CA was the Mistake of My Life

I wish, I had never chosen the path of Chartered Accountancy.

So, completed your schooling? Thinking what now? Confused? Let me tell you it's all very normal. But don't be a knee-jerk or pursue some course just because your friends or relatives are into it. We all have our own passions, don't judge yourself on the basis anyone else's success.

For students coming from commerce background the career path which seems to be the best after 12th standard is Chartered Accountancy Course. But let me make it clear, just do proper research about CA and analyze yourself before getting into it. I know doing CA can provide you vast opportunities but for that, you need to have an interest in all the work which a CA has to do. Being a CA and studying to become one is not a cakewalk. It requires a lot of hard work and patience. But the most important thing which matters is your level of interest in this field.

I myself started the CA course and to be honest I knew nothing about it while I filled the form. I started because it seemed like the best choice after 12th standard and also because my other classmates were also doing the same. It was nice in the beginning. You all know that fire we have inside when we start something new but if the pace of fire slows down, that's when all the issues begin.

I wanted to be a writer, CA has never been my dream. But I thought it's better to go for CA now, later I can pursue my writing dreams and that's where I went wrong. I wish I would have never chosen the path of CA. I gave CPT and then IPCE. After completion of IPCC, I started with my articleship. I never liked my work or anything about it, I used to run from it. Even the thought of doing such kind of work all my life was frustrating. I felt like, this is not what I want to do with my life. The only reason why I did my articleship was because I had to, if I didn't continue with my articleship then how'll I become a CA.

I lost almost all my interest in CA during articleship. At that point the thought of leaving CA came to my mind but I just consoled myself, I had come a long way and there's no going back now and also because my family wanted me to become a CA, I can't waste all the money they had spent on me just because I don't feel like doing it anymore. So, I prepared for my finals, gave exams but didn't clear.

I made up my mind after the results that I'll go for the next attempt. But all the spirit was gone. I couldn't concentrate, reading a few pages became so hard. Even the practical subjects seemed like a big hurdle to me. CA is something which you can't do half-heartedly. Somehow I prepared and gave my exams again. I didn't pass, what else can happen. This time my score was less than in my first attempt. It's not that I didn't give time to studies but it's because I started feeling like, CA is not for me.

We all go through pressure, it's true, but what I have gone through was the loss of interest in CA. I no more wanted to become a CA and frankly saying at that moment I didn't even care what others might think of me. I mean like their opinion doesn't even matter, it's my life. Relatives and friends won't even understand the feeling. People can just talk, talk and talk. It's for you to decide what you really want to do. At that point, I almost dropped CA but it was an almost. My family convinced me to give it a last chance. I hesitated, had a lot of arguments but in the end, they won and I lost.

"It's okay, it's not the end of life, you can go for something else but don't lose hope, this is not the end of life"

So, here came the third failed attempt. I started feeling like, I'm good for nothing, I'm a burden on everyone. But it's not true guys, we all have potential, what we need is to put it in the right place instead of applying it blindly over something and hoping to get good results. That's when I decided, I'm done with CA.

I stayed at home for months, did some logical analysis about myself. Eventually, I started a writing page on Instagram and a channel on YouTube. I calmed myself, talked to the most reliable persons in my life. They helped me to come out of the crisis which I was facing and said, "it's ok, it's not the end of life, you can go for something else but don't lose hope, this is not the end of life". They supported me and helped me out of the confusion with what I should do.

All this gave me a lot of mental pressure, I started getting irritated with everything and everyone. It's never too late to learn from your mistakes, just stop making it the moment you realize it. I took too long in realizing mine and I actually invested a lot of time and energy in it. If I had not chosen CA as my career then things might have been different for me today. But what's gone is gone. It was a phase of my life and it taught me a lot of things. Most importantly it taught me, "if your boss yells at you, you better don't utter a single word and let him say whatever he wants to and after that move out of the office and take a deep breath".CA is undoubtedly a path towards a successful professional career but it wasn't for me. CA was the mistake of my life. Go for CA only if you're passionate about it and you want to give it your 100%, nothing less than that. Whatever career goal you choose, choose it after proper research about it and yourself too. Remember self-analysis is the key to success because no one knows you better than you.

ALL THE BEST!