Teegan on Studying Accounting

On my way to being an accountant

Going straight to uni

At the end of year 12 I knew I wanted to do something in the law or accounting world. So after I finished high school I went straight to uni. I’m currently in my third year of a Bachelor of Commerce at Deakin Warrnambool. I got into accounting because I really like numbers. I like handling money and telling people how they should be using their money.

Living on res

I moved onto res for the first year I was at uni. I think it’s really good for the first year of uni, but I don’t recommend it after that. It’s a bit like living in a shoebox. It’s great when you first move, and don’t know anyone, but after that it can get less exciting and there are a lot of rules about what you can and can’t do. 

However, if you can afford it, I think res is great for the first year.  It’s where you make the most friends, it helps you build your own little community or family away from home. If you do live on res, definitely attend all the orientation activities because it is a chance to make friends and find out where everything is. Also make sure you maintain a social life while you’re at uni, otherwise you can start to feel really isolated in your studies. 

Being a junior accountant

I’m already working as a junior accountant at a local firm in Warrnambool. I love it, it’s really enjoyable working in the field that I am studying. When I finish uni I want to get a graduate role in Brisbane. At least that is the plan at the moment. I know that I definitely want to be an accountant but I’m not 100% sure about which area or type of accounting. I think I will begin in general accounting and from there I’ll see what I like the most. 

Interested in accounting?

For anyone interested in accounting, I recommend doing it as a subject at high school. I find that people either really love accounting or they hate it. So getting that experience in high school means you can find out whether you like it or not. There are people I know who have studied commerce, and thought they would love accounting, but because they hadn’t tried it before they realised at uni that it wasn’t for them. They end up swapping courses or dropping out. So I really recommend studying it in high school if you can, or doing a lot of research about what it’s like.