Astina,would u pls give me some advice,thanks a lot!

mandywong.

AS...would u pls give me some advice?
my husband is now considering jumping into accounting field,but it's hard for him to start,his background is as follow:
Degree:economics (major: International Business Management)
Work experience:Marketing (specialize in events) for 4 years
Businees: run a bar for 2 years and an Advertising firm (events) for 3 years
he is an outgoing man, had many social activities in college like joining the dancing team of the Uni, forming a band and did concert, and he was fairly active in student union, maybe that was the reason he chose to do marketing after graduation.
But u know, it's very hard for him to continue this job when we got to Au, since i know the language and culture r the crucial part of marketing. So, now he has decided to pick up his accounting knowledge to transfer his track
he is planning to take the TAFE course first in order to find a job in this area, at the meantime he will do the CPA assessment(he had some accounting and finance courses as me) and study the open Uni to supplement his required subjects...
I think it is not a easy way to do so...but he is somewhat optimistic and he told me that he didn't feel boring to read the accounting book(Canadian Eng version) as he did when he was in college reading the Chinese one...I can't do nothing but encourage him and give him some help with studying...
sorry to take u so much time AS...but would u pls give me some advice for his career plan?
Thanks a lot...

coolioo.

Not a smart move to me...

louislu.

"

who is going to responsible for such a big thing?

qqyang.

If the agent or employer concern about the personal behaviour of your husband, that's a bad jump, because the behaviour for marketing guy is totally different to the ideal behaviour for accounting people.

astina.

The big word ‘career plan’ scares me straight away. I even do not know my own career plan. How can I advise anybody else on that? I could probably only give you my opinion on your husband’s possible move from marketing to accounting.
No, the move doesn’t sound promising to me. He’s had no previous experience. Some accounting-related subjects taken in uni ages ago wouldn’t count much. Basically he would have to start from nil and his past working experience would mean virtually nothing as that was in a totally different area. At the completion of his TAFE course, there would be no guarantee for a decent job. Take a moment to ask yourselves, how would this prospect look like?
As to CPA assessment, I doubt how many subjects he would have to take before being able to start doing CPA. Many accounting graduates from China may have to take 5-6 subjects if their course outlines are not written well enough, let alone those not majoring in accounting at all. Mind you it could turn out to be a long and painful journey and get both of you well prepared if you are really THAT determined.
On top of all these technical difficulties, please do not ignore the delicate yet important psychological implications, especially during the first 2 years when you both face changes and uncertainties. Moving to a new country, changing to a new area, facing an uncertain future in both career and life, how well would he, a probably 30-year-old man who’s got some kind of material success in China, handle and cope?
It may be tougher to get the initial breakthrough to marketing jobs than to IT & accounting jobs but here we are not in lack of good examples such as 小贝塔 & 蜻蜓, who took great pains in job hunting in marketing area but finally secured themselves suitable roles, from which moved to even better positions. According to your description, your husband is an outgoing people person who loves communication, coordination and organisation. I believe he would enjoy himself more in marketing than in accounting. It is true that marketing jobs can be very demanding on language skills but I doubt how someone not speaking decent English can find & secure himself a decent accounting job and move himself up in the accounting ladder.
Having said the above, I do realise that people can be very different and I barely know you or your husband. I only gave my 2 cents from the mere facts you mentioned in your post but there may be other facts or potentials that I oversee in getting to the conclusion. You may have already made up your mind and all you want to hear is a convincing confirmation, which I failed to give. Anyhow, I would like to take the chance to remind you of the value of past working experience and the risks and costs of the possible switch to a new area. Wish you best of luck and hope you two will enjoy Australia more after making an informed decision.

mandywong.

I really do appreciate your honest and valuable advice astina and all of u...thank u so much...
to be frank,we had started to think about his future career about 1 year before when we began to prepare for the migration,and of course we had been thinking about it since then...
it's really a hard decision...for me and of course more for him
in fact he did not like accounting when he was in college for varies of reasons,the boring book,the boring teaching style of the teacher and so forth...so he was in a dilemma when he began to think about picking up accounting knowledge,and I told him it's not a final decision yet,just have a try on that book (I've borrowed an intermediate accounting book from my colleague came back from Canada)...
To my surprise,after several weeks reading,he told me he did understand it easily and liked it,i just remembered how happy he was when he told me that at that moment,even more,he made an conclusion that accounting is hard for most of people to touch and jump into but easier to grasp than marketing. In his opinion,marketing(PR/event/creative design) is somehow  subjective and not accurate as accounting,u can't find an exacte way to follow,whether or not your work to be accepted or abandoned is up to your client or your boss,the only one person,not a standard or an industrial convention as we did in accounting.
To tell u the truth, I was so happy when he told me that,since I had been worrying about how bad he felt about that book I gave him and even worried it might lead him to a deadend on accounting study.
From then on,he began to do the accounting work of his bar and firm by himself, initially with my hlep of course,and began to ask me many many questions on this issue,furthermore,he began to learn the MYOB and search for some requirement description of the bookeeper or accounting clerk on seek.com...
Honestly I haven't make any conclusion on whether or not for him to start on this field,but i am so happy he had removed the fear and  feel of boring to accounting,even more,he told me that it would be great to have an accounting job than a marketing one haha,since he could have more personal time without an endless job,he is dreaming of it.
Where is the path? Who knows,I don't think there's an easy way for everyone came to a new country,just make effort and do our best,enjoy the experience with joy and pain as well,prepare for the worst and strive for the best----That's what he always speek to me
Thank u so much Astina and all u guys...thank u...

mandywong.

对不起...上班习惯了写英文,有时也想着多练习好,烦着大家了sorry...

飞行.

挺好的呀，正好学习了。。LZ加油！~

mandywong.

多谢各位前辈的热心回答...
其实我们也真是都在很认真的考虑这个问题...虽然都觉得很艰难,但只要在一起,互相鼓励扶持...或者明天会更好呢
回头想想...其实自己也觉得转变也不一定坏
我自己也有想过不做回审计或会计,或者做点小business或者去做点心师呢,我喜欢烹饪嘻嘻
只要找到生活的依靠,管它做什么呢,开心就行了

bulaohu.

原帖由 astina 于 2006-10-27 10:55 发表
The big word ‘career plan’ scares me straight away. I even do not know my own career plan. How can I advise anybody else on that? I could probably only give you my opinion on your husband’s poss ...
AS这篇英文作业可以用来作为本坛其他同学们学习和敬仰的范文。。。不是说没错误，而是整个味道真正英文化了。。。