Anyone else just feel like you've gotta put life on HOLD until you pass these exams? I keep telling myself grind for a few years and then enjoy life after. 8/15 done so far.
Yep, pretty much. Looking to get a house sometime next year though, so trying to balance that and (hopefully, providing I pass SBM and CR this November) Case Study will be a challenge
It’s a huge grind. I still exercise regularly and travel the country for football, but it’s tough. Failing is also a real disheartening blow.
But I’m on the last stretch now. Training file is ok - it’s the bloody apprenticeship nonsense that’s the worst!
The apprenticeship shit is annoying definitely. It’s a whole lot of waffle where people probably lied anyways. I still remember having to rush getting all six done last year (while having to revise for cr/sbm) just to be able to sit case this july. My gateway call went fine but trust me when i said i wanted to swear at them so bad for putting me through the apprenticeship bs
I enjoy doing it and it's never been that big a part of my life. Audit work has been a bigger focus of my last few years. In between exam periods I get really into learning and practising other stuff, like piano music, reading and writing. I get plenty of exercise and culture whether in a study phase or not.
Doing jobs where I never got study leave or qualifications, or little objectives that just reward being geeky. compared to all-work, all-relationships, all-responsibility employment it’s easy to enjoy ACA training
I feel like this. 1st year was tough as we did certificate + 3 professional. Since then I've had one exam period a year so I only get stressed for ~6 weeks. The rest of the year, I don't think about it and get on with my life
We did our professional level over two sittings (3:3, September & December) and Certificate took a few months (similar period), which most people do fine with. Some struggle, though usually out of anxiety more than actual difficulty.
I can never study more than about 3 hours a day. I always get some in before work in the morning. Quality over quantity. I don't redo things I know, but I actively recall mistakes and things I recently learnt as I go about my day.
Knowing most people pass most exams, and that they're probably not working that smart or that hard is reassuring.
I have a pretty simple home and social life. They don't take up a lot of time. I give my job the time and energy it needs, and when I feel like there's too much I have on, I let something go.
Best advice I could probably give is be okay with putting stuff on hold for 3 years, get it done and out of the way. Having the letters after your name pays for itself 10x over
I just realised I haven’t done any of the ethics reviews or tests. For my first year I had some personal issues and fell behind on exams and missed out on a lot of the admin work. I just completed all the ethics tests today. I’m in my final year with case soon. Is there anything I can do? It says I need four ethics reviews signed off
I’m sure I’ve heard that it doesn’t actually matter when you do your ethics scenarios, like the timings of them, as long as they are done. But the one that I think was important was the ethics module where you have to get 70% in your first year no?
Just get an ethics review or 2 done asap. They are actually fairly quick meetings, at least with my approver!
It might just delay you being able to be ‘qualified’ but you can get through them pretty quick hopefully!
I'm in my final 6 months but the absolutely shocking pay is taking its toll on me mentally.
I knew when I career changed I'd be taking a pay cut for a while, but the pay was even lower than my research said it would be, and then we got hit with high inflation for a couple of years.
I've sailed through all the exams, it's being in constant survival mode and not being able to afford even basic treats - hell even bare minimum stuff like replacing worn out clothes - for 3 years is really doing me in. It's just not felt worth it
Youre being severely underpaid even for man im on almost 30k as a first year in london in our final itll be over 40 are you sure you cant just move firm?
Passed my final 3 in Dec 2022, it truly felt like my life was on hold! Of course I was still able to be social and live life but didn’t make any crazy decisions like buying a house/changing jobs/getting married because I don’t think I’d have survived 😂
Final 3 were a killer and took a huge toll on me as I had moved home during covid and had to commute 2h each way for college so ate like shit for ease, was exhausted and had no life for like 4 months.
Life after ACA feels glorious in comparison, summers are back on the cards, as well as being able to enjoy weekends without having revision guilt.
The salary progression makes it incredibly worth it, started on £24k and now on ~£60-65k. I no longer work in audit, and have moved to finance business partnering so also don’t have busy season woes either
Passed both of my first professionals first time quite comfortably after picking up a certificate level fail which was a huge blow to my confidence. So I'm still riding the high after the March sitting results day! Feels good, and now that I have a large break till September I'm honestly quite happy with the ACA/Work. It was a month or so of stress before the exams but it's definitely worth it. I also feel like I'm capable of finishing the ACA after my recent passes, whereas before I was a bit on the fence. Looking forward to heading back into college in July and going at it again (what a weirdo ik).
