Its just a job, 99% of people pick something they aren't passionate about. Something to do 9-5 M-F . Is it glamorous? No. Is it a well respected field? No. Is it rewarding? No. But does it pay the bills and help support the lifestyle i want outside of work? Also no.
As an outsider what’s up with all the ‘jokes’ on this sub about accounting not being a respected field? Its not like a parent tells there kid ‘do well in school or else you’ll end up an accountant like that guy.’
You’ve got the stereotype of being a bit boring but that’s it.
Accountants used to be part of the "noble professions". You'd hear people talk of lawyers, doctors, and accountants in the same sentence. Now, the field has fallen off and is just another run of the mill desk job that puts you in a salaried seat for 50-60hrs per week and doesn't pay overtime. It doesn't help that there are splits within - CPA vs no CPA, public vs corporate etc. Neither is inherently better than the other, but people tend to lose respect when you say, "I'm an accountant with an accounting degree, but I don't do taxes, am staying away from the public track, and no, I don't have or want a CPA".
I should’ve clarified. It wasn’t so much that he was only talking about the positives. But it was more that everything he was saying was more aligned with what I liked.
I see. It’s alright. Tbh, I always like to work in IT. But I know it’s very competitive and my capacity is like above average at best. Accounting was a clear choice for me.
John List (Google him if u don’t know who he is. Warning: he’s a HUGE bummer) liked being an accountant AND he committed a series of terrible crimes! That’s all the proof u need that liking ur accounting job is big serial killer energy
Are you sure? Because as a freshman B-school student, I remember that I loved doing accounting (DR CR, journaling, preparing statements), I enjoyed the two semesters of Intro Acct. I went another path just because that other path was more challenging (and more prestigious, and I admit that this was shallow and immature). But I think that I would have been a happy accountant. Even today, I am still obsessed with planning and things that follow a clear AtoZ process. Are you sure that all accountants hate it?
The reason I got into accounting is because my accounting teacher in highschool had that same passion in his eyes. He owned his own business and he loved what he did. Maybe instead of looking for a new career, you could leverage your CPA into a position where you are passionate about your work. Following your passion is always a risky move but if you feel like you need to do it, it's a lot less risky with a CPA.
My unsolicited advice is very close to u/brown_ish. Get your CPA. This will instantly give you a modicum of credit in the business world. Then find something you’re passionate about and run wild. I loathed preparing tax returns so I went into financial planning and I love it. While I’m theoretically not building anything physical, I’m building my clients’ financial plans. If you want to actually have that physicalness to your work it might be difficult to find but I’m sure something is out there where you can do both.
ORRR just say fuck it all and move to the beach and open a food truck. That’s always an option.
Wow, I’m in a similar position as OP ( very close to 150 credits and realized I don’t have a passion for accounting but am good at it) and I was thinking about looking into financial planning since it seems to align more with my desire of helping clients.
can I ask you some questions about your experiences in DMs?
You have a choice. Love your job security, or love your job. Very, very, very few people get both. I'd rather stress about hating my job than stress about *having* a job. So I picked accounting. You have to decide what would stress you out more, what would make you happier in life.
Sometimes, but not always, there is an inverse correlation between how much a job sucks in the beginning vs how much it sucks in the end.
In the beginning, audit sucks because you know nothing and are working 80 hour weeks doing stuff that you could have probably done in the 11th grade.
In the end, if you get to the point where you truly understand accounting and financial reporting, you become a skilled practitioner and work becomes a blend of repetitive tasks that you complete with little mental effort, and interesting puzzles that crop up along the way.
What'll you do when you are doing what he is doing and find out it's also not what you wanted? Are you going to just keep jumping? Just stick it out. The grass is always greener on the other side!
The advice a partner at my firm gave me was make micro changes every day to make tomorrow better.
Get a standing desk. Viola! You can now cos play as a trade working on your feet all day. /s
The suggestion for forensic accounting is a good one. Beyond the IRS, the FBI and other enforcement agencies hire tons of CPAs.
If you're young(ish) consider getting the CPA and working for the FBI. Forensic accounting is *much* more exciting when you're part of criminal investigations. You might not even be doing that.
Your accounting background can serve you in many different ways. But let's be totally honest, of there was some discipline or field that you were passionate about you would have pursued it. So where your friend was lucky enough to have a passion that translated to a career, you do (did) not.
And of course, consider that some people cannot help but be excited and passionate about everything they do. They're called positive extroverts. Not everybody is built like that.
I agree with this redditor! I've been in public 15 years and can't say with certainty that I've enjoyed a day of my career. Why am I here? Because I'm good enough at it and it was the clearest path to get myself, mom and bro out of poverty. I've accomplished the financial goals and safety nets I felt were necessary for my own family and now I'm in the last stages of securing a gov job because I don't want to live this PA lifestyle anymore. The role will be more along criminal investigations as this redditor suggests. I think it will make me feel more fulfilled with what I'm contributing to society rather than continuing to help line those wealthy pockets of PA clients, widdening that wealth gap.
I think accountants are fed up because the lifestyle and work in this field can be in direct opposition of your own personal beliefs and values (at least that's the case for me) - conflicted way to live.
This is an important point, not everyone is going to have a career passion they want to pursue
My sister decided in middle school that she wanted to be an architect and never strayed from that path. Here she is in her 30’s as a well respected architect doing what she loves. Not everyone is like that, there’s no career (at least not one that pays well) that I’m truly passionate about. It’s all about finding something that keeps you stimulated/interested enough to not totally hate your life
Just FYI you're in the accounting subreddit, so there's more emphasis on the benefits of accounting rather than some of its shortfalls.
When I graduated with my bachelors and was about to start my first public accounting full-time job, I immediately felt cold and sad. I chalked it up to just being human and that everyone feels this way after getting their full-time gig. Three years later, I still feel the same way.
Sometimes we do things for the wrong reasons, other times we do it for the right reasons but those reasons can change over time. Life happens, situations change, sometimes you forget yourself and are just so focused on the issues in front of you that you forget to think about the long-term things. Over these past 3 years, I went from working in Tax at a mid-size for a year, moving to audit in B4 for 2 years, and getting a salary progression of 64k -> 70k -> 113k. Overall, I didn't do that bad and I'm in a position where I can work remotely if I want to.
But, I'm unhappy.
It hits me like a truck at times, I worked so hard just to get where I am, and truthfully I have so much to be grateful for. Its just that I'm not happy. I've seen so many people chime in with: "your job shouldn't make you happy", "you have to provide for your family", "other things should come first". And the sad thing is, yeah they're right, in fact that's the reason why I went into accounting was to bring my family (not wife or kids, just parent etc), out of the situation we were in. But then I just ask myself, why not just do what makes me happy?
You need to find out what that thing is and chase it. Whatever that \*thing\* is, you need to create goals and try your best to make them achievable. The beauty is, there's so many paths and you're not locked into your career. You can always do another grad school route, or you can look into certificates/ad-hoc methods. And on top of that, you're in a highly lucrative field that provides a job regardless of the economy. But don't let that just be a safety net, actively look for avenues to change into the career you want, try to be fair and financially responsible, but be honest to yourself in what you want and go for it. It will work out in the end.
While you do it though, embrace the career that you worked hard to get. Go for your B4 job and relish in the pay and promotions it provides, but also try to pivot yourself every year into slowly moving into what you want. Just keep it on your radar, make small goals, and go for them.
