You work in sales, teaching, logistics, administration or catering, and you are thinking of changing direction. Accounting often comes up first: practices and finance departments recruit all year round, the profession is learned in stages, and it offers a clear progression from accounting assistant to chartered accountant. What remains is to know where to start, how to fund and organise the training, which jobs to aim for first, and how to present a previous career without it looking off topic. This article answers those questions in the order they arise.
Why accounting attracts career changers
The first reason is how readable the profession is. Keeping the books, producing annual accounts, filing VAT returns, monitoring cash: these tasks exist in every company, whatever its size or sector. An adult changing career therefore has a fair idea of what awaits at the end of the training, which is reassuring when you leave a familiar post.
The second reason is the structure of the qualifications. The accounting pathway is graded: you can enter with a vocational certificate at baccalaureate level, continue with a BTS, then the DCG, the DSCG and finally the chartered accountancy diploma. Each step opens concrete jobs. You do not have to commit to an eight-year route from the start: you can aim for a first job, work, then go back to study through a work-study contract if you wish.
The third reason is the variety of workplaces. An accounting practice, a company accounting department, a charity, a local authority or an audit firm have neither the same pace nor the same clients. A former salesperson will feel at home in the relationship with owners of small businesses; a former teacher in explaining things to clients; someone from logistics in tracking stock and flows.
The profession also has constraints worth knowing before you commit: peaks of workload (year-end closings, filings), precision on repetitive tasks, and growing automation that shifts value towards analysis and advice. Retraining out of a taste for accuracy and numbers works well; retraining only to escape a tiring job works less well.
Courses open to adults
Four main routes are available, from the shortest to the longest.
The level 4 vocational certificate (accounting assistant). Awarded by the Ministry of Labour, it is designed for quick entry into work: posting entries, bank reconciliations, VAT returns, basic payroll. It is taken as continuing education, often at training bodies running programmes for adults, and can be done as a work-study programme. It is the most direct entry point if you start from scratch and aim for an accounting assistant or junior practice assistant post.
The BTS in accounting and management. A higher-education diploma, it deepens bookkeeping, taxation and management analysis. It can be taken as initial training, through work-study or as continuing education. It is a good base if you later want to prepare the DCG.
The DCG (diplôme de comptabilité et de gestion). A state diploma at bachelor’s level (bac + 3), it carries the grade of licence and is the first step of the chartered accountancy pathway: it leads to the DSCG, then the DEC. It covers accounting, law, taxation, economics, management and English. For adults it is prepared through work-study, in specialist schools or by distance learning. It is demanding, but it is the diploma practices recognise most. Our article on choosing between the DCG and an accounting degree details the differences between the routes.
The VAE (validation of acquired experience). If your previous job already had you doing accounting tasks (running a till, following invoicing, keeping the books of a small organisation), you can have all or part of a qualification validated on the basis of that experience. The public “France VAE” service, with its online procedure, is presented on the official service-public.gouv.fr page 🔗. A VAE requires you to document your activities precisely: it mainly suits those whose experience genuinely touches accounting.
To choose, ask yourself three questions. How far do you want to go (assistant, practice accountant, chartered accountant)? How much time do you have? Does your current experience already overlap with the profession? A vocational certificate is enough for a first job; the DCG becomes useful as soon as you aim for a senior practice accountant post or the route towards chartered accountancy.
Funding and organising your training
A career change is prepared financially as much as educationally. Several schemes exist, and the combination depends on your situation: employee, jobseeker or self-employed.
- The personal training account (CPF) can fund all or part of a certifying course, provided it is eligible.
- The career transition project concerns employees who want to change profession through a long course, with pay maintained under the conditions set by the funding body.
- Work-study (apprenticeship or professionalisation contract) lets you train while being paid by the host company. Accounting practices use it widely, including for adults changing career: it is often the best route to the DCG, because it adds experience to the diploma. Our article on work-study in a practice to prepare the DCG explains how it works.
- Jobseeker support (course funding through France Travail, for example) depends on your situation and your adviser’s agreement.
Amounts, ceilings and eligibility conditions change regularly: check them with the body concerned before committing, rather than relying on dated information.
On organisation, three pieces of advice come up again and again. First, test the profession before committing: a placement, a period of observation or a few days in a practice say a lot about daily reality. Second, check that a course prepares for a recognised diploma listed in the official registers, and not merely a certificate from the training body. Third, anticipate the pace: studying alongside a job demands regularity for several months, and the revision period for DCG exams is demanding.
