help you have an upper edge over the other students with you. You have to work up more to gain some experience in the field.

Change of career is a prime decision and if you don’t take it seriously then it is your loss. You lose the job that was earning for you and you get into a newer field that is not known to you. At this hour all that you need to do is to work up hard to make your career.

If you have a knack in buying and selling of real estate then a real estate career can be good for you. To become a residential real estate agent you specialize in working with homeowners and to become a commercial real estate agent you deal in office space and buildings. As a real estate agent your earning potential is limited to fixed percentage commission of the sale price. The higher is the sale price; higher will be your commission.

As a real estate agent you will have to mediate between the sellers and buyers of land and buildings for a price. Buyers and sellers expect you to be an expert in the complicated paper work, provisions and proceedings associated with land and building transactions. You should be able to steer the prospective owners to get a fair deal. It may take a lot of effort and skills to become a master of the trade. Here are some steps that you can follow to become a master of your field.

Personality enhancement

Your personality, communication skills, persuasion skills matter a lot in this field because you are required to give a presentation every time you interact with a buyer or a seller. An ineffective communication from your end would never be able to strike a deal . If you feel that you have something lacking in your personality then go for a personality development course that would help improve your communication skills and also perk up your body language which matters a lot while you are talking to someone in person.

Institute for Real estate courses

A professional course on any field of your choice gives you an advantage over the people who join your field with you. Find out about the sanctioned institutions that offer different courses. For this you can contact the professional licensing commission of your state or the association for real estate in your area. For any such course your need to be a high school graduate and above 18 years of age. You would have to take written tests so that your knowledge in real estate trade is being evaluated.

Recruitment process

When your course is over and you are specialized proficientto have the knowledge of real estate then you must start looking for those real estate agencies that are ready to hire agents without much experience. You may find such agents online or on the yellow pages. If you have the proper knowledge, potential and skills then you would become a part of brokerage.

Individual Practice

Its sounds great when one talks about individual practice but if you plan to start individual practice without gaining experience then you may land up in some problem. So it is always recommended to start individual practice only after working for 3-5 years with a real estate broker.  

License

Finally when your skills are nurtured and you think you have become fit to start your own real estate company then get your broker’s license. This is no science that you would get a list of formula for business. You will have to keep adopting newer tricks and ways to handle your client.

A professional who uses various media to create logos, banners, web pages, greeting cards newsletters and signs etc. is a Graphic Designer. adept designers also create 2D and 3D animations. Graphic designers design video games and even create web sites. Graphic designers also design the background of scenes that are shot on chroma. Some reconstructions and illustrations that we regularly see on television are also works of graphic designers. Graphic designing is a technical art that needs a lot of accuracy and proficiency. You must go into a graphic designing career only if you feel you have it in you.

Being a graphic designer you can either work as an employee or you can work as a freelance graphic designer. Your designs speaks for your skills. Graphic designers use desktop publishing programs for completing their various projects. As graphic designer you would be required to produce rich text and high quality images.

First step towards Graphic Designing:

Inborn talent

You must have a knack for drawing and sketching. If you have the skills then nurture them by joining some classes. This would help you learn the aesthetics.

Degree in Graphic Design

There is a neck to neck competition in this field so it would be better to have a college degree in graphic arts or computer graphics. It is not a mandatory but an added advantage.

Sample work

When you plan to attend a graphic designing school for a degree in graphic arts then be prepared with some sample art works of yours. Your works may be simple but they must show that you have a keen interest in the course .

Keep learning

Keep learning and applying your knowledge to your sample projects. Keep yourself abreast with the latest technological advancements in the field of graphics. The more you acquire knowledge the more eligible you become for a course.

Training

When you get admission in a graphic design college try to get an internship in the design department of a graphic designing organization. An internship would not only make your resume look good but it would give you exposure to the practical aspects of the job. It would also help you to build contacts in the related field, which would help you get graphic designer job when you are out of college .

Freelance projects

You may even start handling simpler projects after a few months in college. This adds to your experience, giving exposure to the practical aspects of the work. Freelance projects would also add a feather to your resume and make you a shade better than those applying for the graphic designing job with you.

Technological Developments

This is a creative field and you must keep track of the latest trends and latest developments in the field. You must have an eye for packaging trends of the media and build the same kind of thinking.

If you are planning to become a graphic designer then build your own perception. Look at things differently and try to present them in an appealing fashion. You need to have a creative heart and mind. Simple thinking would not reach you to your destination.

You must possess extra creativity and add your creativity to the project before submitting it to your employer or client. Think different to present different!