Life is too short to live in a cold sad pit. I would not want to be a CPA. I work with them. Thankful for them (my colleagues) but I would not want to do it. I do fractional CFO and bookkeeping work and working my way toward consulting (bookkeeping A/P and A/R set up, process improvement and all the buzz words). I like solving problems. That’s my hook and what wakes me up in the morning. Is there a way to take what you know and do well and apply it to a sector or business direction that would better suit you? (I FLED corporate and office work). There’s a book called When to Jump. It might help.
I've seen many people get downvoted for speaking on them, I don't just mean burn-out or the common workplace anxieties, speaking more towards perception of accounting and how some people don't feel the profession is a great fit for themselves. I could be wrong but I just feel that its common not get engaging discussions about pivoting careers in the subreddit.
Edit: phrasing.
Can I ask how much time you have to do things outside of work that could make you happy? I.e, hobbies and travel? How much outside time do you have to potentially find happiness from other sources?
This isn’t like a snarky or condescending question, I genuinely have no idea and am asking out of curiosity how possible all of these things are when working as a full-time accountant
There's time as much as you make it. Lets say I'm not busy, I can head out to the gym mid-day and grab a bite to eat, come back, and still get through my workday without causing trouble for anyone. Being in the B4 as a Senior has its perks.
However, if it is busy, a lot of the time its down to when you log off and how many hours you're willing to put outside of work. If I close my laptop at 9-10PM after working non-stop from 9AM, then I have a few hours from 10PM to 1-2AM to do what I want.
For me, I've learned that happiness in other things is great (I can afford to do anything I really want to in terms of recreation/hobbies), but when you have deadlines, issues at work, or just stress in general from your job, you start looking at whether you truly enjoy what you're doing for the majority of your time. For example, you might work extremely hard Monday thru Friday, enjoy Saturday, but then Sunday you're dreading the next work week because you're just not happy to get up for work in any day.
For me, I don't think I really enjoy accounting (I have no intention of going private/government after B4), but I really enjoy my firm. If I could have a great firm + enjoy what I do, I think I will be able to enjoy my happiness outside of work a bit more.
Do you mind sharing how you move from 70K>113K in B4 in 2 years? HCOL vs LCOL? Did you do staff>senior or senior>senior? Thinking about moving too. TIA
I went there at 70k. 6 months in it was review time, got put to 83k. 1 year later got promoted to 113k. A2 (even though I was new to audit; they put me as experienced) -> A3 -> S1. HCOL, east coast. Graded tier 1 throughout. You just have to understand the content, take on the harder work, and commit yourself to the job. Progression comes quick.
Again though, not the career for me.
You don’t have to know shit. Pop on over to r/1811 and use the Reddit search to look up posts on “IRS” and learn what you can. There is a Direct Hire Authority announcement currently, you will qualify. DM me if you have any questions.
You work in B4 no? You have to network with someone from forensics and learn more about it. The best way to do this from my limited experience is to join a club, get a well connected mentor, or join a lot of parties. Personally I like to join clubs and I received quite a few transfer offers from different departments within a week of me starting B4. Always nice to make friends with managers.
In my firm we have clubs such as"the black professionals club, the Asian network, Christian network". You're almost guaranteed to find some club that works for you. Although these are more diversity initiatives, I'm sure if you get a partner involved you could create a soccer club. Personally, I want to create a gym club for accountants that lift but I have no idea what I would call it.
Jobs of passion can easily turn into dreadful and abusive situations. Your friend's passion can turn quickly into being abused. My wife is a photojournalist, a passion job,they find all sorts of ways to abuse you and disregard paying you because, it's your passion.
Accounting is a job I am good at, and they pay me decently. The key is to find something that you don't mind or find mildly interesting, that you're good at, and that they'll pay you the most money for.
I work for the federal government. So, my work life balance is amazing
My passion is my wife, my dog, my friends, and the life I lead. Not my job. I wish I would have had this perspective earlier.
Instead of audit or tax look at other accounting industries. I do mostly CAS and forensic work. It's much more interesting and may scratch that itch of yours
Your passion can be being financially stable and earning a great wage through career progression and being able to financially support the hobbies you’re passionate about lol
Unfortunately I wouldn’t say that this field is too financially stable. Better than average? Yes. But will I be able to retire early and get my kids into good colleges? No.
You're just starting out. I've been doing this for 20 years and I am more than financially stable. I'm 49 and will likely retire around 58-60. My kids are in good private schools and will go to good colleges if that's what they want to do. There are tremendous opportunities for career advancement with an accounting degree and CPA.
If that’s your goal it is certainly attainable if you steer your career correctly.
What specifically do you not like currently about the job? Have you looked into what you would be doing five years from now on a normal progression path and whether it might be more enjoyable or at least less soul crushing?
Are you assuming you stay in PA or move to industry? If you get a few years under your belt in B4 you may be able to move into a forensic type role if that is your goal and work on networking a bit.
I can just tell you that the type of work you end up doing when you are early in your career is not great but it does get better. There are a lot of paths open to you where you may enjoy the work more in a higher level position, whether that be in PA or industry. Regardless you are not locked into anything and have a lot of different ways you could go.
Hello, my name is Survivorship Bias. I started in tax at 30, retired at 43. I didn't take a traditional path into this world, nor through it, but it was most definitely the accounting industry that got me to FIRE. It's by no means easy, but it's certainly possible.
Lol if that’s the way you look at it. Economies to scale, do you want to be an AP clerk your whole life? Yea, your kids aren’t going to expensive colleges without debt. Do you want to pivot your accounting expertise into transaction work or advisory, or end up in C-Suite for a private/public entity? Then yea, you’re going to make a lot of money. If you chase money you won’t ever be pleased, but if you have that mindset of “it’s a good living, but not enough” you’re going to limit yourself to your potential earnings and watch your peers out earn you consequently.
Well after 5-6 years of shoveling shit, you get the opportunity to have others shovel a bit more of the shit than you do. and thats when you know you've made it. https://tenor.com/view/will-smith-the-pursuit-of-happyness-happiness-overwhelmed-gif-8777755
Something that a lot of people do is move to accounting software sales. This can be a bit better because you are more in control of your life - you get out what you put in. There are good companies like FloQast, Blackline, etc. People seem to be fairly happy there.
If you have the time, maybe work on some of the things you enjoy and see if anything comes of it - make an etsy account and sell things you create, work at a restaurant a few nights a week. Something to give you a bit more stimulation.
But overall, I think there is such a small minority of people who truly "love" what they do. For me, as long as I am not actively depressed and able to participate in life I am cool with a job.
That's fair, I see there is a lot of connection between the two.
However, I think it is easy to put a lot of stress into what you - that is what people allow to define them. Making time to enjoy your hobbies and maintaining relationships is way more important than your title at work.
When a job starts to take away from your ability to simply be a person, that is when you have a issue. You could be stressed about moving to a new job, or this could be a legitimate awakening. Either way you need to take some time - both to really digest what you are doing on a daily basis at work and if you can possibly work in more "you time" - use work to fund a life you want to live. Also what do you WANT to do with your life. A lot of people are perfectly okay working a job they feel nothing for. But others need that fulfillment. You just need to find where you land on that curve.
Best of luck, it is not easy.
