Originally I had planned to undertake a career in life sciences, however that didn't quite work out for me even though the sciences were my favourite subjects in school, so I took a leap of faith and decided to apply for a job in the finance sector and I'm very glad I did as I feel I've progressed very well so far

I heard about the opportunity from a family member and decided to apply online. The process moved very quickly, and I had an interview weeks after I applied. I was interviewed by a panel of two partners in Northern Trust. The interview went very smoothly there was no pressure at all. I got a call from HR two weeks after my interview to offer me the position.

A typical day in fund accounting is very busy, with preparation tasks split into four pods, each prep assuming one role. Our work is driven by deadlines so you can see on the allocation what time each task has to be completed by. It's important for us to be able to meet deadlines as delays can affect others down the line. As well as daily workloads, we also complete monthly tasks and reporting that's due at various points throughout the month based on deadlines.

The main objective in fund accounting is to calculate Net Asset Values (NAVs) of a fund, so the main tasks and responsibilities are all driven by the production of NAVs. We are each allocated a number of tasks from fee calculations, booking trades and tax configurations to name a few, we would be required to pay extreme attention to detail in order to ensure our work is as accurate as possible, minimising risk and keeping our clients happy.

The main challenges I feel would be the deadlines. Other teams rely on us completing our tasks on time in order to get our NAVs to the clients on time, so it's important to manage our times and ensure we have sufficient training in order to complete our tasks to a high standard

My favourite part of the job is the problem-solving nature of it all. My job is very numbers based which sometimes can lead to tricky equations to be worked out but is very satisfying once completed

I wouldn't say there's anything I don't like, however things can get extremely busy at times which can sometimes be daunting, but there's always someone there willing to give a hand.

I feel like for this job it's important to be good at problem solving and a good concept of working with numbers. Also, it's important to have good communication skills and to work well within a team.

As well as core subjects, I took Biology, Chemistry & Geography, none of which were even remotely related to the career path I've chosen. I never studied business or economics, although I had always had an interest in maths but never thought I'd end up working in the finance sector.

My education to date is the Leaving Cert, I did a year of Forensic & Pharmaceutical Science before deciding it wasn't for me, and am now one year into a International Financial Services course with the NCI in Dublin

I don't feel like my subject choices at school were very relevant to my job right now. Maths would be the most relevant subject to me current role. My current course with NCI is all very relevant to my job, it helps to better understand the theory behind the tasks completed on a daily basis.

Personal qualities I feel I possess that help me with my career would be hard working, I like to see things through start to finish, I'm ambitious & driven career wise, I work very well with other people which I feel is very important in my role as we're a very big team, and also I'd like to think I'm very organised and timely.

I'd like to progress my career in the direction its going for the moment, I'd like to expand my knowledge in fund accounting to the best of my abilities, and hopefully in the future move across and experience other departments across the company and further increase my understanding of the financial sector.

Yes, I work 8am to 4:15pm daily, with the exception of staying on a bit later when work is busier, however even staying on later is still allowing plenty of time in the evenings.

Someone considering this job I feel should work well under pressure as we can get very busy at times and you'll have a lot of tasks to complete. I think it's very beneficial to be social and outgoing as we all work very closely together as a team and its very helpful to have good relationships with your team when you need a helping hand in completing tasks.

Reliability, honesty and diligence.

For now, I'm planning on finishing the course with NCI and hopefully progressing my career with NT