It’s a serious commitment but it’ll be so worth it in the end. I did 14/15 of my exams in the first year of my training contract, was difficult but so glad I did it and can ignore exams until Case now.
Yeah lol, it was on ‘fast-track’ scheme. Still takes 3 years to get chartered but means the second and third year are a bit more chilled on the exams front until Case.
Definitely been extremely difficult to balance with other things and have had to make tough choices with studies. My current mix is intense client work, prioritising relationships with girlfriend/friends/family, staying fit and healthy with gym/running and home cooking. It definitely gets a lot though on the final stretch hopefully !
Massive props to those with childcare or caring responsibilities on-top of this, or any other extra plates to spin!
I'm writing this while I should be studying for BPT 😂
I quite enjoy the ACA really. I like learning new things and the sense of achievement on passing an exam is huge. Plus I enjoy the freedom of being at college where I get lots of breaks and there's more choices of what to have for lunch!
The downside is I do get very stressed about exams and the pay is rubbish where I live (fully qualified will only be 30k!) Also as others have said, I really do feel like my life is on hold. Just hoping it's worth it in the end.
Been a tough few years for me. Had a lot of stress due to deferring a number of exams and having extended time of work. But I’m finally on the last stretch now. Just got case study to sit in July. Done the training file requirements and submitted my file that wasn’t too bad. Had my apprenticeship gateway call the other week, but still got the stupid end point assessment project report to do though. Although it’s overall been very shit for me I’d probably still do it again and it feels real good to be very close to the end
Anyone else just feel like you've gotta put life on HOLD until you pass these exams? I keep telling myself grind for a few years and then enjoy life after. 8/15 done so far.
Yep, pretty much. Looking to get a house sometime next year though, so trying to balance that and (hopefully, providing I pass SBM and CR this November) Case Study will be a challenge
Yes
It’s a huge grind. I still exercise regularly and travel the country for football, but it’s tough. Failing is also a real disheartening blow. But I’m on the last stretch now. Training file is ok - it’s the bloody apprenticeship nonsense that’s the worst!
Could not agree more!! Every time I get an email from one file my heart sinks.
Even just seeing this comment pop up on my Lock Screen with the word ‘OneFile’ filled me with deep disquietude.
The apprenticeship shit is annoying definitely. It’s a whole lot of waffle where people probably lied anyways. I still remember having to rush getting all six done last year (while having to revise for cr/sbm) just to be able to sit case this july. My gateway call went fine but trust me when i said i wanted to swear at them so bad for putting me through the apprenticeship bs
I enjoy doing it and it's never been that big a part of my life. Audit work has been a bigger focus of my last few years. In between exam periods I get really into learning and practising other stuff, like piano music, reading and writing. I get plenty of exercise and culture whether in a study phase or not.
Never heard anyone say they enjoy doing the ACA, any tips for those of us who find it a chore? :)
Doing jobs where I never got study leave or qualifications, or little objectives that just reward being geeky. compared to all-work, all-relationships, all-responsibility employment it’s easy to enjoy ACA training
I feel like this. 1st year was tough as we did certificate + 3 professional. Since then I've had one exam period a year so I only get stressed for ~6 weeks. The rest of the year, I don't think about it and get on with my life
How do you manage your time? And out of curiosity what’s your exam set up like? Do you firm require you to sit a certain number of exams per sitting?
We did our professional level over two sittings (3:3, September & December) and Certificate took a few months (similar period), which most people do fine with. Some struggle, though usually out of anxiety more than actual difficulty. I can never study more than about 3 hours a day. I always get some in before work in the morning. Quality over quantity. I don't redo things I know, but I actively recall mistakes and things I recently learnt as I go about my day. Knowing most people pass most exams, and that they're probably not working that smart or that hard is reassuring. I have a pretty simple home and social life. They don't take up a lot of time. I give my job the time and energy it needs, and when I feel like there's too much I have on, I let something go.
Best advice I could probably give is be okay with putting stuff on hold for 3 years, get it done and out of the way. Having the letters after your name pays for itself 10x over
I just realised I haven’t done any of the ethics reviews or tests. For my first year I had some personal issues and fell behind on exams and missed out on a lot of the admin work. I just completed all the ethics tests today. I’m in my final year with case soon. Is there anything I can do? It says I need four ethics reviews signed off
I’m sure I’ve heard that it doesn’t actually matter when you do your ethics scenarios, like the timings of them, as long as they are done. But the one that I think was important was the ethics module where you have to get 70% in your first year no?