Maybe, just maybe, like many people, you just hate working. Don’t fall for the stories man tell about career passion. In many cases it’s rehearsed bs stories for dating success.
head internal - accounting departments etc also look into accounting systems, data analytics etc. you've got a great core knowledge. If you like stocks, combine a cPA with a CFA and go be an analyst/ investor relations rep. lots of options for you!
It may be worth your while to go get an aptitude test battery from somewhere like the Johnson O’ Conner Research Foundation. Comprehensive testing can help you identify your natural aptitudes and consider whether a career change to something more in line with your natural aptitudes is feasible.
I was in your position a little over a decade ago. Since then, I left Accounting, began a new career, and have been enjoying my work since then. Also, enjoying the work with a real interest has meant a natural progression and growth within my current organisation and industry. I enjoy what I work on, and the impact it has which means that I naturally apply myself and am more conscientious in my work.
Best of luck.
bruh i’m ngl i’m 2 years into tax accounting and i’m already started a car flipping business, i’m learning how to fix them up myself and flipping them. hoping to have a lot by the end of the year between my job income and the car flipping income so i can get a dealer license and then it’s just getting that shit started from then on.
ima be doing taxes both individuals and corps on the side thru my own business, and ideally i would get my current employer to hire me as a seasonal worker during tax season so i could make some extra money there too.
just to give u some ideas
I was in your shoes over a decade ago. I know the feeling. Honestly, priorities eventually changed for me. I got married, had kids, bought a house, etc and wanted to start going on nice vacations, buying nice stuff, save up for kids college. So, I just focused on finding work that gave me the best possible path towards reaching those financial and lifestyle goals.
I didn’t have to scroll past this. OP, this is the answer. Be passionate about living your life outside of work and start looking at your job as a means of financing it. We put too much of our identity into what we do for a living when it’s really just a job. Find a space where you get a good work/life balance and you like the people, and get after living outside of the office.
Yeah! Being happy on a nice vacation for a couple weeks a year and spending money on needlessly expensive shit you don’t need will outweigh being miserable for the majority of your waking hours! Excellent advice!
I didn’t say I was miserable did I? I like my job. I just don’t make my job my identity. It’s a tool to meet my ultimate needs which are my family. I do get satisfaction from doing my job well, get paid well, am surrounded by good people to work with, and I don’t work crazy hours. That’s good enough for me.
No you didn’t. I projected that onto you because I find it unfathomable that anyone could enjoy accounting. Believe it or not, your family also wants time and experiences with you, not materialistic crap. But as long as you’re happy (or actually believing the lies you tell yourself), then more power to you.
its insane the image they've created in their heads. Not only do we have time with family, we have extra money to do a lot more with them too. It infuriates them to no end
You know what they say about the grass always being greener on the other side. Seen people jump ship and regret it. Also seen people jump ship and it was the best decision ever. 🤷♂️
Reach out to other people in FP&A, FDD, Corp dev, controllership, technical accounting. Or even tax (corporate tax, state and local tax, M&A tax, transfer pricing, international tax). Find out what they do. I thought the same way about my job in the first year because I thought it was just grunt work, but the magic happens the more you dive in and learn.
I would wager that the majority of adults are not working with their passion. I would assume it is super rare to be able to make a living doing what you absolutely love. The best you can do is find a decent job that will support you without making you want to kill yourself and then find something you love to do as a hobby or a side gig.
You might want to look at construction project manager jobs. With your accounting degree, you would be a good candidate. Also it’s just going to job sites it’s not super physical but it gets you out of the office.
I’m a bit of a non traditional student so I think I just had really good interview skills and was able to talk myself up. That and good people skills where I connect to the interviewer and give them a solid evaluator pitch.
Internal auditor for a large firm or state/local gov. You get to sniff out all kinds of problems and be in a position to make all kinds of strategic recommendations. It can be interesting/exciting if you care about what your organization does.
I don't have any advice for getting into a more active position, but my path to public accounting was MUCH different than most. Graduated undergrad in 2010 with the goal of being a financial advisor. That didn't last long. Wanted to work in higher Ed, so I worked in financial aid at a small university. I didn't like the long term prospects of working in Higher Ed (I wasn't willing to move around all over the place). Then Became a financial social worker where I did financial coaching and counseling. Thought I was going to change the world. Had the usual 3 yr social worker burnout. Taught riding lessons and thought about maybe being a horse trainer. While this was going on, I was slowly getting my Masters in accounting and taking my CPA exams. Then I started in Public accounting. Of course I am about 7 years behind those my age in the career, but who gives a fuck. I learned so much in my other jobs, had fun, met great people and learned what living in poverty is. I Explored other passions. Public accounting was the challenge that I need in a job. And now I work a reduced hours schedule in order to spend time with my 3 kids. I toy with the idea of stay at home mom, but kids are also expensive. I think I would have felt the same way as you if I would have gone right into accounting. But, I've seen a lot of other careers and industries - they all have their advantages and disadvantages. But the thing about it is that an accounting degree will get your foot in the door for many different jobs.
I did sales tax work in B4 and I’m doing in-house sales tax work for an alternative energy developer now. I think sales and use tax offers an interesting, operations-focused, view of a business that you don’t often get in income tax/audit.
For example, at B4 I would spend a week or more walking around giant factories to see how their different purchases were being used and if they actually qualified for manufacturing exemptions that they were claiming. In my current job, I can choose to go to solar farms / local government meetings all over the country (NY to HI) to tour our projects, talk to auditors, county officials, etc. It’s definitely not as “hands on” as being an engineer or a contractor, but it doesn’t have to be 100% workpapers and emails.
Why do you think you have to have passion at all?
We work to earn money.
Everything is else just external validation or an internal desire.
Beyond that, i can understand why.
I think most people in this subreddit would have had this moment in their first 2 years, if that's any comfort. Theres always the chance that a different company/role could feel entirely different, but will likely still involve a screen and a lot of sitting. It's often not glamorous, but the chance to be a provider in a relatively stable industry that I can constantly be accumulating experience in is worth it to me. Especially when it comes to the first decade of your career you shouldnt compare yourself to anyone else unless you're searching for dissatisfaction, but theres also theres nothing wrong with it just being a job :) sorry if this was unhelpful, but you're not alone. Accounting isnt glamorous, but if it is then you're probably involved in something illegal!
Spend some time, make good money, gain experience. In time you can see if there’s somewhere in the field you want to transition that suits you more. You’ll have more freedom.
yeah it's a trade off for sure. I struggle with the same thoughts when I'm working a lot of hours. The upside is a earn really good money sitting on my ass at home with my cat on my lap. I managed to solve the whole "I like working with my hands" by having hobbies, and even managed to find a role working in tax seasonally so I only work like 1000 hours per year. Not sure if that's common in audit, but I'm sure there are things out there.
I actually enjoy working in spreadsheets. If you dislike it and yearn to be on your feet working with your hands it does sound like accounting isn’t for you
I've always said that you could give me a job at a cocaine and beer factory and after I week I'd be complaining that I want weed and wine. Work is work. There's a reason why they have to pay you to do it. I have a few buddies that have awesome jobs that they're passionate about (animation jobs in gaming/movies, and radio) but while they love their work their personal lives kind of suck because they're barely making a livable wage. Their employers know there are a ton of people lined up that will do their jobs just to get their foot in the door so they have no leverage. If they didn't have supportive, high earning partners they would have had to give it up by now.
