hi need some answers...re accounting career

[cynth]

hello
i am a female 40 years old with no university degree.
i am however a registered urse for the past 12 years.
i am interested in becoming an accountant.
i have signed up for an online class in fundamental accounting 1 at
concordia university.
but my main question is do companies recognize certificate programs.
i saw a certificate program that i can do in accounting at a university
level...30 credits.
but can i work in accounting after this certificate or am i dreaming?

do i need a commerce degree to work as an accountant?


concerned.
thanks
cyn

 

[Bob]

hello
i am a female 40 years old with no university degree.
i am however a registered urse for the past 12 years.
i am interested in becoming an accountant.
i have signed up for an online class in fundamental accounting 1 at
concordia university.
but my main question is do companies recognize certificate programs.
i saw a certificate program that i can do in accounting at a university
level...30 credits.
but can i work in accounting after this certificate or am i dreaming?

do i need a commerce degree to work as an accountant?

concerned.
thanks
cyn

a certificate of accounting - is this like a two year associates degree?
you can work in accounting in a clerical job without any certificates or
degrees. Some companies could hire you with a minimum education in
accounting but it would probably not pay what a registered nurse makes!

 

[Christopher Browne]

hello
i am a female 40 years old with no university degree.
i am however a registered urse for the past 12 years.
i am interested in becoming an accountant.
i have signed up for an online class in fundamental accounting 1 at
concordia university.
but my main question is do companies recognize certificate programs.
i saw a certificate program that i can do in accounting at a university
level...30 credits.
but can i work in accounting after this certificate or am i dreaming?

do i need a commerce degree to work as an accountant?

Things like "Associate's" degrees are not likely to get you anything
particularly "high-ranking" in the way of accounting jobs.

The "good accounting jobs" need not merely a full degree, but also an
accounting designation.

That being said, the route you might try to take to get _some_ sort of
"in" would be to try to make use of your existing experience in the
"health care industry."

I had a roommate/classmate in university, Eric, who attracted a
_great_ deal of interest at graduation time. The rest of us were
"good technicians," but the job market was really soft. Eric himself
had to look for a new accounting firm because the one had been with
during co-op time had shrunk from 40 to nothing during his time there
:-(.

Every firm with a "forensic accounting" group was ringing his phone
off the hook because he had had a previous career as an RCMP officer.

Your chance of getting something good probably depends on getting some
benefit out of your previous non-accounting experiences unless you go
through a pretty full-scale accounting degree + accounting
designation.
--
let name="cbbrowne" and tld="acm.org" in name ^ "@" ^ tld;;
http://cbbrowne.com/info/multiplexor.html
Rules of the Evil Overlord #124. "Prior to kidnapping an older male
scientist and forcing him to work for me, I will investigate his
offspring and make sure that he has neither a beautiful but naive
daughter who is willing to risk anything to get him back, nor an
estranged son who works in the same field but had a falling-out with
his father many years ago." <http://www.eviloverlord.com/>

 

[Paul A Thomas]

i am a female 40 years old with no university degree.
i am however a registered urse for the past 12 years.

I suppose Canada registers their [n]urses without a degree, but that seem
odd.

i am interested in becoming an accountant.
i have signed up for an online class in fundamental accounting 1 at
concordia university.
but my main question is do companies recognize certificate programs.
i saw a certificate program that i can do in accounting at a university
level...30 credits.
but can i work in accounting after this certificate or am i dreaming?

do i need a commerce degree to work as an accountant?

Probably not. There are lots of people worldwide that call themselves
"accountants" that became educated at the School of Hard Knocks. No
diploma, no football team.

In any event, if you pursue this avenue, you would be best served to try and
find a position with a medical firm of some sort. Having that dual
experience can only benefit a person in the accounting position of a medical
related business.

 

[Joe Canuck]

hello
i am a female 40 years old with no university degree.
i am however a registered urse for the past 12 years.
i am interested in becoming an accountant.
i have signed up for an online class in fundamental accounting 1 at
concordia university.
but my main question is do companies recognize certificate programs.
i saw a certificate program that i can do in accounting at a university
level...30 credits.
but can i work in accounting after this certificate or am i dreaming?

do i need a commerce degree to work as an accountant?


concerned.
thanks
cyn

I gather you are in Quebec. You will likely be able to work as an
accounting clerk.

There is another option at the secondary education level in Quebec. You
can obtain a "Diploma of Vocational Studies in Accounting" through the
secondary system. Once achieved this will enable you to work as an
accounting clerk. The program is free for residents of Quebec.

Once working, you could continue with your studies on a part time basis
to achieve CGA - Certified General Accountant. For that you will need to
achieve a university degree and studies beyond. It is a long road for
those of us middle-aged.

If you have the time and finances, you could achieve the university
degree then go for the CGA designation. If you want to reach the higher
levels in accounting the designation is all important, if you are
content to work at the lower levels then the designation is not important.

 

[cynth]

Thank you all for the response )
it opened my eyes some more.
any ways its accounting i want and i will do it.

i have 69 credits from concordia univeristy that i took when i was in the
linguistic program in 1987.
so i need about 21 more to get a bachelors degree!!! right?
so from ther i can move on...
cynth

 

[Joe Canuck]

Thank you all for the response )
it opened my eyes some more.
any ways its accounting i want and i will do it.

i have 69 credits from concordia univeristy that i took when i was in the
linguistic program in 1987.
so i need about 21 more to get a bachelors degree!!! right?

Well if that is what the Concordia people are telling you.

For you, this seems like the best route since you are already well along
the path.

Good luck!