Hello folks,

This is my very first post on jobs&careers. Straight to the point, I'm studying in the UK and I'm a penultimate year student, next year will be my placement year (if i'm lucky enough to get a job) else will be proceeded to my final year.
I have so many questions to ask. I hope some of you with related experience can help me out.

I'm thinking which of the professional certificate should i get? ACCA, ACA (ICAEW) or CFA. I wanted to go for ACCA because it is internationally recognized. But after attended some placement fair in Manchester ( I'm studying in manchester) I realised that ACA is preferred by almost all companies in the UK. So I have a 2nd thought since then.
I've talked to my friend regarding this matter and she told me if I were to work in the UK, I need to get ACA, if i'm going to malaysia after graduate then do ACCA because ACCA is very well known in Malaysia. And 1 more thing, after she googled to find out how popular is ICAEW in malaysia, she found out that many people in Malaysia dont even know what ACA is. So I rang my friend who is studying in Rahman university and ask him the same thing. He said " what ICAEW and what ACA is). So what? I'm pretty clear that ACCA would be the one for me.

Few days later, one of my friend came all the way down from Lancaster to Manchester. We met up and talk about ACCA and ICAEW. He told me that he is going to do ACA and I was shocked when I know that his parents from malaysia asked him to do so. His mum is a HR manager and one of her resposibility is to recruit ppl. That means ACA is pretty important for me now.

So what you guys think?

And 1 more thing, I might be going back to malaysia in summer and will be looking for a placement in malaysia if i dont get 1 in the UK. Is there any chance that the company will offer me a full time job after I graduate? And where to apply and which company to apply?

Or it is better for me to finish my final year then go back to find a job in malaysia rather then doing placement first? Work experience before you graduate is really important in the UK. Most company require applicants to have work experience prior graduate.

I hope it's not confusing and I'm sorry for my poor english. Thanks for looking

This post has been edited by Chuanmok: Nov 22 2009, 03:32 AM

Topace111, What do u mean by taking acca-icaew route? Do you mean to first finish ACCA and get some exemptions then continue to do ACA? I'm studying accounting and finance, I dont really know which career suit me best. Sometimes I just think that being an accountant in the future and dealing with numbers and all documents will end up no live. But again... Every job has its pros&cons. I wish someone could give me the insight of each of the career (eg, Accountant, CFA).

Cyclonova, is big4 giving support to its employer to pursue ACA studies? I would say my choice would depends on company if what you say is true. Is there any chance that I will get support from the company after graduation without taking ACCA, ACA or equivalent qualification? MAny people would say "dont pay for the fee yourself, go work in a company and they will send you for training or pay for your tuition fee of professional qualification.

Oh, one important thing. What would be the salary of a fresh graduate like me? Thanks

* Cyclonova, are you saying that you were facing the same problem 2 years ago? Do you mind telling me which qualification did you end up with and which field are you in now?

This post has been edited by Chuanmok: Nov 21 2009, 01:06 AM

Thank you very much for your precious info. I have a clearer view now =)

Below are the exemptions based on the uni and the course im studying.
I dont know what do they mean because I dont know in which paper (1,2,3) they are in. And also how many units in a paper. Can someone explain them to me? Thanks


Accounting

A pass mark of 50% is required in all of the modules listed below, with at least 40% in all assessed elements

5B1010 Financial Accounting

5B2010 Accounting Theory and Practice

Assurance

A pass mark of 50% is required in all of the modules listed below, with at least 40% in all assessed elements

5B3030 Audit and Assurance

Business and Finance

Upper Second or first degree award or 50% is required in all of the modules listed below, with at least 40% in all assessed elements

5B1010 Financial Accounting

5C1030 Management Accounting 1

5B1020 Economics and Law

5C2020 Corporate Finance

5B2010 Accounting Theory and Practice

5B3020 Advanced Accounting Theory and Practice

Law

A pass mark of 50% is required in all of the modules listed below, with at least 40% in all assessed elements

5B1020 Economics and Law

5B2040 Business and Law

Management Information

A pass mark of 50% is required in all of the modules listed below, with at least 40% in all assessed elements

5C1030 Management Accounting 1

5C2030 Management Accounting 2

5C3040 Management Accounting 3

Principles of Taxation

A pass mark of 50% is required in all of the modules listed below, with at least 40% in all assessed elements

5B3040 Theory and Practice of Taxation

Business Strategy

A pass mark of 50% is required in all of the modules listed below, with at least 40% in all assessed elements

5J3080 Strategic Management

(Credit only available to students graduating in 2009 or earlier)

Financial Management

A pass mark of 50% is required in all of the modules listed below, with at least 40% in all assessed elements

5C2020 Corporate Finance

5C3060 Advanced Corporate Finance

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Added on November 21, 2009, 4:27 amTopace111, do you mind to tell me which of the big 4 are you working for? (Plz PM me if you dont wanna disclose it). And based on your experience which is the best in terms of employer benefits, company policy, pay, workload wise? And which pose is better? Honestly I dont know what I want to be in the future. I only know I can choose to become an auditor and financial advisor(if i were to take CFA)

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Added on November 21, 2009, 7:16 amUnbelievable.. I accidentally click on internship advertising and it links me to PwC. Can anyone tell me which line of service(assurance, tax, advisory, firm services) is the best or benefits me most after i graduate?? My speaking and writing in english is just average so it is better not to get into a line of service which requires good communication and excellent writing skills. Is fluency in english language an essential element in getting a job(internship) in big4 in malaysia?