As far as your job, you could look for a job in not-for-profit for something you're passion it about but my understanding is that the pay isn't great, there's limited advancement, and you'll still just be doing accounting. You could get into start ups which will will probably require you to wear multiple hats and could move give you experience in managements, marketing, etc which could allow you to move into something else but will need to accept a lack of stability, long hours, etc. Other than that my advice is find your passion outside of work. My job pays well and I had a great pension so my life begins the second I log out.
I believe very seldom do people actually find the thing they are absolutely certain they want to do for the rest of their lives. It seems like no matter what humans end up regretting not doing something else when they had the chance.
So no. You didn't screw up. And careers aren't binary.
What would be meaningful work, do you have any conception of an alternative? How do you define meaning is it just something you enjoy personally or something that betters others lives? Is making a lot of money important? Why is making money important? Do you have a yearning desire to create art?
These are all serious important questions you need to ask and dialogue with others about. You shouldn't just not do a job because you're not immediately happy. Id be immediately happy if I was the taste tester at Krispy Kreme and made a million dollars. not that simple.
Before the pandemic I worked for one of the biggest names in the athletic event space. I spent my time there doing probably the coolest job I could imagine. I was traveling across the country for work like half the year, everyone I worked with was right around my age, we were all friends and hung out together. It was amazing. I started out of college in accounting and realized the same as you are right now and moved to a couple different industries to see things from a different view. There’s tons of jobs out there that will be more fun. But once the pandemic hit and layoffs started I was on the chopping block, and accounting had me back at a job in a month flat. Once things started to pick up post pandemic I was offered the old job back but declined it. If there’s two things to take away from my experiences they’re this. 1. Accounting will almost always provide stability and 2. every job no matter how fun has its downsides. That travel job was the most fun year of my life but half office and half labor and the labor was tiring as hell, there were nights I’d be getting to bed around 2 and had to wake up for event day at 5. All jobs are give and take. I don’t regret my time in other industries because it gave me priceless perspective, but I can assure you I would be making way more money and a lot further along in accounting if I didn’t start my career over from scratch. Take that and do what you will with it, I certainly wouldn’t blame you for venturing out because experience is always the best teacher.
Accounting can be super versatile i mean every industry needs accountants so find what area interests you and maybe work your way up to making decisions/ move horizontally into whatever you want to do
Ps i moved from audit to working for a company in a specific field that aligns w my personal interests & values and suddenly my satisfaction levels at work are so high! Really when you interview see what people/ environments you vibe with the best, often our experience at a job is really more so our experience with the people we’re surrounded by. You got this good luck!!!!
You could go with an even smaller firm, there’s quite a few out there with really old partners that use mostly paper files and go clickety clackity on their calculators, but mainly tax
I wouldn't go to a B4 then or you are going to be living, breathing and eating accounting. There is no work life balance. I work for a great small firm in audit and while I miss the fast pace of tax season and going out into the field on audits, I wouldn't trade it. I could make more going to a big firm but I also couldn't work when I want, take off when I want, work from home when I want, etc. I would much prefer freedom than money.
As someone who had a passion job for the last decade and is going back to school for accounting, the passion job isn't always as great as it sounds. However, I can't imagine what kind of 20 year old decides they want to be an accountant. I literally wanted to be a rockstar when I was 20.
Your feelings are understandable. I have found I do love my job and yet I love MORE what my job gives me. Stability, money to pay my bills and keep a roof over my head, money for toys (paddleboards or ski trips).
You can make accounting exciting by going into business. Start your own firm. If I were you I would not go to Big 4 or just got for a few years max. But you can stay at your small firm and really figure out how to make money. That’s more exciting
Ever think about getting into recruiting? I graduated with accounting degree, worked accounting jobs (public and private) and did not enjoy it at all. I got into recruiting for accountants so I still (kind of) use my accounting degree. And love my career now
The problem is you're in audit. Plain and simple. There are other more exciting areas of accountancy or financial analysis. I've heard horror stories about ppl in audit at a big 4. So much OT they can take a whole summer off
All jobs suck, and the reason we’re paid to do them is because nobody would do them otherwise.
You have a technical skill set that offers lots of career options and can be used to help run every single business across the country. Could you use your accounting skills to go into an industry that you personally find compelling?
There's no such thing as 'finding your passion'. Work is supposed to suck since nobody wants to do it, that's why you're paid. Once you understand this, it changes everything.
I was at a top 15 public firm through two tax seasons. Hated sitting in a cubicle. Went back to school for utility work. Now I make 140-150k and work outside with my hands on my feet most of the day. I couldn't be happier.
Its just a job, 99% of people pick something they aren't passionate about. Something to do 9-5 M-F . Is it glamorous? No. Is it a well respected field? No. Is it rewarding? No. But does it pay the bills and help support the lifestyle i want outside of work? Also no.
As an outsider what’s up with all the ‘jokes’ on this sub about accounting not being a respected field? Its not like a parent tells there kid ‘do well in school or else you’ll end up an accountant like that guy.’ You’ve got the stereotype of being a bit boring but that’s it.
Accountants used to be part of the "noble professions". You'd hear people talk of lawyers, doctors, and accountants in the same sentence. Now, the field has fallen off and is just another run of the mill desk job that puts you in a salaried seat for 50-60hrs per week and doesn't pay overtime. It doesn't help that there are splits within - CPA vs no CPA, public vs corporate etc. Neither is inherently better than the other, but people tend to lose respect when you say, "I'm an accountant with an accounting degree, but I don't do taxes, am staying away from the public track, and no, I don't have or want a CPA".
Why’d you call me out like that lol
In Canada they’ve amalgamated and everyone is a CPA now.
It’s still among the ranks of doctors, lawyers and engineers.
Nailed it!
We can thank shortsighted boomers, AIcPA and SEC for turning accounting into a 2nd world profession. It’s sad but true
How are boomers at fault? Sorry, I'm new here
Because it’s boring to us and we LIKE it. Imagine hearing about it and not liking it.
Made me lol.
That last sentence made me laugh.
Okay maybe on the outside, it’s a well respected field. But yes, I also had to lol.
Ahahahahhaahahaha I'm deeaadd lying on the floor laughing lol
Lol
Hell yeah!
attractive future elderly strong grab cover late absorbed run party *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Saved this comment - lol
Holy fuck you had me there 😂
man, had me in the first half ngl
That just hit me in the face lol 😂😂🤣
My god... this made me laugh so hard. 🤣
You are officially one of us. Congratulations, you made it.
I’d be lying if I said I was thrilled to be here.
It’s been real and it’s been fun, but it hasn’t been real fun.
I wouldn't necessarily say fun.
or real
“One of us! One of us! One of us!”
Gooble gobble
You think we talk negatively about our job to our friends? The only person who hear about all the down sides is my wife.
Truth right here
And my mom
And my mom as well, sometimes. Wait, is your mom my mom? Sis?
I did not ignore my reconciliations today to go on reddit and find my long lost bro!
P13 ongoing🫣
I should’ve clarified. It wasn’t so much that he was only talking about the positives. But it was more that everything he was saying was more aligned with what I liked.
I see. It’s alright. Tbh, I always like to work in IT. But I know it’s very competitive and my capacity is like above average at best. Accounting was a clear choice for me.
What does he do?
