Do You Want To Make More Money?
Once qualified, the work begins in building a career that truly blossoms. Fortunately for you, accountancy is a lucrative career path to follow. According to the official document released by the government, entitled, “The National Scarce Skills: Top 100 Occupations in Demand List,” South Africa is in need of individuals in financial services, which is great news for you! Where there is a lack of supply, demand is high meaning that there are jobs available that will pay for your expertise. The more experienced you become the higher the potential earnings, as these skills require time to uplift across the nation. Thus, time is of the essence! There are certain methods you can use if you want to increase your potential of earning more, we take a look at a few of these here.
Experience
This is not a quick and easy option but can yield the highest potential. According to payscale.com: “pay by experience for an accountant has a positive trend”. As you know, experience is something that you will need to build up over time in any career path.
But what are the best ways to gain experience quickly? Tutoring varsity students looks excellent on a CV and tends to sharpen your skills also helping you earn some extra income which could help you pay off student loans or pay for upskilling faster. Charity work is another opportunity for experience and also scores top marks when recruiters are analysing multiple CVs.
Another way to increase your experience is saying yes to opportunities, putting yourself forward for tasks others don’t wish to take on over and above your current role and thinking of the best interests of the organisation that employs you at all times. This will always stand you in good stead, both in life and in management decision-making when the opportunity for promotions arises.
Location
The old real estate saying rings true here. If you want to earn a higher salary, you will need to go where the money is. For instance, you will probably earn more as an accountant in Sandton than you may in Polokwane – economic hubs are where business thrives and many of the larger corporates that can afford higher salaries are based there. When planning your career consider the environment you would like to work in and do your research! Where are the offices based, are there multiple locations and of those where will you gain more valuable experience and potentially earn more with a lower cost of living? A tricky balance to find but if anyone can discover an optimum – it’s you, our future accountants!
The More You Know…
One of the best ways to earn more is to learn more. If you become a full SAIPA Member, you will be able to stay up-to-date with national laws and legislative changes with our monthly Continuous Professional Development (CPD) seminars, receive discounts on CPD offers and gain access to industry events. Our members also receive our quarterly magazine with updates and technical articles so that you will always be in the know in your industry.
Do you have any suggestions for our community on more ways to increase your earning potential as a job seeker or career builder? Please share in the comments below. However, that’s all in the future if you are a student, right? But you can already join SAIPA as a Student Member now and tap into our support and benefits before you leave university because we bring life to accounting. If you would like to find out more about our student benefits, click here: SAIPA Student Members.