Come on, have you ever been to uni? Of those 4 years, most of it was spent having a good time, or if the person was unlucky - working in some kind of job to pay for the tuition and board. The work was mainly struggling not sleep through lectures amd maybe a few intensive weeks before exams. The 200hr guy also had to spend lots of time preparing for exams. I'm sure it takes a lot fo time to prepare for and pass all the PPL and ATPL exams.
Accountant - come on - the only time you ever face any challlenge is during month end (2 days), year end (1 week) and perhaps during an audit (also a week). The rest is just mundane tasks you can really master to perfection in a couple of days. So - for any given calendar year your accountant is really gaining experience for at the most 6 weeks.
I know of a few people who have set up and steered to success their own accounting firms, or have become chief accountants within less then a year of graduating. It all depends on the market.
I'm sorry but you are talking complete and utter bull. You must be thinking of an accounts assistant or maybe a purchase ledger clerk etc. when you say "you can master it in a couple of days". These people are not accountants in any shape or form.
I assume you are english? upon graduating from university you need to obtain a training contract with a firm to train to be an accountant, you need to qualify to be an accountant by studying either the ACCA, ACA or CIMA, these take 3 years of training on the job and taking ten or so exams at the same time. So for you to say you know people who have have become chief accountants within a year is the biggest amount of
I've ever heard. Please know something about a topic before trying to be an expert on the matter!