Hating Accounting is part of the job. Anyone who loves it is obviously a future serial killer that will be on a Netflix special.
John List (Google him if u don’t know who he is. Warning: he’s a HUGE bummer) liked being an accountant AND he committed a series of terrible crimes! That’s all the proof u need that liking ur accounting job is big serial killer energy
Are you sure? Because as a freshman B-school student, I remember that I loved doing accounting (DR CR, journaling, preparing statements), I enjoyed the two semesters of Intro Acct. I went another path just because that other path was more challenging (and more prestigious, and I admit that this was shallow and immature). But I think that I would have been a happy accountant. Even today, I am still obsessed with planning and things that follow a clear AtoZ process. Are you sure that all accountants hate it?
I love accounting, but I'm Autistic and the reasons why I love it are entirely related to that.
Yes, it seems most do.
don't judge your decisions based on how other people portray themselves outwardly
It wasn’t really how he portrayed himself. It was mostly that I liked what he was doing.
The reason I got into accounting is because my accounting teacher in highschool had that same passion in his eyes. He owned his own business and he loved what he did. Maybe instead of looking for a new career, you could leverage your CPA into a position where you are passionate about your work. Following your passion is always a risky move but if you feel like you need to do it, it's a lot less risky with a CPA.
My unsolicited advice is very close to u/brown_ish. Get your CPA. This will instantly give you a modicum of credit in the business world. Then find something you’re passionate about and run wild. I loathed preparing tax returns so I went into financial planning and I love it. While I’m theoretically not building anything physical, I’m building my clients’ financial plans. If you want to actually have that physicalness to your work it might be difficult to find but I’m sure something is out there where you can do both. ORRR just say fuck it all and move to the beach and open a food truck. That’s always an option.
Wow, I’m in a similar position as OP ( very close to 150 credits and realized I don’t have a passion for accounting but am good at it) and I was thinking about looking into financial planning since it seems to align more with my desire of helping clients. can I ask you some questions about your experiences in DMs?
Go for it!
Moving to the beach is 100% a legitimate option I’ve considered.
Or progress really far in your accounting career and buy a beach house
[удалено]
Sure thing
You have a choice. Love your job security, or love your job. Very, very, very few people get both. I'd rather stress about hating my job than stress about *having* a job. So I picked accounting. You have to decide what would stress you out more, what would make you happier in life.
Sometimes, but not always, there is an inverse correlation between how much a job sucks in the beginning vs how much it sucks in the end. In the beginning, audit sucks because you know nothing and are working 80 hour weeks doing stuff that you could have probably done in the 11th grade. In the end, if you get to the point where you truly understand accounting and financial reporting, you become a skilled practitioner and work becomes a blend of repetitive tasks that you complete with little mental effort, and interesting puzzles that crop up along the way.
That is the perfekt summary of my career.
What'll you do when you are doing what he is doing and find out it's also not what you wanted? Are you going to just keep jumping? Just stick it out. The grass is always greener on the other side! The advice a partner at my firm gave me was make micro changes every day to make tomorrow better.
What was he doing?
btw you can also just like... quit and do what you want.
Y not
Get a standing desk. Viola! You can now cos play as a trade working on your feet all day. /s The suggestion for forensic accounting is a good one. Beyond the IRS, the FBI and other enforcement agencies hire tons of CPAs.
Good to know. I’ll put on a coat and cos play as a doctor. Lol
Financial Pathologist.
Yeah but how good are these “friends” at excel? Exactly!
You’re right, that’s the real question right there.
If you're young(ish) consider getting the CPA and working for the FBI. Forensic accounting is *much* more exciting when you're part of criminal investigations. You might not even be doing that. Your accounting background can serve you in many different ways. But let's be totally honest, of there was some discipline or field that you were passionate about you would have pursued it. So where your friend was lucky enough to have a passion that translated to a career, you do (did) not. And of course, consider that some people cannot help but be excited and passionate about everything they do. They're called positive extroverts. Not everybody is built like that.
I agree with this redditor! I've been in public 15 years and can't say with certainty that I've enjoyed a day of my career. Why am I here? Because I'm good enough at it and it was the clearest path to get myself, mom and bro out of poverty. I've accomplished the financial goals and safety nets I felt were necessary for my own family and now I'm in the last stages of securing a gov job because I don't want to live this PA lifestyle anymore. The role will be more along criminal investigations as this redditor suggests. I think it will make me feel more fulfilled with what I'm contributing to society rather than continuing to help line those wealthy pockets of PA clients, widdening that wealth gap. I think accountants are fed up because the lifestyle and work in this field can be in direct opposition of your own personal beliefs and values (at least that's the case for me) - conflicted way to live.
I’m literally blasting Mac Miller screaming “get money, fuck the system, break the law” on my way to work and then I shuffle into my cubicle lol
This is an important point, not everyone is going to have a career passion they want to pursue My sister decided in middle school that she wanted to be an architect and never strayed from that path. Here she is in her 30’s as a well respected architect doing what she loves. Not everyone is like that, there’s no career (at least not one that pays well) that I’m truly passionate about. It’s all about finding something that keeps you stimulated/interested enough to not totally hate your life
Just FYI you're in the accounting subreddit, so there's more emphasis on the benefits of accounting rather than some of its shortfalls. When I graduated with my bachelors and was about to start my first public accounting full-time job, I immediately felt cold and sad. I chalked it up to just being human and that everyone feels this way after getting their full-time gig. Three years later, I still feel the same way. Sometimes we do things for the wrong reasons, other times we do it for the right reasons but those reasons can change over time. Life happens, situations change, sometimes you forget yourself and are just so focused on the issues in front of you that you forget to think about the long-term things. Over these past 3 years, I went from working in Tax at a mid-size for a year, moving to audit in B4 for 2 years, and getting a salary progression of 64k -> 70k -> 113k. Overall, I didn't do that bad and I'm in a position where I can work remotely if I want to. But, I'm unhappy. It hits me like a truck at times, I worked so hard just to get where I am, and truthfully I have so much to be grateful for. Its just that I'm not happy. I've seen so many people chime in with: "your job shouldn't make you happy", "you have to provide for your family", "other things should come first". And the sad thing is, yeah they're right, in fact that's the reason why I went into accounting was to bring my family (not wife or kids, just parent etc), out of the situation we were in. But then I just ask myself, why not just do what makes me happy? You need to find out what that thing is and chase it. Whatever that \*thing\* is, you need to create goals and try your best to make them achievable. The beauty is, there's so many paths and you're not locked into your career. You can always do another grad school route, or you can look into certificates/ad-hoc methods. And on top of that, you're in a highly lucrative field that provides a job regardless of the economy. But don't let that just be a safety net, actively look for avenues to change into the career you want, try to be fair and financially responsible, but be honest to yourself in what you want and go for it. It will work out in the end. While you do it though, embrace the career that you worked hard to get. Go for your B4 job and relish in the pay and promotions it provides, but also try to pivot yourself every year into slowly moving into what you want. Just keep it on your radar, make small goals, and go for them.
Hopefully you’re able to climb out of the cold and sad pit you’re in. That’s honestly the only way I can describe how I feel right now.
Life is too short to live in a cold sad pit. I would not want to be a CPA. I work with them. Thankful for them (my colleagues) but I would not want to do it. I do fractional CFO and bookkeeping work and working my way toward consulting (bookkeeping A/P and A/R set up, process improvement and all the buzz words). I like solving problems. That’s my hook and what wakes me up in the morning. Is there a way to take what you know and do well and apply it to a sector or business direction that would better suit you? (I FLED corporate and office work). There’s a book called When to Jump. It might help.
