From teacher to tax associate
I’ve always loved a challenge – to stretch myself by learning something new. When my youngest daughter started school it felt like the perfect time to transition to something new. I was looking for a role which would challenge me, which lined up with conventional working hours but also had some flexibility, which would keep me learning and growing, with good opportunities for progression, and where I could work in a supportive and growing team. Working in tax had the challenge and variety that I was looking for, and Grant Thornton had the culture.
Music and teaching may seem as far from tax as you can get, but I’ve found a lot of the skills I developed have really helped through my time so far. As an arts subject, music can sometimes be seen as a softer, more ‘floaty’ pursuit, however at a high-level it requires detailed analysis and reflection, in real-time, of how you are performing. You are constantly striving to improve on what you have already achieved, and you seek and receive regular feedback, whether that’s from a teacher or an audience, good or bad. You have to develop resilience and grit, and I think this really helps in the workplace.
Before I started, I was a bit worried that I would feel out of place among my cohort, but that hasn’t been my experience at all. I’m training with some amazing people, and my team are varied in both age and stage. Being a teacher, I had to adapt what I was delivering to meet the learning styles and needs of so many different students. This meant my arsenal of learning tools and my understanding of how we learn became so much more developed than when I was at university – I'm able to apply these techniques now to my own learning to ensure that I am efficient and able to make the most of my study time.
The balancing act
I won’t lie – it's definitely not easy balancing work, study and family, and at times it can feel overwhelming. But these times are short-lived and they pass. One of the sayings I come back to regularly is, “You can do anything, but you can’t do everything”. This really helps remind me that I have to prioritise what is most important to me, and what is most important right now. I often have to make choices, but instead of feeling like I’m sacrificing or missing out, I remind myself I’m getting to choose what I want most.
This means you’ll find me going to bed by 10pm so I can get up and run at 6am before my children get up. I’ll work long days when I’m in the office so that I can pick my children up from school when I’m working from home. I’ll study from 7-9pm instead of watching TV so that I can spend a bit of time with my children between school and their bedtime. Sometimes it is absolutely exhausting, but there are a lot of good times – whether that’s getting good exam results, receiving good feedback, or just laughing about something over dinner as a family. It definitely feels worth the effort.
The opportunities are there
Considering I only joined in September 2023, I have already had so many incredible opportunities within the firm and I can see from others that continues as you progress - you just need to be willing and put your hand up. My standout one so far would be being part of the Spring budget response team. I got to go to London and see how it all works – how much work is put into creating the content that goes out after a budget announcement. I got to meet the marketing and content team, watch the budget with a range of colleagues from across the firm, then head upstairs to fact check the information that was being created in front of us with partners and directors, and our Head of Tax, Hazel. I was only a small part of it, but it felt exciting to be involved in something much bigger than me.
One thing that has surprised me about tax is the relationships we get to build with the clients. The ‘tax man’ doesn’t get a good rap, and I assumed we would get lumped in with that, with clients perhaps feeling resentful towards us. However we have really good relationships with our clients, and they're grateful for our advice and expertise.
If anyone, at any stage of their career, is thinking about making a change, I would absolutely recommend trainee programmes, they’re not just for the fresh out of school or uni, and you’d be surprised by how many transferable skills you have built up during your career to date.
