A chance of having Higher Education

Can you imagine how costly can your higher education bills be? Hmmmmmmmmmmm, well RM100K? RM 1 million? Or RM 15K?

Seriously this was the topic after dinner with my uncle who is thinking about it and regards himself over-planned for his Child education.

My boss use to discuss with other bosses how expensive can the higher education bill be when your children study oversea as they are trying to send their kids to a more "Famous Universities" in the World.

This will definitely cause a big bomb as it will reach between RM 500K to RM 1 millions. Well as far as one can afford why not!

However how about those who can't afford but still hope to get a good qualification at an affordable price to earn a living in the future. High education bill has been a key problem for those who wish to pursue higher education.

That was my choice and still my choice! The Professional Qualification. I never have a degree, never, only professional qualification.

I am a LCCI and ACCA Graduate and proud to be one. Of course there are other good professional qualifications out there which the holder should be proud of it too.

Most important I have recovered all my cost incurred for studying the course which RM 15K about 10 years back.

I remembered when I study LCCI I was only paying RM 90 per month as installment payment and together with the Exam fees for both LCCI and ACCA, really I don't think I have spent much for the higher education cost. It will be at RM15K or if I miss calculated I am sure it is not beyond the RM 20K mark.

Wow this really affordable! Yes and at the same time the qualification is well recognized in the world.

I have worked in several countries in this world and all of them accept ACCA. I have friend whom also graduate from ACCA is now working in Vietnam Singapore China Australia UK (united Kingdom not Ulu Klang) and other countries. It proves that you can really earn a living with your ACCA qualification.

However to me, it started from the very basic point. The Chance of having good quality higher education at an affordable price.

I used to study in colleges which many people regard as "Tuition Center" why? Because there is no campus. It was situated in an old shop lots in a very busy street down town.

Further, one thing that make everyone confuse is I always study in different colleges. For Me I have studied in 3 colleges for the same qualification. So which college I am actually from.

Tell you what my parent don't even know which college I have studied in, they just knew that I graduated from ACCA.

When I went interview, what do I put down when it come to college/university? I always fill in this way:

College/University: The Association of Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA); Degree: ACCA Professional Exam. Done!

No interviewer will question me on that as ACCA has been a brand name!

So who cares! More important is to complete the course and earn your living in the future.

Really during my time of study, I have lot of class mates whom is self support and they might have a full time job or part time job.

I salute most of them! Why? It is not easy for them. I have seen many of them, save and trying to pay their exam fees and subscription fees. One of them (actually many) cut the food bill by having Bread only (three meal a day). White and pure they have their bread for 3 meals a day. I really salute them.

They will be in the library from 8am in the morning until 8pm at night. This will usually happen one month before exam as they will start to have unpaid leave trying to prepare for their exam. Their determination and persistency is what we should learn!

Yet they passed exam. They always say this to me Thanks ACCA and their colleges who offered the courses to them at a very affordable price. They really appreciate that.

Where can you study a subject for RM 500 that last for four months? You might not have campus life, you might not have good facilities like those big colleges but this places which some others regard as low grade place provide good higher education to those who can't afford to go to those posh colleges; but still they need a qualification for their future career.

How could this possible. It is the combination of those professional course and those "low grade colleges" that provide those people like me a chance for higher education.

So where is my college/university it is The Association of Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA) and The London Chamber and Commerce and Industry (LCCI). What are the course that I studied- ACCA Professional Exam and LCCI Higher Diploma in Accounting. At the same time appreciation to colleges that provide those courses to me at very affordable fees

Without them, I cannot be who I am now. It start with a very affordable course combining with one of the hardest exam in the world, it make a stronger me to face my career.

If you are a graduate from Harvard or Cambridge well, you will be up for grab even before you graduated. That is the true facts!

Studying ACCA might not have the same effect but I am sure that it is not difficult to find jobs if you are an ACCA graduate!

What the employer really wants to see is your ACCA certificate, they don't usually ask for what grade you are in, why ACCA got no grading. If you get above 50 you pass if you get below 50 you failed. If you fail retake until you pass. The theory is simple. As far as you pass ACCA you are qualified as an ACCA Affiliate.

Your CV will definitely be enhanced when your potential employer see the word "ACCA".

However there are 2 areas for a student to improve when you study ACCA (This is my own opinion) as compared to a degree based student

Well ACCA student lack of research skill as compared to a degree student. Another point is that generally the presentation skill of ACCA students is weaker as compared to a degree student.

Therefore when they go for an interview in a larger organization, they might face problem when it come to the evaluation of a candidate soft skills especially when they need to present themselves to the interviewer for 5minutes, sometime they go blank. Why? Because for a degree students presentation and research is part of the degree life unlike ACCA students. So ACCA students do lack of some exposure in this areas.

However this is of course not the critical part but when interviewers make comparison to the two type of candidate, they might select the one with a more balance skill. So how could an ACCA student improve on this area? Well do your Oxford Brook degree and at the same time join a toastmaster club! This will definitely enhance your soft skill to make you to become more competitive in the job market.

So Bravo ACCA Bravo to those of you who study ACCA and Bravo to my three colleges……………………..Bravo Good night!