Realistic first jobs
With a vocational certificate or a BTS, the first accessible jobs are the following.
| Job | Where | What you do | |---|---|---| | Accounting assistant | Company, charity | Posting invoices, bank reconciliations, chasing payments, filing | | Bookkeeper or sole accountant | Small company | Full general accounting, VAT returns, liaison with the chartered accountant | | Junior practice accountant | Accounting practice | Keeping and reviewing a portfolio of small-business files | | Junior payroll officer | Practice, company | Payslips, social filings, absence tracking |
With a DCG and first experience, prospects widen: senior practice accountant, assistant in an audit firm, accounts payable or receivable in a large group, then engagement lead or head of accounting. Our articles on the job of practice accountant and on the route to head of accounting show how these posts follow one another.
Be realistic about the entry point: a career change rarely starts at the level you held in the previous job. Accepting an assistant or junior post, learning the basics in real conditions, then taking on more responsibility within a year or two is a common trajectory and is well regarded by employers. Practices also appreciate mature profiles who are punctual and comfortable with clients.
Presenting your previous job on a CV
The classic trap is to copy the old CV and hope the recruiter will make the link. They will not. The rule is to rewrite each experience in light of the target profession, without lying or playing it down.
Start with a title and summary that announce the target. Replace a generic heading with a formula such as “Accounting assistant, retraining after a career in store management”: the reader immediately knows where you are going and where you come from. The summary fits in three lines: the training under way or completed, the reason for the choice, one transferable skill.
Identify transferable skills. There are more than you think:
- running a till, a budget or invoicing, however modest;
- meeting fixed deadlines and following procedures;
- command of spreadsheets and management software;
- dealing with customers or suppliers, chasing payments;
- rigour in tracking stock, orders or files.
Rewrite lines before and after.
- Before: “Department manager, team and order management.”
- After: “Weekly follow-up of supplier orders and checking of invoices received, matching with delivery notes, reporting discrepancies to management.”
The second version describes the same reality, but uses the vocabulary of the target job. Keep figures you can justify, and never invent any.
Put the training in a prominent position. For a career change, the accounting training comes before earlier experience if it is recent. State the diploma sought, the expected year, the placement or work-study contract under way. Software you know (accounting, payroll, spreadsheet) deserves a short, precise skills section.
Take care of the form. Practices use applicant tracking systems (ATS) that screen out badly structured CVs before any human reads them. Our editor handles the layout for you and produces a PDF that these systems read correctly: you concentrate on the content. To see what a well-built CV looks like in this field, look at the practice accountant CV example, then create your CV from that model.
Pitfalls to avoid
- Aiming too high too fast. Applying for a head of accounting post with a vocational certificate weakens the application. A suitable first job and visible progression are better.
- Enrolling without checking recognition. Check that the diploma or certificate is listed in the national register of professional qualifications, and is not just an attestation from the training body.
- Underestimating the workload. The DCG includes several national exams; prepare for a sustained pace, especially if you work alongside.
- Hiding your previous job. It is what sets you apart. A CV that erases it leaves an unexplained period; a CV that links it to the new project tells a coherent story.
- Sending the same CV everywhere. Adapt the title and the first lines to an accounting practice, a company accounting department or an audit firm.
- Neglecting your network. Practices recruit a lot through recommendation and work-study. Contact schools, practices in your town and alumni of your course.
- Forgetting the tools. Real command of a spreadsheet and a common accounting package often weighs more than a line of generic skills.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need an accounting diploma to enter the profession?
For an accounting assistant post, a level 4 vocational certificate or a BTS is generally enough, and some small firms recruit on experience and motivation. To progress towards senior practice accountant, engagement lead or chartered accountant, the DCG then the DSCG become necessary.
Is a VAE possible without accounting experience?
A VAE validates skills acquired through experience: your past activities must therefore overlap with the content of the qualification sought. If your experience is far from accounting, a course is more suitable. The official procedure is described on service-public.gouv.fr 🔗.
Is work-study reserved for young people?
No. Professionalisation contracts are aimed in particular at adult jobseekers, and apprenticeships are open under conditions set by law. Accounting practices regularly recruit work-study students who are changing career. Check the conditions with the training body and your adviser.
How long does it take to land a first job?
It depends on the route chosen, your availability and the local market. A vocational certificate is prepared faster than a DCG, but the best indicator remains the quality of the application: a clear target, a CV rewritten for the profession, and a placement or work-study contract that proves your commitment.
Is my age an obstacle?
Employers in accounting mainly look for rigour, reliability and ease with people, qualities that career changers often bring. What matters is that your application shows a coherent project and training under way or completed.