Student Stories
STUDENT
STORIES
Read through incredible journeys and stories our learners have, and how The Career Academy helped them achieve their dreams.
Hiromi finds the best of both worlds
Despite being an Auckland girl through and through, she spent a short stint in Rarotonga before
starting school, and lived in London for a couple of years teaching and nannying.
“After having a couple of kids of my own, I decided I wanted a career change and had a general
interest in Bookkeeping”
Hiromi says. So, she decided to switch her career from helping raise kids to helping raise revenue
with The Career Academy’s
For Hiromi, the flexibility of study at The Career Academy made all of the difference. “I liked
being able to do the entire course at home, my daughter was only 10 weeks at the time, so I
appreciated having the flexibility to study within my own pace. I could choose which days I wanted
to commit to study – so I was able to balance study with my personal life.” Studying when, where and
how she liked meant that Hiromi didn’t have to choose between the life she had and the life she
wanted to achieve for herself.
And once Hiromi reach the end of her course – her hard work paid off! She took advantage of The
Career Academy’s Career Centre, a service built to help students find
their dream role after graduating. She spotted a bookkeeping role with The Back Office Company,
applied for it, and got the job!
“I am really enjoying the challenge of something new.” Hiromi says of her new position as a
bookkeeper. “I am able to establish a new career around the kids and it fits in really well with
family life. A new challenge is always good! I really appreciate the support from The Back Office
Company – they have really helped me progress into this role and without the support it wouldn’t be
possible for me to do this role.”
Hiromi is taking the first steps in her new career – and you can too. The Certificate in Bookkeeping
will let you become a certified bookkeeper in just 10 weeks, putting you on the path to work as a
bookkeeper, or start your own bookkeeping business. You’ll also get access to the MYOB partner
program, and get six months free access to MYOB, and receive the Official Xero Advisor Certification
on completion.
Kirstin takes her next step, and now helps others take theirs
It was during the first COVID Lockdown that Kirstin started thinking seriously about what she wanted
to do.
Like all of us, she found herself with a lot of free time on her hands. But instead of spending the
time sitting in front of the TV, she had a long hard think about her passions, talents, and life
experience. Ultimately, she ended up asking the big question… What is my future going to look like?
The answer? Helping others achieve their dreams. And the best way to achieve it was through life
coaching.
“I wanted to help people on a deeper level. Help people accomplish their dreams, their goals”
she says. Kirstin knew where she wanted to be, but what she needed was a path to get there, and the
solution presented itself in the form of The Career Academy.
After looking at a number of different study options, The Career Academy jumped out as the options
for flexible online education meant that she could continue to work while learning. She enrolled in
the Certificate in Life
Coaching, as well as the Diploma in Psychology
& Counselling, as the
Online courses covered a wide range of topics including principles of life coaching, change
management, ethics, counselling skills and techniques, and the fundamentals of setting up a life
coaching business.
Very quickly, Kirstin realised she made the right choice. “I found the courses and the layout of the
modules to be very good, and the tutor’s feedback was great.” she says, “and with being
self-employed I could work easily around my studies as well.”
After finishing her Online course – Kirstin went on to found Take the Next Step, a life coaching
business built on helping people embark on their own journeys of success and helping them navigate
their way forward. “Whether it is going through a transitioning phase of life, finding a new career
pathway, to dealing with relationships or relationship separation.”
She prioritises a calm, relaxed, and holistic approach when it comes to her practice, an approach
drawing on her natural temperament and reinforced by her studies at The Career Academy.
As for the next steps, Kirstin is going to focus on building Take the Next Step and helping people
find their way forwards in life, and hopes that someday soon it will be her full time job. Outside
of that, she says that there might even be some more study on the cards for the future.
You can see all of the amazing things that Kirstin is achieving at Take the Next Step.
If you would like to follow in her footsteps you can study the Certificate in Life
Coaching which
teaches you the fundamentals of life coaching and helping others achieve their own success.
A new odyssey in accounting
The Greeks are no strangers to an Odyssey, but George started one of his own when he uprooted from
Greece and moved his family halfway across the world in 2012. “I think the transition has been
easier for our boys than for my wife and I.” he says. “They’re younger and they’re surrounded by
English-speakers at school every day. They often correct our English – but that’s good, it helps us
improve even more!”
With more than 20 years professional experience as a Dentist, George found that his Greek
qualifications weren’t recognized globally, and that re-qualifying would be like pulling teeth –
literally. Instead of dealing with the arduous, lengthy, and expensive process of re-qualifying,
George decided to take his first tentative steps in a new career.
At first, George was considering a career in tourism, but considering that “I’m not in my twenties
anymore,” and that he had a proven record of business acumen, he instead opted to begin a career in
accountancy. Attending polytechnic was not appealing; it was more costly than online learning, and
would seriously cut into the hours where George could be earning an income.
So, he searched online and found The Career Academy’s Certificate in
Accounting. From his first
phone call, it was obvious George had made the right choice. Amy (his one-on-one student advisor)
was patient and kind on the telephone, carefully answering his questions, explaining how online
learning would look (you can see it for yourself here), and letting him know he’d be supported every
step of the way.
Studying around his temporary job at a fast-food restaurant, George successfully completed the 140
hour course in just seven weeks.
George’s online experience at The Career Academy was so good, he decided to take a second course,
this time in the Diploma in
Accounting, which expands on the core concepts he learned while studying
the Certificate. Ultimately, George has his sights set on becoming an Accounting Technician, and he
likely won’t be far away with the certificate’s endorsement by the International Association of
Accounting Professionals. The course also includes up to six months access to MYOB and allows
students to receive the official Xero Advisor Certification, so George will be well equipped with
the tools of the trade.
George’s Odyssey is far from over, but if you want to follow in his footsteps check out the
Certificate or Diploma in
Accounting and you can get started immediately.