ACCA Student: Jack Boorman, Finance Analyst, Virgin Atlantic, UK
ACCA Student: Jack Boorman, Finance Analyst, Virgin Atlantic, UKI knew that I didn’t want to go to university because the way of life didn’t suit me. I always liked the idea of going straight into work toearnmoney and experience - when I sawa company like Virgin wereadvertising for apprentices it was a ‘no brainer’ really.
When I joined Virgin as an apprentice I learnt a lot of different areas within Finance and studied a business administration course alongside. Joining as an apprentice gave me the right balance between being independent at work and getting the right amount of support I needed to grow my knowledge. I think one of the greatest benefits of joining a company as an apprentice instead of going to university is the job experience you get.It also allows you to start networking and build up a reputation within the company whilst people your own age are still studying at university.
However, it can be difficult to juggle work, study and a social life.A typical day at work for me would be to wake up at 7:30am, get ready and have breakfast and travel into work. Ithen work from 9am until 5:30pm, and goto the gym after work. Once home from the gym I always make sure I get around 30mins – 1 hour of studying in each day. The key thing is to have a plan and beorganised. Providing you are organised then it will be a lot easier to juggle the balance. I study more at the weekends and for a longer period than I do during the week, and I try to study as soon as I wake up at weekends, by studying first thing in the morning it then gives me the rest of the day to do whatever else I want.
Utlimately I would tell students to do whatever feels right for them. Don’t follow your friends to university or just do what is usually expected of you. Go out and research all the different opportunities out there, ask questions and follow your own path wherever you see that heading.