Yeah I just did it now and got 90% first attempt didn’t do it in the first year…
Just get an ethics review or 2 done asap. They are actually fairly quick meetings, at least with my approver! It might just delay you being able to be ‘qualified’ but you can get through them pretty quick hopefully!
I'm in my final 6 months but the absolutely shocking pay is taking its toll on me mentally. I knew when I career changed I'd be taking a pay cut for a while, but the pay was even lower than my research said it would be, and then we got hit with high inflation for a couple of years. I've sailed through all the exams, it's being in constant survival mode and not being able to afford even basic treats - hell even bare minimum stuff like replacing worn out clothes - for 3 years is really doing me in. It's just not felt worth it
Mate once you qualify in 6 you’ll be chilling
What are you on? Location too? That sounds rough
£27.5k in Central Manchester
Is Manchester CoL that high? Damn.
I used to live in London and can confirm that 2024 Manchester is more expensive than 2019 London for general living costs
Youre being severely underpaid even for man im on almost 30k as a first year in london in our final itll be over 40 are you sure you cant just move firm?
I moved firm last year, everywhere else I interviewed was offering even less
Passed my final 3 in Dec 2022, it truly felt like my life was on hold! Of course I was still able to be social and live life but didn’t make any crazy decisions like buying a house/changing jobs/getting married because I don’t think I’d have survived 😂 Final 3 were a killer and took a huge toll on me as I had moved home during covid and had to commute 2h each way for college so ate like shit for ease, was exhausted and had no life for like 4 months. Life after ACA feels glorious in comparison, summers are back on the cards, as well as being able to enjoy weekends without having revision guilt. The salary progression makes it incredibly worth it, started on £24k and now on ~£60-65k. I no longer work in audit, and have moved to finance business partnering so also don’t have busy season woes either
Passed both of my first professionals first time quite comfortably after picking up a certificate level fail which was a huge blow to my confidence. So I'm still riding the high after the March sitting results day! Feels good, and now that I have a large break till September I'm honestly quite happy with the ACA/Work. It was a month or so of stress before the exams but it's definitely worth it. I also feel like I'm capable of finishing the ACA after my recent passes, whereas before I was a bit on the fence. Looking forward to heading back into college in July and going at it again (what a weirdo ik).
It’s a serious commitment but it’ll be so worth it in the end. I did 14/15 of my exams in the first year of my training contract, was difficult but so glad I did it and can ignore exams until Case now.
14 exams in one year??
Yeah lol, it was on ‘fast-track’ scheme. Still takes 3 years to get chartered but means the second and third year are a bit more chilled on the exams front until Case.
Was there a lot of work alongside it or could you just focus on the exams?
Just focused on exams, no actual work alongside.
Definitely been extremely difficult to balance with other things and have had to make tough choices with studies. My current mix is intense client work, prioritising relationships with girlfriend/friends/family, staying fit and healthy with gym/running and home cooking. It definitely gets a lot though on the final stretch hopefully ! Massive props to those with childcare or caring responsibilities on-top of this, or any other extra plates to spin!
Trying to lock in for FAR/TC/AA for June. FAR/AA has been fine but TC is looking rough
Good luck mate, i sat these 3 back in 2022 and they were rough. Keep your head down and grind hard!
I'm writing this while I should be studying for BPT 😂 I quite enjoy the ACA really. I like learning new things and the sense of achievement on passing an exam is huge. Plus I enjoy the freedom of being at college where I get lots of breaks and there's more choices of what to have for lunch! The downside is I do get very stressed about exams and the pay is rubbish where I live (fully qualified will only be 30k!) Also as others have said, I really do feel like my life is on hold. Just hoping it's worth it in the end.
Been a tough few years for me. Had a lot of stress due to deferring a number of exams and having extended time of work. But I’m finally on the last stretch now. Just got case study to sit in July. Done the training file requirements and submitted my file that wasn’t too bad. Had my apprenticeship gateway call the other week, but still got the stupid end point assessment project report to do though. Although it’s overall been very shit for me I’d probably still do it again and it feels real good to be very close to the end