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Career Change from Finance to HR - CIPD Advice

Richard

I have just turned 37 and have realised that after 10 years doing finance it really isn't for me. I've never really known what I wanted to do and kind of fell into finance despite never really liking it or having a natural knack to it. My current role and previous jobs have always been accounts assistant type jobs where I raise invoices, do the purchase ledger, expenses, look after a few spreadsheets and that kind of thing - all very general. Balance sheets, P&L, reporting, Inter-company, accrued revenue, management accounts packs and more advance things scare the living daylights out of me.

I don't have any accounting qualifications and whenever I have tried to do the ACCA or AAT in the past have given up because I just wasn't interested enough and couldn't take it in plus failing the so-called easy computer based exams don't exactly help.

Recently my company have employed new CFO (I work in the media/tech industry for a agency) and it's made me very anxious that my job is under threat and I am constantly worried he will soon figure out that beyond the basics I don't know a lot about accountancy, plus if I were to leave it would be very hard to get a similar salary elsewhere - I'm in the mid 30k bracket now. There is also the realisation that I can't really go any higher or forge a happier career without any professional development. Plus the thought of spending the next 30 years in finance really isn't making me feel happy about my future.

I have always been interested in HR and working in my current company I do have a fair bit of exposure to the finance side of HR (i.e. I do parts of the payroll, pension onboarding/admin, deal with HMRC, cyclesheme & other salary sacrifice things, provide HR with basic analysis and spreadsheets on recruitment costs or wage increases and that kind of thing). I think that looking at the CIPD course it is something that I would be able to follow and have a good chance of completing as it interests me and I feel does come naturally to me.  When I mentioned a career change to my friends, they all commented on how HR would be perfect for me. 

My main worry is that I am at a point in life where making a career change by starting at the bottom and taking a salary cut in order to find a junior HR job is unrealistic - I have a mortgage and other commitments.

I would most likely be looking to jump straight into the CIPD Level 5 Diploma Human Resource Management from a career and cost perspective. 

The advice I am really after is:

  • Is the CIPD course something I could do at home whilst maintaining my current finance role? 
  • I'd be doing this off my own back so without guidance from any other HR professionals or employed in a HR role so is it even realistic?
  • How long might it take? I would commit to time after work and weekends. 
  • How much would it cost at a rough guess and can anyone recommend any home learning course providers?
  • Would my HR type experience on the finance side as listed above be of any use if I were to apply for HR roles and help within the course?
  • If in 12-18 months time would it be realistic to move into a HR job without taking a big salary cut should I pass the CIPD course I am looking to take?

Thanks so much for any advise and apologies for the long post.

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  • Welcome to the communities

    I think you can probably complete a Level 5 program in your own time with minimal impact on your work if you are prepared to work at it. Lots of people appear to complete Level 3 & 5 without any experience and whilst its not ideal its certainly doable.

    Your struggles with the accountancy exams would need to be factored in and you need to be honest with yourself if the reason for failure was the subject matter or something else.

    Your big challenge however will come at end of program in trying to get a HR job without any direct HR experience and trying to maintain your salary level. I think its 80:20 with the 20 being the odds on achieving both in a reasonable timescale. I don't say that to put you off but to give you a realistic assessment of the challenge you will be facing. HR is an incredibly difficult profession to get into - you can do a search on these boards to see how many people are trying.

    The two areas you "Might" want to look at are (1) Payroll and seeing if your skills more readily transfer to that arena (although might not personally appeal) or (2) C&B type roles/reward. Ideally your best chance of securing a HR job might be a sideways move in your current organisation.

    Good luck
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  • Welcome to the communities

    I think you can probably complete a Level 5 program in your own time with minimal impact on your work if you are prepared to work at it. Lots of people appear to complete Level 3 & 5 without any experience and whilst its not ideal its certainly doable.

    Your struggles with the accountancy exams would need to be factored in and you need to be honest with yourself if the reason for failure was the subject matter or something else.

    Your big challenge however will come at end of program in trying to get a HR job without any direct HR experience and trying to maintain your salary level. I think its 80:20 with the 20 being the odds on achieving both in a reasonable timescale. I don't say that to put you off but to give you a realistic assessment of the challenge you will be facing. HR is an incredibly difficult profession to get into - you can do a search on these boards to see how many people are trying.

    The two areas you "Might" want to look at are (1) Payroll and seeing if your skills more readily transfer to that arena (although might not personally appeal) or (2) C&B type roles/reward. Ideally your best chance of securing a HR job might be a sideways move in your current organisation.

    Good luck
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