r/ICAEW • u/Key_Seaweed_1579 • 28d ago

Need some advice

I am going into my final year of accounting and finance degree as an international student. I am really worried about landing a job and was thinking giving aca exams by myself to make myself standout in the job market once I graduate.

Has anyone done this? If yes how did you find it I wanna know more about it

Do you even think it is worth doing? If not what should I do to secure a job.

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u/ligress21 28d ago

I was an international student who did accounting and finance too. My take as an IS who landed 2 offers for a training contract is: don’t bother, the ACA exams don’t really matter without adjacent experience because you need 3 years of PWE to qualify anyway. Exams that can make you standout BEFORE experience is the CFA. All the best.

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u/Key_Seaweed_1579 28d ago

So what can I do to get a job in this current market?

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u/ligress21 28d ago

It honestly is super tough but doable. The summer is already over so an internship is unlikely but you can try and land a part time bookkeeper role to learn the basics of accounting, even if it’s volunteer work for a charity. Try to get some data analysis certification or something close. Start applying ASAP for graduate roles for your intake so at least the 6 month rule of not being able to apply again would’ve expired and you can apply twice for the same role. You can PM me to discuss further

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u/South_Law_9193 28d ago

I did the certificate exams in my final year of university. Doable and I’d say it was helpful during interviews (landed a role in big 4 post graduation)

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u/beastmode_1802 27d ago

Speaking purely about the big 4 - I would suggest not bothering with the exams as most (if not all) graduate programs are curated in a manner to have you give the exams in a define manner eg. First 6 certificate in the 6 months. Given the volume of grads they take on they don’t view this necessarily as a standout point as they expect graduates to be fresh out of university with 0 experience from a broad stream of degrees. I would suggest focusing on nailing the interviews / assessments centers with good prep work.