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To draw a line in the sand about past mistakes, what has happened has happened, you can only grow from here.

Great advice, @Joseph Robbins. I think that's especially important early in your career.

Everyone makes mistakes when they're learning, but the people who progress quickest are usually the ones who reflect, learn from them and move forward rather than dwelling on them.

Appreciate you sharing! 👏

Exam tips and ways to connect to employers

Nice one @Jordan Jerrison, great to have you posting 👊

I’ve heard good things about Kaplan for CIMA as well, but would be interesting to hear what others think! Anyone here done CIMA and have recommendations on training providers?

Hi Jordan,

I am doing level 4 of AAT and want to pursue CIMA after that too.

From my limited research, I think Kaplan seems great and are a real reputable company too. I think it's somewhere you can study knowing you'd get full support and access to lots of training material. For me I always look at things as "in 3-5 years time if I haven't achieved what I wanted (to become CIMA qualified, say), I want the only reason for that not working to be me".

What I mean by that, is I don't want to spend 3-5 years using a provider who perhaps weren't giving me the full support and materials, that I went with them because they were cheaper, I want to be with a fantastic company with a great reputation, high pass results, knowing that I have EVERYTHING in place for me to succeed. That alone motivates you throughout your studies and so if I don't succeed, it would be because 'I' didn't put the effort in, not because the support wasn't there or the materials weren't that great.

That's a bit of a ramble, but it's important to me to choose someone that's going to keep life easy and comfortable to study with, which makes you more motivated to carry on and determined to succeed.

Just my thoughts.

Andrew

Hi Jordan,

I passed my level 4 a few years back but have been busy switching jobs, kids and other milestones. I would say get it all done as quickly as possible if you don't have big commitments, I'm 3/4 of the way through my first year of CIMA FLP route and it's been tough trying to stay focused.

@Andrew Hinson

Apologies for the delay, I didn’t see the notification that you replied.

Thank you for such a detailed response! I think you are right with Kaplan, they do appear to be the better option when researching.

Hopefully 2026 is the year I start CIMA FLP🤞…

Good luck with the last level of AAT, I remember feeling like there was no end in sight, but the happiness when I achieved the level was worth the late nights :)

@Damien Hill thanks for your reply.

Wow, that does sound a lot!

How are you thoughts so far with FLP.

I am hoping to get it started before the end of this year, we are currently looking to buy our next house so that may have to take priority for a little while.

Good luck with your studies, I hope you can find a routine that works for you

Love this @Rohan Parry 👊 great to have you in here!

For me, I definitely feel like past papers are the best practice, as you get a feel for how the exam is going to be presented to you! Anyone else nearing finals or been through it already?

Welcome to Greigster @Uday Dipakkumar! Great to have you on board, love the mindset!

Plenty of good discussions starting up already, especially around finance and career paths. Looking forward to seeing your thoughts in the groups 👍

I wish someone told me I should be part qualified first before I have big commitments that include work and family of my own.

Wish someone had told me to stay at one job to get all the qualifications under my belt before changing. Feel like it's delayed my journey to become chartered massively!

Some really good points here @Bernard Mohlotsane @Damien Hill!

Sounds like a mix of timing + priorities plays a big part, whether that’s committing early or staying put to get everything under your belt. Interesting hearing both sides of it, anyone else had a similar experience or would’ve done something differently?