Mapping out a career path

CFO or CEO?

Nearly 54% of you want to be CFO or CEO in the future. 34% of trainees indicated that they were aiming for a senior management position. When asked what the ideal age to become a CFO or CEO was, 51% of respondents considered between 30 and 40 to be the best time, and 45% considered between 40 and 50 would be ideal.

Moving on?

The majority (38%) of respondents said that they would stay with the same employer for between three and five years before thinking it might be time to move on. Just under 30% thought that two years or less was long enough at one company. A similar percentage considered that it all depended on the job they were doing – if they were happy they saw no need to move in a set time.

Ideal age

Seven out of 10 respondents said they didn’t intend spending their entire career in accountancy or finance. Running a business was the most popular choice of career to explore with 48% of respondents saying they would want to be self-employed.

Source: student accountant direct, May 2008 poll