By Jeanne Marke-Collier CareerHow an apprenticeship kick-started my accountancy career11 Mar 2013 Greenwich Council senior accountant, Jeanne Marke-Collier, believes in hard work and dedication to get what you want. She explains why she made the decision to spurn university to study AAT via an apprenticeshipFor as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to do finance. I’m a very pragmatic person and I need answers. Maths was always my favourite subject at school and I was considering going to university to become an actuary. But I soon realised accountancy actually had a much broader career scope.I applied for an apprentice role at the London Borough of Greenwich in the summer after I finished my first year of college and it became apparent that I could earn money while learning to do a job I enjoyed.My apprenticeship sped up the process. I signed up to study the AAT Accounting Qualification by day release and before I even knew it I had four years of experience and a senior role in accountancy. Had I gone to university, I would have started in an entry-level position, with little or no experience, and a much longer route ahead of me, to get to where I am today.Young people need proper guidance to realise their full potential. I’m very grateful that I’ve had a stable and supportive upbringing, but I’m also aware that not everyone is that lucky. As a volunteer at a youth centre I try to help other young people understand that there are benefits if you work hard and try.It is not as bad as it seems when you watch the news. I help young people make informed choices about their general health, specifically sexual and reproductive health, and I’ve learnt a lot about myself through this work.The greatest challenge is to not lose focus. All my peers are at university, partying, going out and living a life very different from mine. I’ve had to do my studies alongside working full-time and my priorities are different. I finished AAT last year in August and I’ve now started ACCA.I often don’t have time to join my friends after work because I have to go home and study. In those cases it is sometimes hard to stay focused, but I know I need to in order to get to where I want to be. In the future I hope I’ll be in a position to manage other people.I want to stay where I am now to get some more experience, build my portfolio and learn valuable skills, but eventually I want to move on to the city. My aim is always to do the best I can in the role I’m in and to go as far as possible within my profession.More information about studying AAT via an apprenticeship is available online. Jeanne Marke-Collier is a Senior Accountant at Royal Borough of Greenwich.