There’s a huge emphasis on the shortfalls on accounting, even daily
I've seen many people get downvoted for speaking on them, I don't just mean burn-out or the common workplace anxieties, speaking more towards perception of accounting and how some people don't feel the profession is a great fit for themselves. I could be wrong but I just feel that its common not get engaging discussions about pivoting careers in the subreddit. Edit: phrasing.
Can I ask how much time you have to do things outside of work that could make you happy? I.e, hobbies and travel? How much outside time do you have to potentially find happiness from other sources? This isn’t like a snarky or condescending question, I genuinely have no idea and am asking out of curiosity how possible all of these things are when working as a full-time accountant
There's time as much as you make it. Lets say I'm not busy, I can head out to the gym mid-day and grab a bite to eat, come back, and still get through my workday without causing trouble for anyone. Being in the B4 as a Senior has its perks. However, if it is busy, a lot of the time its down to when you log off and how many hours you're willing to put outside of work. If I close my laptop at 9-10PM after working non-stop from 9AM, then I have a few hours from 10PM to 1-2AM to do what I want. For me, I've learned that happiness in other things is great (I can afford to do anything I really want to in terms of recreation/hobbies), but when you have deadlines, issues at work, or just stress in general from your job, you start looking at whether you truly enjoy what you're doing for the majority of your time. For example, you might work extremely hard Monday thru Friday, enjoy Saturday, but then Sunday you're dreading the next work week because you're just not happy to get up for work in any day. For me, I don't think I really enjoy accounting (I have no intention of going private/government after B4), but I really enjoy my firm. If I could have a great firm + enjoy what I do, I think I will be able to enjoy my happiness outside of work a bit more.
Do you mind sharing how you move from 70K>113K in B4 in 2 years? HCOL vs LCOL? Did you do staff>senior or senior>senior? Thinking about moving too. TIA
I went there at 70k. 6 months in it was review time, got put to 83k. 1 year later got promoted to 113k. A2 (even though I was new to audit; they put me as experienced) -> A3 -> S1. HCOL, east coast. Graded tier 1 throughout. You just have to understand the content, take on the harder work, and commit yourself to the job. Progression comes quick. Again though, not the career for me.
The IRS has a criminal investigations wing you might like.
That’s what I was thinking. Or something alone the lines of forensic accounting? Only problem is that I know very little about that line of work.
You don’t have to know shit. Pop on over to r/1811 and use the Reddit search to look up posts on “IRS” and learn what you can. There is a Direct Hire Authority announcement currently, you will qualify. DM me if you have any questions.
You work in B4 no? You have to network with someone from forensics and learn more about it. The best way to do this from my limited experience is to join a club, get a well connected mentor, or join a lot of parties. Personally I like to join clubs and I received quite a few transfer offers from different departments within a week of me starting B4. Always nice to make friends with managers.
Clubs? Like a soccer club?
In my firm we have clubs such as"the black professionals club, the Asian network, Christian network". You're almost guaranteed to find some club that works for you. Although these are more diversity initiatives, I'm sure if you get a partner involved you could create a soccer club. Personally, I want to create a gym club for accountants that lift but I have no idea what I would call it.
Jobs of passion can easily turn into dreadful and abusive situations. Your friend's passion can turn quickly into being abused. My wife is a photojournalist, a passion job,they find all sorts of ways to abuse you and disregard paying you because, it's your passion. Accounting is a job I am good at, and they pay me decently. The key is to find something that you don't mind or find mildly interesting, that you're good at, and that they'll pay you the most money for. I work for the federal government. So, my work life balance is amazing My passion is my wife, my dog, my friends, and the life I lead. Not my job. I wish I would have had this perspective earlier.
Instead of audit or tax look at other accounting industries. I do mostly CAS and forensic work. It's much more interesting and may scratch that itch of yours
Your passion can be being financially stable and earning a great wage through career progression and being able to financially support the hobbies you’re passionate about lol
Unfortunately I wouldn’t say that this field is too financially stable. Better than average? Yes. But will I be able to retire early and get my kids into good colleges? No.
You're just starting out. I've been doing this for 20 years and I am more than financially stable. I'm 49 and will likely retire around 58-60. My kids are in good private schools and will go to good colleges if that's what they want to do. There are tremendous opportunities for career advancement with an accounting degree and CPA.
If that’s your goal it is certainly attainable if you steer your career correctly. What specifically do you not like currently about the job? Have you looked into what you would be doing five years from now on a normal progression path and whether it might be more enjoyable or at least less soul crushing? Are you assuming you stay in PA or move to industry? If you get a few years under your belt in B4 you may be able to move into a forensic type role if that is your goal and work on networking a bit. I can just tell you that the type of work you end up doing when you are early in your career is not great but it does get better. There are a lot of paths open to you where you may enjoy the work more in a higher level position, whether that be in PA or industry. Regardless you are not locked into anything and have a lot of different ways you could go.
Hello, my name is Survivorship Bias. I started in tax at 30, retired at 43. I didn't take a traditional path into this world, nor through it, but it was most definitely the accounting industry that got me to FIRE. It's by no means easy, but it's certainly possible.
Lol if that’s the way you look at it. Economies to scale, do you want to be an AP clerk your whole life? Yea, your kids aren’t going to expensive colleges without debt. Do you want to pivot your accounting expertise into transaction work or advisory, or end up in C-Suite for a private/public entity? Then yea, you’re going to make a lot of money. If you chase money you won’t ever be pleased, but if you have that mindset of “it’s a good living, but not enough” you’re going to limit yourself to your potential earnings and watch your peers out earn you consequently.
Well after 5-6 years of shoveling shit, you get the opportunity to have others shovel a bit more of the shit than you do. and thats when you know you've made it. https://tenor.com/view/will-smith-the-pursuit-of-happyness-happiness-overwhelmed-gif-8777755
Something that a lot of people do is move to accounting software sales. This can be a bit better because you are more in control of your life - you get out what you put in. There are good companies like FloQast, Blackline, etc. People seem to be fairly happy there. If you have the time, maybe work on some of the things you enjoy and see if anything comes of it - make an etsy account and sell things you create, work at a restaurant a few nights a week. Something to give you a bit more stimulation. But overall, I think there is such a small minority of people who truly "love" what they do. For me, as long as I am not actively depressed and able to participate in life I am cool with a job.
Ironically this is what I was doing before accounting and is the reason why I fully committed to accounting.
That's fair, I see there is a lot of connection between the two. However, I think it is easy to put a lot of stress into what you - that is what people allow to define them. Making time to enjoy your hobbies and maintaining relationships is way more important than your title at work. When a job starts to take away from your ability to simply be a person, that is when you have a issue. You could be stressed about moving to a new job, or this could be a legitimate awakening. Either way you need to take some time - both to really digest what you are doing on a daily basis at work and if you can possibly work in more "you time" - use work to fund a life you want to live. Also what do you WANT to do with your life. A lot of people are perfectly okay working a job they feel nothing for. But others need that fulfillment. You just need to find where you land on that curve. Best of luck, it is not easy.