This post has been edited by Chuanmok: Nov 21 2009, 07:29 AM

How about others?
Sorry the line of service including Assurance, tax(not audit, my mistake), advisory and firm services. I have to choose from one of them.

Seantang, we have the same name just that you have an extra "g" lol.
Btw.. I do really appreciate your advice too..
Is MNC = multinational corporate?
I'm even indecisive now. Good to know that you have both experience in Big4 and MNC. Are you working in a MNC as an accountant when you first join them? It's more than ten years ago when you join PW©, would you think that it might be different today? Or you still think that starting off in MNC is far better than in big4?
Could you tell me your preference MNC and do they offer placement or internship? Thanks

Seantang, do you mind to tell us which MNC do you work for? And what sort of qualification do I need to help me to join in a MNC? I just need a placement/internship not a graduate job for now.

P.S: I've talked about placement/internship so many times, and now I wonder if it's an important element(in Malaysia or in a MNC) for a student before graduation? Or it is better to finish my degree and get a real job rather than wasting a year in placement?

This post has been edited by Chuanmok: Nov 22 2009, 04:24 AM

Sean, if that is the case then UK is really different from Malaysia. All employers in the UK really expect student to have work experience before graduation. I was like.. what the heck? They really think that 4-year-course(2 year+1year placement+ final year) is better than (3 years studying and 1 year real work experience). But 1 thing for real is, placement in UK has no difference compared to real job. You will be given same workload, same responsibilities and you will be given real project to do.
And you said if you have a degree, ACCA will be the very last choice? What is your first choice then?

Does anyone know about PSW(Post-Study work)? I'm thinking whether I should apply this visa which allows me to stay in the UK after graduation for 2 years. In my opinion, working 2 years in UK can earn alot of $$, but after 2 years when i return to malaysia I have to start from 0 again. If the 2 years were spent in malaysia, I might be promoted already. It might depends on the situation.. If they still want you after 2 years they will apply visa for you, but this rarely happens as far as i know.

Cyclonova, after reading your advice I can tell you that you are 100% right as big companies including IBM, rolls royce etc in UK really provide very good support and guidance. You even assigned to a mentor(supervisor or manager) who will take care of you and guide you through the internship. The experience you get during the internship is really valuable. But.. the problem is.. it's hard to get one. 1 internship/placement application comprises of not less than 4 essays. My girlfriend put in alot of time on the application process(3-5 hours each) and the next day she got rejected due to not having a driving license. So I've made up my mind not to waste my time to get an internship in UK and i'll apply intern in M'sia instead. But in m'sia, interns/placement = do general work like photoshat, mix tea, do this do that, not learning anything. My friend experienced it and i believe that is happening in m'sia.

Cyclonova, can I know which year did you do your internship in the UK and with what company with what pose? I'm just curios maybe want to trt the one you've tried before =)
Thanks for your advice i'll bear them in mind and will follow them, if i fail to get one then you have to get me one ( haha.. just joking)

Yesterday after lectures I walked around the building(university) and I accidentally found that my university is promoting a diploma called AAT(Association of Accounting Technicians). Without putting time to read in details, I went home just like normal. On my way home, I feel like something I just missed out(I saw that on ICAEW website) and that might be the opportunity to enhance my qualification and to help me with my future career. So I googled it and I found that this AAT is actually the route to ACA. They call it AAT-ACA route. I was very excited when I saw that i'll get more exemption(apart from my degree). So I need to ask some of you who know about AAT and i wonder it is adviceable to take it together with my degree. This is because someone claimed that it is not really benificial to me since i'm doing accounting and finance degree.

Thanks for your help but i'm in manchester dont really want to go to london. Did they offer you a graduate position? From what you just said I guess you are fresh graduate right? Did you stay in uk or malaysia after graduated?

Erm.. not to say i'm reluctant to get ACA straight away, i'm just looking for a more secure way because I know I lacked of so many things when compared to others. With AAT-ACA route, I will be having AAT diploma before I get an ACA.

Dude... where did you get the information from? I'm in the UK now and I'm 100% sure that ACA has to be begun with a degree of 2:1 and above. It is such a waste for you not to study abroad. If I had the same result as you, I would have applied any famous UK university like LSC for the scholarship and then finish a degree and begin my ACA in any ACA approved company. Yes, this is the best way for you rather than joining sunway because they are ****. Believe me, spend some time to apply for good UK university, you can easily get any with your result. Really such a waste for you to begin with sunway, or in malaysia

I have 9 exemptions for ACCA upon completion of degree =)

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Added on November 12, 2011, 3:02 amOh ya, forgot to update. I have got a placement offer 6 months after I posted this thread. Now I have finished my placement and am doing my final year =)

This post has been edited by Chuanmok: Nov 12 2011, 03:02 AM