Software Developer vs Chartered Accountant

Oppiekoffie said:
True.
That's a load of shyte, together with the culture crap.
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Bloody hell that was a long time ago and, I might add, I have matured a bit (at least according to me...mother and girlfriend's opinions are just that: OPINIONS!!!) :p

What "culture crap" are we referring too? Because team culture is an important thing.
 
Schlitz said:
There is no way a CA can earn more than the SD. The other thing we should consider important is the type of qualifications one has.
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Not sure hey. A friend of mine his father-in-law is CA. More money I can dream about. His wife doesn't work. He has big 2 houses, 1 for him and wife, one for daughter and husband (with kids). New expensive cars every 3 years...
 
In SA I find CA's tend to trend towards management. If you like leading people and directing work go CA. If you prefer working by yourself Software dev. The type of work is similar but the career paths require a lot more people skills for the CA's generally from what I can see. A lot of companies in SA are run by CA type people. So has decent money but also comes with the stress and hours of senior management (then again Software also can have a lot of that).
 
my friend did study BA grade at UWC and now he make 60 thousend a month i did see his pay slip so i think it is the brian that count not the job because you can make alot if you are clever like him
 
Cius said:
In SA I find CA's tend to trend towards management. If you like leading people and directing work go CA. If you prefer working by yourself Software dev. The type of work is similar but the career paths require a lot more people skills for the CA's generally from what I can see. A lot of companies in SA are run by CA type people. So has decent money but also comes with the stress and hours of senior management (then again Software also can have a lot of that).
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I'm a qualified CA, 4 years post-article. Money is not bad and neither are job opportunities. I'm not exaggerating when I say I get one to two calls a week offering me work.

I don't work serious overtime, although there are days that I do. I've turned down higher paying jobs due to the unwanted higher stress levels that come with said jobs.

All in all, I really can't complain...

But here's the catch: I wish I studied to be a software dev.

Do what you love to a certain extent (make sure there's a fair demand for your qualification/experience - don't complain if your can't get work but you studied medieval language theory or some schit) and you'll be a much happier person.

However, there's no chance in hell a software dev earns more than a CA, not even close. Unless you're comparing different experience levels.
 
mushroom said:
my friend did study BA grade at UWC and now he make 60 thousend a month i did see his pay slip so i think it is the brian that count not the job because you can make alot if you are clever like him
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You have been to skhool ever?
 
CarsinemiA said:
However, there's no chance in hell a software dev earns more than a CA, not even close. Unless you're comparing different experience levels.
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It can and it does happen. Has nothing to do with what you studied (i.e. whether you're a CA or a dev), but rather where your career path takes you. CAs for instance tend to go the management route, whereas devs may have something like software architecture as an option. Both have the potential for good money...
 
Messugga said:
60 grand a month really isn't a lot of money, when you're talking about maximum earning potential...
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i think it is alot and i dont think all the cas make so much maybe sum make so much but not everybody
 
mushroom said:
i think it is alot and i dont think all the cas make so much maybe sum make so much but not everybody
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Of course not everybody, but I'd be willing to bet that per capita, a chartered accountant will earn more than a programmer.
In the industry I'm in, CAs with a bit of experience all earn over R60k. If they're particularly good, they'll be doing over a million a year without too much trouble.

Depends on the part of the world you're in, of course, but R720k pa isn't a hell of a lot for a skilled individual, in Sandton.
 
Comparing money is a little pointless. If you're good both paths will give you "enough" money assuming you live a modest life. At this stage whether I get paid X or X-25% doesn't really make much of a difference in terms of lifestyle I'm living. So much better to look at other factors.

Being able to tinker with stuff on the SD side definitely has its appeals, but as a strategic move CA is better imo. It's pretty much guaranteed to get you into the lower levels of management in record time. Better leadership development (because you have people reporting to you pretty much immediately after varsity). Excellent international opportunities - pick a country essentially. Great training opportunities (e.g. I wanted to improve my public speaking - company said fine & proceeded to spend ~50k on that).

The notion of competing against outsourced IT shops also didn't appeal.

That's not to say SD's can't make a killing (look at cguy), but if you compare the averages cases it favours CAs imo. I'm definitely glad I bailed on the SD plan.
 
I started in the accounting profession. I am so glad I dropped it and switched to software development. In my final year of articles after I got my degree, I knew I had made a mistake. Having said that, its down to personal choice. I don't say software development is better, it's just better for me :)
 
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These are the offers a 28 year old CA gets. I get at least one of these a week.
 
modern10 said:
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These are the offers a 28 year old CA gets. I get at least one of these a week.
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A 28 year old CA gets "head of finance" offers weekly? I seriously doubt that, although I'm sure the salary range is better than for a typical software developer.
 
NarrowBandFtw said:
A 28 year old CA gets "head of finance" offers weekly? I seriously doubt that, although I'm sure the salary range is better than for a typical software developer.
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Tbh you can get offers for anything because recruiters spam the **** out of you.
 
DA-LION-619 said:
Tbh you can get offers for anything because recruiters spam the **** out of you.
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NarrowBandFtw said:
A 28 year old CA gets "head of finance" offers weekly? I seriously doubt that, although I'm sure the salary range is better than for a typical software developer.
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Yip. Absolutely no way that any company worth their salt will hire someone that young into senior management.
All the serious corporas I've worked with, put some serious weight on age. Even upper middle management (executives, for example) you're looked down on if you're young.
I worked with a lady last year, 35 years old, that lied about her age to make herself seem older, so that people would take her more seriously.
 
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