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  1. #1
    Analyst003 is offline Novice
    Windows Vista Access 2010 64bit
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Posts
    3

    Career Paths and Improvement Advice

    Hi everyone!

    A little bit about myself. I'm currently a Cost Analyst. Recently I found out I was going to be given an opportunity to create a database for the company. I realized my strength is not strong like I thought it was despite the fact I have taken the course in college and in grad school after I did a rough draft of creating the database and was struggling to get things work the way I wanted it.

    I'm hoping to switch fields in the future from Accounting to IT after I have a longer work experience and knowledge on database. I do know not what the IT field is lIke or how stressful it is since I've been in accounting for the past 7 years.

    I find myself to be the person that understands the business side and technical side as well. It appears to me the career path I'm thinking about switching over to is Business/ Systems Analyst or Database Developer.

    How did you get better at understanding the way access or database works? Is there a site that you go to to practice creating numerous databases? Please feel free to give any advice. I'm struggling to find which exact career path I want to get into and salary.



    All I've done so far is watching youtube videos and learning how to code in sql on my phone.

    I feel like I am late to be learning this but I don't want to give up. I'm just struggling between to climb up the ladder from being a Cost Analyst (I don't know what position I want since I don't know if I'm capable to do the job) or venture off into IT.

  2. #2
    CJ_London is online now VIP
    Windows 10 Access 2010 32bit
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Posts
    11,397
    How did you get better at understanding the way access or database works? Is there a site that you go to to practice creating numerous databases? Please feel free to give any advice. I'm struggling to find which exact career path I want to get into and salary.
    I'm a CIMA/CGMA accountant who before stepping into the development world was FC/FD of a number of different companies. I moved to development because that was an area I enjoyed and I have a low boredom threshold and like fresh challenges. If you want a happy work/life balance, don't look at salary expectations, decide who you are and what you enjoy doing. It is better to be happy in your work and low salary than the other way round.

    Stress - all depends on you and where you are working. In IT there are deadlines to be met, issues to resolve, nice people and dreadful people, etc same as finance.

    Developers generally fall into two camps - databases themselves and front end (i.e. user interface) developers. Databases are typically SQL Server, Oracle etc using SQL and there are new structure upcoming such as NoSQL and Blockchain. Front end developers use HTML5, javascript, VB, C and many more. Access provides tools to cover both database and user interface. It can use its own back end (jet/ace) or many others and uses VBA for developing the front end. It provides a fast development environment but is limited to windows - so won't work on android/ios/etc unless you can install a virtual drive.

    With regards practice, find a project that a) interests you, b) is relevant to what you think you might want to do and c) is challenging. Then find a template and start building. There is plenty of help here and other forums plus videos on line, the latter generally only to get you started although there are more specialised ones to be found.

  3. #3
    Tonya Alcantar is offline Advanced Beginner
    Windows 7 32bit Access 2013
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Posts
    36
    Quote Originally Posted by Analyst003 View Post
    Hi everyone!

    A little bit about myself. I'm currently a Cost Analyst. Recently I found out I was going to be given an opportunity to create a database for the company. I realized my strength is not strong like I thought it was despite the fact I have taken the course in college and in grad school after I did a rough draft of creating the database and was struggling to get things work the way I wanted it.


    I'm hoping to switch fields in the future from Accounting to IT after I have a longer work experience and knowledge on database. I do know not what the IT field is lIke or how stressful it is since I've been in accounting for the past 7 years.

    I find myself to be the person that understands the business side and technical side as well. It appears to me the career path I'm thinking about switching over to is Business/ Systems Analyst or Database Developer.

    How did you get better at understanding the way access or database works? Is there a site that you go to to practice creating numerous databases? Please feel free to give any advice. I'm struggling to find which exact career path I want to get into and salary.

    All I've done so far is watching youtube videos and learning how to code in sql on my phone.

    I feel like I am late to be learning this but I don't want to give up. I'm just struggling between to climb up the ladder from being a Cost Analyst (I don't know what position I want since I don't know if I'm capable to do the job) or venture off into IT.
    First and foremost, I think, you should know what really interest you the most. You should assess yourself. You should be starting to understand in terms of what encompasses your occupational awareness and begin to set your goals for your work and personal life. From there, you will be able to manage your own career and you can easily choose the right path towards working on your goals.

  4. #4
    Paul H's Avatar
    Paul H is offline Expert
    Windows XP Access 2010 32bit
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Richmond, VA
    Posts
    591
    Should you choose to be a database developer, focus on SQL Server, Oracle or other enterprise applications, plus get some programming training like Visual Studio. Skills like that will pay off in the long run. Access is kind of a legacy application that is mostly looked down on by IT departments. It happens to be what I do best and I still find work doing it, but if I were starting out now, that is what I would do.

Please reply to this thread with any new information or opinions.

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