Do you have a career bucket list?

It’s true that many of us have written a bucket list of things we want to achieve in our lives, from jumping out of an aeroplane to seeing the Seven Wonders of the World to writing a novel.

But a career bucket list?

This is a great way to get down on paper your core ambitions, the big-ticket goals you have for your career. And each goal you achieve will improve your CV too.

While this isn’t a definitive list – yours could be very different – here are 10 ideas to help you think about your own career bucket list.

Work in another country

Working overseas can be deeply rewarding on both a professional and personal level. And fortunately for ACCA students and members, the world is your oyster, because the qualification is globally recognised!

Learn a language

If you work in a different country, you may well end up learning a new language as part of your job. Learning a language not only opens doors to richer cultural experiences, but new opportunities in other countries too. Learning Mandarin, for example, is highly valued given the size and gradual opening up of the Chinese market.

Be an entrepreneur

This is becoming a very popular and rewarding career path. With all the potential for new technology to disrupt every sector and every part of daily life, if you have an idea and some business acumen you can quickly become a successful entrepreneur.

Teach

This is another popular option for ACCA members, many of whom have gone on to teach accounting and finance at schools and universities around the world. If you want to help the next generation of finance professionals, then this is another rewarding option.

Become a mentor

Mentoring is an essential part of the accounting profession. It helps people meaningfully progress through their careers, with the helpful guidance of someone more senior and experienced. This is another chance to be able to give back to your profession, and yet another element that employers love to see on a CV.

Master a new skill

Studying ACCA is mastering a new set of skills – technical and professional. But being an accountant means you never truly stop learning. Given the levels of responsibility that accountants handle, including the financial stewardship of companies, you’re obligated to maintain a high level of continuous professional development (CPD). More than this, you should also seek to learn complementary skills that can help your career progress down interesting avenues – for example, project management, data analysis, forensic accounting, business partnering.

Or it could mean a completely new skill, a passion project away from work, like furniture design, horse-riding, knitting, diving – it’s your life, you decide.

Support a cause

This could be in your spare time, working for charities or local causes you feel passionate about, providing your financial expertise and business acumen to help them acquire funding. Alternatively, it could be how you position your career path, so that you work in the charity or non-governmental (NGO) sector, which is another extremely rewarding avenue for accountants.

A good work-life balance

This may not seem like a bucket-list candidate, but considering how difficult some people find striking the right balance, it’s something worth aspiring to. After all, a good balance often means being more productive and working better while maintaining an all-important full family and social life.

Make your parents and family proud

Become an ACCA member, be happy in your work, achieve even a few goals on this list and there’s no doubt your family will be proud.

An inspirational leader

This is not an easy one, but it is so valuable. You will likely progress in your career to managing teams of various sizes and if you can maintain a happy, productive team, then you’ll be inspiring and teaching the next generation of professionals just by doing your job.