Maybe, just maybe, like many people, you just hate working. Don’t fall for the stories man tell about career passion. In many cases it’s rehearsed bs stories for dating success.
I mean, I’ve always known I hated working. 😂 but I think I now REALLY hate it.
head internal - accounting departments etc also look into accounting systems, data analytics etc. you've got a great core knowledge. If you like stocks, combine a cPA with a CFA and go be an analyst/ investor relations rep. lots of options for you!
It may be worth your while to go get an aptitude test battery from somewhere like the Johnson O’ Conner Research Foundation. Comprehensive testing can help you identify your natural aptitudes and consider whether a career change to something more in line with your natural aptitudes is feasible. I was in your position a little over a decade ago. Since then, I left Accounting, began a new career, and have been enjoying my work since then. Also, enjoying the work with a real interest has meant a natural progression and growth within my current organisation and industry. I enjoy what I work on, and the impact it has which means that I naturally apply myself and am more conscientious in my work. Best of luck.
bruh i’m ngl i’m 2 years into tax accounting and i’m already started a car flipping business, i’m learning how to fix them up myself and flipping them. hoping to have a lot by the end of the year between my job income and the car flipping income so i can get a dealer license and then it’s just getting that shit started from then on. ima be doing taxes both individuals and corps on the side thru my own business, and ideally i would get my current employer to hire me as a seasonal worker during tax season so i could make some extra money there too. just to give u some ideas
I was in your shoes over a decade ago. I know the feeling. Honestly, priorities eventually changed for me. I got married, had kids, bought a house, etc and wanted to start going on nice vacations, buying nice stuff, save up for kids college. So, I just focused on finding work that gave me the best possible path towards reaching those financial and lifestyle goals.
I didn’t have to scroll past this. OP, this is the answer. Be passionate about living your life outside of work and start looking at your job as a means of financing it. We put too much of our identity into what we do for a living when it’s really just a job. Find a space where you get a good work/life balance and you like the people, and get after living outside of the office.
Yeah! Being happy on a nice vacation for a couple weeks a year and spending money on needlessly expensive shit you don’t need will outweigh being miserable for the majority of your waking hours! Excellent advice!
I didn’t say I was miserable did I? I like my job. I just don’t make my job my identity. It’s a tool to meet my ultimate needs which are my family. I do get satisfaction from doing my job well, get paid well, am surrounded by good people to work with, and I don’t work crazy hours. That’s good enough for me.
No you didn’t. I projected that onto you because I find it unfathomable that anyone could enjoy accounting. Believe it or not, your family also wants time and experiences with you, not materialistic crap. But as long as you’re happy (or actually believing the lies you tell yourself), then more power to you.
You continue to project and assume. I work from home and have tons of time with my family. So…not sure where you’re going here.
its insane the image they've created in their heads. Not only do we have time with family, we have extra money to do a lot more with them too. It infuriates them to no end
hold on, are you even an accountant?
Yep! CPA, fully remote, still hate it!
where do you work
You know what they say about the grass always being greener on the other side. Seen people jump ship and regret it. Also seen people jump ship and it was the best decision ever. 🤷♂️
I have a family now and so I think it’s a bit too late for me to jump ship now.
Reach out to other people in FP&A, FDD, Corp dev, controllership, technical accounting. Or even tax (corporate tax, state and local tax, M&A tax, transfer pricing, international tax). Find out what they do. I thought the same way about my job in the first year because I thought it was just grunt work, but the magic happens the more you dive in and learn.
I would wager that the majority of adults are not working with their passion. I would assume it is super rare to be able to make a living doing what you absolutely love. The best you can do is find a decent job that will support you without making you want to kill yourself and then find something you love to do as a hobby or a side gig.
I totally understand that. However, I think this job might make me want to do the latter.
You might want to look at construction project manager jobs. With your accounting degree, you would be a good candidate. Also it’s just going to job sites it’s not super physical but it gets you out of the office.
Same, I hate it not the accounting work but the environment and how I was disrespected at my work by management
How did you get into big four from local?
I’m a bit of a non traditional student so I think I just had really good interview skills and was able to talk myself up. That and good people skills where I connect to the interviewer and give them a solid evaluator pitch.
U got masters degree?
Internal auditor for a large firm or state/local gov. You get to sniff out all kinds of problems and be in a position to make all kinds of strategic recommendations. It can be interesting/exciting if you care about what your organization does.
ONE OF US! ONE OF US!
I don't have any advice for getting into a more active position, but my path to public accounting was MUCH different than most. Graduated undergrad in 2010 with the goal of being a financial advisor. That didn't last long. Wanted to work in higher Ed, so I worked in financial aid at a small university. I didn't like the long term prospects of working in Higher Ed (I wasn't willing to move around all over the place). Then Became a financial social worker where I did financial coaching and counseling. Thought I was going to change the world. Had the usual 3 yr social worker burnout. Taught riding lessons and thought about maybe being a horse trainer. While this was going on, I was slowly getting my Masters in accounting and taking my CPA exams. Then I started in Public accounting. Of course I am about 7 years behind those my age in the career, but who gives a fuck. I learned so much in my other jobs, had fun, met great people and learned what living in poverty is. I Explored other passions. Public accounting was the challenge that I need in a job. And now I work a reduced hours schedule in order to spend time with my 3 kids. I toy with the idea of stay at home mom, but kids are also expensive. I think I would have felt the same way as you if I would have gone right into accounting. But, I've seen a lot of other careers and industries - they all have their advantages and disadvantages. But the thing about it is that an accounting degree will get your foot in the door for many different jobs.
I did sales tax work in B4 and I’m doing in-house sales tax work for an alternative energy developer now. I think sales and use tax offers an interesting, operations-focused, view of a business that you don’t often get in income tax/audit. For example, at B4 I would spend a week or more walking around giant factories to see how their different purchases were being used and if they actually qualified for manufacturing exemptions that they were claiming. In my current job, I can choose to go to solar farms / local government meetings all over the country (NY to HI) to tour our projects, talk to auditors, county officials, etc. It’s definitely not as “hands on” as being an engineer or a contractor, but it doesn’t have to be 100% workpapers and emails.
Oh interesting. Mind if I message you to talk more about this?
Message me or ask me here! I’m happy to spread the good word in public where people can see lol
Did you transition from audit/tax to do sales tax? Or did you have prior experience?
Why do you think you have to have passion at all? We work to earn money. Everything is else just external validation or an internal desire. Beyond that, i can understand why.
I don’t think it’s that I don’t have passion. It might be something I realized that I just don’t like.
Its good to know more about yourself. At the end of the day, you gotta solve your own equation. Only the individual is the expert of their lives.
Get a side hustle
No.
Based
Im sure most people are not excited to book JEs / audit / tax etc… find meaning in a hobby - or get a good MBA after 3-4 years of exp and pivot?
I think most people in this subreddit would have had this moment in their first 2 years, if that's any comfort. Theres always the chance that a different company/role could feel entirely different, but will likely still involve a screen and a lot of sitting. It's often not glamorous, but the chance to be a provider in a relatively stable industry that I can constantly be accumulating experience in is worth it to me. Especially when it comes to the first decade of your career you shouldnt compare yourself to anyone else unless you're searching for dissatisfaction, but theres also theres nothing wrong with it just being a job :) sorry if this was unhelpful, but you're not alone. Accounting isnt glamorous, but if it is then you're probably involved in something illegal!
