"Hi. I'm an accountant."

It's that time of year when graduates and school leavers beyond count (someone did count them I just couldn't be bothered to look it up, suffice to say there's a lot) leave the safety of their school/uni and head out into the big, wide and increasingly nasty job market in search of cash, and hopefully a career.

A not insignificant number end up training and working in accountancy, some because they've dreamed of it for years, others because it seemed like a good idea at the time, and many more because they've no idea what they're getting into.

Therefore I figured I'd write a few blogs in a random attempt to help those trying to make this all important decision.

First off: why accountancy?

Picture the scene: you're in a bar, dressed to thrill, hair and/or make-up (or neither in my case) perfectly styled, and the Megan Fox/Brad Pitt (delete as appropriate) lookalike you've been exchanging glances with wanders over for a chat. It's all going well until they ask that fateful question "So, what do you do?" and you smile and answer, almost apologetically: "I'm an accountant". Their eyes glaze over and before you know it they're off talking to that PR person they met earlier.

OK so a bit of a dramatisation, but let's face it, when you think of accountancy it's not all James Bond style action hero stuff. It's not even mostly James Bond style action hero stuff. We're not exactly renowned for our sex, drugs and rock and roll lifestyles. Which I must admit was top of my list when I left school.

So why did I choose it?

It was actually because of a chance meeting with an Aussie backpacker in Japan, who happened to be an accountant. She explained to me that, for the past 10 years since qualifying, this rather useful status as a Chartered Accountant had enabled her to work in, travel across and generally have ridiculous amounts of fun in several dozen countries on all seven continents. So slightly more rock and roll than first thought...

And that was me sold. Before that I had never really appreciated the power of the accountancy qualification, but it is a truly amazing tool to equip yourself with, opening up a literal world of opportunity in terms of careers, travel and quality of life (yes that includes the money).

There's virtually an endless list of opportunities in terms of career choice, in practice or industry, not-for-profit, public service, banking and so on. Just about every type of organisation imaginable needs someone who can understand finance; even if you don't end up working in a 'traditional' accounts role it will be useful, and endear you to potential employers. It also offers travel opportunities restricted to an elite few professions - check out the points system in Australia and see what being an accountant is worth.

Since I started training the value of the skills and the knowledge that we learn has been impressed on me tenfold. Think of finance and accountancy as another language, and learning to speak this language is one of the greatest advantages you can have in any number of careers.

Everyone can watch the news and listen about a supermarket's latest profit figures, but how many people truly understand what that 'profit' really is? Once you learn the language you'd be surprised how many people don't. Whatever role you end up in after qualifying, the ability to understand financial information will almost always give you an edge in life, something that in these days of economic woe and general belt tightening will put you ahead of the pack.

So we may never shake off that image that causes Megan/Brad's eyes to glaze over, but we have a qualification, and set of skills, that enable us to have choices and experiences that most people will never have, and that will give you plenty to talk about.