Before posting my question , it is important for you to know some important facts from my life which will help you to understand what my nature is , so this might be a bit long post , but in order to get the best and appropriate advice I feel this is necessary, so please bear with me and read the whole thing and help me out..!! please…!!
My name is Karan and I am a CA final student (old course) with group 2 pending. I finished my articleship in 2017 from a reputed firm which ranks 10th Globally due to which I got real good exposure in work . I had started my coaching classes way early at the start of my articleship itself. After much struggle between office and studies, I appeared for my first attempt (group 1 only) in May 2017 which I did not clear , this was followed by another failure in Nov 2017 attempt.
I knew that something is not working , something is going wrong. One reason was having started my classes way too early I couldn’t keep up with the changes / amendments that were introduced in between the periods , also i did not get the time to practice mock tests and revise my subjects as well. I started my introspection and realized that I am a person who takes time to understand things and remember them. Conceptually I knew I couldn’t go wrong but remembering things the way it is required , needed much time for me. Untill I felt from inside that I was ready , I wouldn’t get the confidence to appear for the exams. Also I realized that I couldn’t manage 2 things at the same time- studies and office, where my office work would take priority leaving very less time for me to prepare to my levels of satisfaction.
Having being ill prepared so far , I decided to skip my next attempt in May 2018 and this time study the way it worked for me. So I took all coaching for group 1 again , prepared a schedule of how to study based on the time it takes me to remember things , gave around 20 mock test papers and got it checked by experts, gave ICAI mock tests , went through all the past RTP , Question papers etc. After preparing to the level of my satisfaction , I appeared for my Nov 2018 attempt and this time I cleared with distinction in few subjects. So this was working !!
Since, my approach worked , I decided to adopt the same for my next group attempt as well .I thought it is better to do things the way it is working for me ( by taking time that I require ) and clear rather than giving attempts with no results. But because It was consuming much time , I decided to equip and update myself with the changes that were happening in the industries so that I remain relevant and in tune with the recent developments and thus started to acquire Certifications from some reputed institutions/ organizations in various current / hot topics for which industry was offering jobs as a result of which I became certified in GST ( from Govt. of india) , IFRS/Ind AS, Auditing standards (from ACCA) , in Companies Law, Forensic accounting and fraud examiner etc. I also started attending online training programs offered by some of the leading companies w.r.t soft skills such as Communication skills , team building and other personality development and interpersonal skills.
Now , I am to give my group 2 attempt in May 2020 which due to the COVID virus got postponed to July 2020. One thing that is bothering me now is although to clear my CA final, I am doing things the way it is working for me best , but at the same time it is taking much time . I have heard that with Age , career opportunities decrease and with the economy suffering , job market is taking a hit. Although from my side I am doing my best to stay updated and relevant for job seekers , still the fear of loss of exposure/ Experience haunts me now , by the time I appear for my July 2020 attempt , I would turn 26.
So in this regard , I wanted to know , will it be better for me take up a job and start working while keeping my CA final attempt scheduled for July 2020 OR should I give my CA final group 2 , which is the only group pending, and then get into work ??
It would be really great and indeed very very helpful if someone can advice me what to do , in taking the right decision w.r.t my career in future as I don’t want to take a decision which costs me hugely and regret it later . Please help …!!
04 May 2020
It will be better for you to take up a job and start working while keeping your CA final attempt scheduled for July 2020. Be positive you will clear your final this attempt. You are at the right age to clear CA.