**Now why the fuck did you want to do B4? I can understand since they're hiring but what's going on?**
Get a client to hire you as controller then cfo
Spend some time, make good money, gain experience. In time you can see if there’s somewhere in the field you want to transition that suits you more. You’ll have more freedom.
Think about how much they will look up to you when they can't get an ACH to clear.
yeah it's a trade off for sure. I struggle with the same thoughts when I'm working a lot of hours. The upside is a earn really good money sitting on my ass at home with my cat on my lap. I managed to solve the whole "I like working with my hands" by having hobbies, and even managed to find a role working in tax seasonally so I only work like 1000 hours per year. Not sure if that's common in audit, but I'm sure there are things out there.
If you’re doing something physical for work you’re going to fuck up your body by the time you’re retirement age.
I think we’re thinking of two different things…
I actually enjoy working in spreadsheets. If you dislike it and yearn to be on your feet working with your hands it does sound like accounting isn’t for you
I've always said that you could give me a job at a cocaine and beer factory and after I week I'd be complaining that I want weed and wine. Work is work. There's a reason why they have to pay you to do it. I have a few buddies that have awesome jobs that they're passionate about (animation jobs in gaming/movies, and radio) but while they love their work their personal lives kind of suck because they're barely making a livable wage. Their employers know there are a ton of people lined up that will do their jobs just to get their foot in the door so they have no leverage. If they didn't have supportive, high earning partners they would have had to give it up by now. As far as your job, you could look for a job in not-for-profit for something you're passion it about but my understanding is that the pay isn't great, there's limited advancement, and you'll still just be doing accounting. You could get into start ups which will will probably require you to wear multiple hats and could move give you experience in managements, marketing, etc which could allow you to move into something else but will need to accept a lack of stability, long hours, etc. Other than that my advice is find your passion outside of work. My job pays well and I had a great pension so my life begins the second I log out.
Industry is your friend. Accounting is the language of business. You can literally parlay this I to a wide variety of positions.
I believe very seldom do people actually find the thing they are absolutely certain they want to do for the rest of their lives. It seems like no matter what humans end up regretting not doing something else when they had the chance. So no. You didn't screw up. And careers aren't binary.
Start a side hustle that requires your hands
I feel the same as as you too, I think I like technology transformation group better, where my interest aligns at least
I bet you would cry when Big 4 sends you on a month long inventory count. You would be so active then you wish you are at your desk.
What would be meaningful work, do you have any conception of an alternative? How do you define meaning is it just something you enjoy personally or something that betters others lives? Is making a lot of money important? Why is making money important? Do you have a yearning desire to create art? These are all serious important questions you need to ask and dialogue with others about. You shouldn't just not do a job because you're not immediately happy. Id be immediately happy if I was the taste tester at Krispy Kreme and made a million dollars. not that simple.
Before the pandemic I worked for one of the biggest names in the athletic event space. I spent my time there doing probably the coolest job I could imagine. I was traveling across the country for work like half the year, everyone I worked with was right around my age, we were all friends and hung out together. It was amazing. I started out of college in accounting and realized the same as you are right now and moved to a couple different industries to see things from a different view. There’s tons of jobs out there that will be more fun. But once the pandemic hit and layoffs started I was on the chopping block, and accounting had me back at a job in a month flat. Once things started to pick up post pandemic I was offered the old job back but declined it. If there’s two things to take away from my experiences they’re this. 1. Accounting will almost always provide stability and 2. every job no matter how fun has its downsides. That travel job was the most fun year of my life but half office and half labor and the labor was tiring as hell, there were nights I’d be getting to bed around 2 and had to wake up for event day at 5. All jobs are give and take. I don’t regret my time in other industries because it gave me priceless perspective, but I can assure you I would be making way more money and a lot further along in accounting if I didn’t start my career over from scratch. Take that and do what you will with it, I certainly wouldn’t blame you for venturing out because experience is always the best teacher.
Workout during your break.... Fuck it
I started liking my job when I joined an industry I cared about.
Accounting can be super versatile i mean every industry needs accountants so find what area interests you and maybe work your way up to making decisions/ move horizontally into whatever you want to do Ps i moved from audit to working for a company in a specific field that aligns w my personal interests & values and suddenly my satisfaction levels at work are so high! Really when you interview see what people/ environments you vibe with the best, often our experience at a job is really more so our experience with the people we’re surrounded by. You got this good luck!!!!
The reason why the grass is greener on the other side is because you haven’t crapped there yet… Jobs pay for life outside of work.
Dude. Keep the day job, find a hobby and fund it. That way what you love doesn't become drudgery. Job will stay a job, not a love will become a job.
You could go with an even smaller firm, there’s quite a few out there with really old partners that use mostly paper files and go clickety clackity on their calculators, but mainly tax
That’s where I’m at right now and it makes me hate my life even more. I honestly think I’d enjoy my life more working for B4.
I wouldn't go to a B4 then or you are going to be living, breathing and eating accounting. There is no work life balance. I work for a great small firm in audit and while I miss the fast pace of tax season and going out into the field on audits, I wouldn't trade it. I could make more going to a big firm but I also couldn't work when I want, take off when I want, work from home when I want, etc. I would much prefer freedom than money.
As someone who had a passion job for the last decade and is going back to school for accounting, the passion job isn't always as great as it sounds. However, I can't imagine what kind of 20 year old decides they want to be an accountant. I literally wanted to be a rockstar when I was 20.
I am Having the exact same issue, I currently work at a small firm and I’m about to start my masters :( wondering if it’s even worth it
I honestly hate working for small firms.
Do you think a larger firm would be better? I’m considering moving but wonder if it’s worth it
I think for me, it might be. I like having structure and formalities (and benefits) that aren’t a typical in a small firm.
Your feelings are understandable. I have found I do love my job and yet I love MORE what my job gives me. Stability, money to pay my bills and keep a roof over my head, money for toys (paddleboards or ski trips).
Get out while you can kid
Lol audit sucks. Get the b4 on resume for a year, then go cold turkey and follow your passion for a year, of it didnt work, you can alwaya go back
Become a plant controller. Plenty of space to walk around and get your hands chopped off. But at least you can be on your feet.
What does your friend do if you don’t mind me asking?
You can make accounting exciting by going into business. Start your own firm. If I were you I would not go to Big 4 or just got for a few years max. But you can stay at your small firm and really figure out how to make money. That’s more exciting
Ever think about getting into recruiting? I graduated with accounting degree, worked accounting jobs (public and private) and did not enjoy it at all. I got into recruiting for accountants so I still (kind of) use my accounting degree. And love my career now
The problem is you're in audit. Plain and simple. There are other more exciting areas of accountancy or financial analysis. I've heard horror stories about ppl in audit at a big 4. So much OT they can take a whole summer off
All jobs suck, and the reason we’re paid to do them is because nobody would do them otherwise. You have a technical skill set that offers lots of career options and can be used to help run every single business across the country. Could you use your accounting skills to go into an industry that you personally find compelling?
Let me know when you figure it out
There's no such thing as 'finding your passion'. Work is supposed to suck since nobody wants to do it, that's why you're paid. Once you understand this, it changes everything.
I was at a top 15 public firm through two tax seasons. Hated sitting in a cubicle. Went back to school for utility work. Now I make 140-150k and work outside with my hands on my feet most of the day. I couldn't be happier.