Career change advice

[BeTheChange]

Current CV:

• Big 4 qualified ACA (UK equivalent of the CPA) within audit and advisory - 3.5 years
• Moved to a competitor within their M&A team, mainly focused on the due diligence of target companies and a few capital market projects (equity issuances, IPOs, etc) - 1 year

I am looking at roles within either Commercial Finance at blue chip companies or M&A Advisory at investment banks. However these are quite competitive and if I can't secure opportunities in these fields by April 2017 (giving myself 6 months) then I am willing to concede moving into the standard Financial Accounting / Financial Reporting roles - easy to get (for my profile), well paid but incredibly dull. There's always the option to transfer to a more commercial role once you're in but I don't want to roll the dice on my career for a potential sideways movement that may not materialise.

With that in mind I am considering a career change and was hoping if anyone could offer advice on the best way to do this. I don't think an MBA would be the right choice.

For example, should I go about applying for entry level roles or market myself in a different way?

I see myself in either a more sales orientated role (not pure sales however) or one where I am eventually influencing the operational and strategic aspects of a business rather than pure finance. So maybe I should look into strategy consulting?

 

[AAAgent]

What's your reasoning with wanting to move from big 4 advisory role? Hours?

I used to work with alot of big 4 advisors on the M&A team as well as bankers and lawyers. I'm sure pay isn't as great as ibankers and lawyers but still good.