I missed sitting my GCSEs so did not start my adult life with any qualifications at all, however, I always had a keen interest in numbers, so I knew I wanted to be in a FinanI came from a background where education and career for women was not considered important. I was very talented at school and was told this by my teachers often, yet I did not take the comments seriously as I was never encouraged at home that I could do anything with my abilities.ce role.
When the TV show, The Apprentice first aired, I found it fascinating. I really enjoyed watching the candidates carry out the tasks and use their business minds to achieve the set goals. It was inspiring for me to see these candidates working in London, as I was from a small town.
From the moment I started living independently I decided I would go to college, gain an education, and work towards the career I had dreamed of. With a young child, I enrolled on a Business and Finance Diploma which I completed in 2 years with a Triple Distinction.
After that I had another child and waited until he started school, then again, I went back to college and started the Level 2 AAT. Finally, I was on the path to reaching my accounting goal.
3 years later, I am one exam away from finishing the Level 3 AAT with, hopefully, a Distinction as I did with Level 2.
8 months ago, I also managed to get myself through a long and difficult procedure of landing a job in Finance within HMRC. It was amazing to ever think I could be one of the people working in the Finance capital of the country, Canary Wharf. I am absolutely loving my job role and it has solidified for me that working in Finance is exactly where I want my career to be.
Next for me is to enrol and complete Level 4 as I don’t want to stop learning. There are so many routes within finance that it open doors to many different positions and sectors. I aspire to go on to ACCA and become a Chartered Accountant.
ACL was local to me and I liked the fact that I could learn face to face. Being in a classroom enables me to learn faster and understand more.
ACL are very inclusive and it’s a place where anyone from any ability or background or even age can join. Going to a local college was a bit daunting as I was a 30-year-old, I thought everyone there would be 16-18, but I was in a classroom with such a variety of people of all different races and age. It’s been an amazing 3 years and I’ve built great relationships with the tutor and students too.
AAT is starting point for anyone who wants an accounting career, it starts off with small modules to build a foundation knowledge of the subject, going into further detail as you move on.
Even if you think you’re not good at numbers or can’t commit long term, once you start you will see that it is easy to follow, and you will complete it before you know it.
I had a massive passion for accounting, and I had the drive to make sure I do well and complete the levels, with something to prove not just to myself but to my family and people of my culture who think once a woman has kids she can’t educate or finance herself. All of this is to prove that as a Pakistani woman I can achieve the same things as a man and more!
Starting off at level 2 at ACL and ending with a job in finance with HMRC has been the biggest push for me to carry on and not stop there.
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