Working in HR? If you could start again, would you?

Like some other people on here I fell in HR and Finance and Health and Safety I never set out to do any of them. I was one of those people who was very good in the classroom but hated exams. I took the decision to leave school without taking any of my exams. All I wanted to do was work and that is exactly what I have done since. I started my career as a data entry clerk, moved to a computer operator and whilst doing that role my new boss, a chartered accountant decided that I had a flare for accounts as he had watched me helping the accounts staff when they had a problem. He offered me an Accounts Payable Supervisor role and then trained me in how to do accounts. The company closed and I moved to into other finance roles deciding that I actually really liked finance despite being useless at mental arithmetic.
Whilst working part time in one company they merged with another company and were looking for someone to do the HR role. I put myself forward for it and got it suddenly being responsible for 100 people, involved in the TUPE process and then later redundancies due to the closure of the business. I decided that although I had done practically everything involved in HR no one would hire me as I didn't have any qualifications and went back to finance. HR kept finding me though as every role I took asked me to be involved with HR.
So here I am 37 years later as a Director of Finance and Business Admin which encompasses just about everything you could think of except maybe sales and marketing. I am desperately trying to complete Level 5 Diploma but struggling to make myself as I hate studying but know that if I want to carry on in HR elsewhere I need to complete it.
I know I love finance and probably should have studied for my accountancy qualification but my CEO suggested I do the HR qualification so I went for it. The dilemma is that I also like HR but don't really know if either are what I would really like to do. If I had my time again I might have looked at a possible career path for myself but I don't think I can have any regrets as I have progressed through the ranks pretty well.

Like some other people on here I fell in HR and Finance and Health and Safety I never set out to do any of them. I was one of those people who was very good in the classroom but hated exams. I took the decision to leave school without taking any of my exams. All I wanted to do was work and that is exactly what I have done since. I started my career as a data entry clerk, moved to a computer operator and whilst doing that role my new boss, a chartered accountant decided that I had a flare for accounts as he had watched me helping the accounts staff when they had a problem. He offered me an Accounts Payable Supervisor role and then trained me in how to do accounts. The company closed and I moved to into other finance roles deciding that I actually really liked finance despite being useless at mental arithmetic.
Whilst working part time in one company they merged with another company and were looking for someone to do the HR role. I put myself forward for it and got it suddenly being responsible for 100 people, involved in the TUPE process and then later redundancies due to the closure of the business. I decided that although I had done practically everything involved in HR no one would hire me as I didn't have any qualifications and went back to finance. HR kept finding me though as every role I took asked me to be involved with HR.
So here I am 37 years later as a Director of Finance and Business Admin which encompasses just about everything you could think of except maybe sales and marketing. I am desperately trying to complete Level 5 Diploma but struggling to make myself as I hate studying but know that if I want to carry on in HR elsewhere I need to complete it.
I know I love finance and probably should have studied for my accountancy qualification but my CEO suggested I do the HR qualification so I went for it. The dilemma is that I also like HR but don't really know if either are what I would really like to do. If I had my time again I might have looked at a possible career path for myself but I don't think I can have any regrets as I have progressed through the ranks pretty well.

Linda, I totally understand your dilemma. I have fallen into EVERYTHING education- and employment-wise. I had no idea what I wanted to do when I was young... well ok, I wanted to be an Apache Helicopter pilot but I have dyscalculia so I was tested by the RAF and found to be capable enough to carry the apache helicopter mechanic's toolbox. I though I'd quite like to be a Top Gear presenter so did journalism at college, as only local news or fashion mag jobs were available within Scotland, I became a security guard while I thought about what I wanted to do. My brother's girlfriend was doing marine biology at Uni... I LOVE sharks... off I went to get my BSc in Applied Marine Biology - in plankton and seaweeds. All the while doing various jobs such as: bike technician, waitress, car-goffer for distribution (see the lorries with the cars on them? I went and others and got one of those cars to put on the lorry), and being a call centre operative for a national utility provider. I moved to England to be with long-distance boyfriend of 5 years and fell into taxing those cars from earlier, then took my bosses job, got made redundant and followed my boss to her new job. Did a great stint as a medical secretary, my degree was finally useful. Then I discovered the very weird and wonderful world of patents where my education and interests are definitely useful. ~7 years later with 2 years of lending a hand with basic HR personnel duties I've found that I really like that sort of thing. I have just started my CIPD course. Here's hoping my many-feathered cap is as useful to an employer as I think it is - along with the big head it sits upon.

So far, I'm 3 days (p/t online) into the course and it's enthralling!
Linda, how about taking a cheap entry level Bookkeeping course? If it doesn't float your boat, you have at least a new thing to put on your cv, alongside an understanding of the trials and tribulations of the finance dept?

In answer to the original question, I would love to reboot from 2nd year at secondary school, but only if I get to keep my husband.