[Zyx]

Anyone can give me an idea of how much of compensation for staff accountant in public industry should get (main city in OH) .

I have been talking to a recruiter. He brought up a staff accountant job at a public industry in my town and I am having a phone interview with the firm on Monday. He presented me at 35k. I thought it would be 40 or high 30. This job is in charged of fixed assets, JE, BS reconciliation, cash accounting and so forth. The firm operates in more than 33 states. This position actually prefers CPA. I know that I am still working on it and it’s prob why I got the interview. Is 35k too low to start off? He also mentioned that probably work 45-50hrs per week.

I am a hard worker. I have no problem to work that much. I just think compensations should be fair in exchange for hard work. I don’t want to be trapped and eventually jump to another job in near future.

AUD - 77
BEC - 81
FAR - 80
REG - 77

zyx

REG: 77 x2
BEC: 81 x3
FAR: 68 retake 10/1
AUD: 8/27

[FIFOisbetterthanLIFO]

Skynet always manages to ruin a thread or take it over. 🙂

FAR - Passed (82)
BEC - Passed (76)
AUD - Passed (89)
REG - Passed! (81)
AICPA Ethics

Licensed CPA

[Tuffy11111]

That does seem low to me. Recruiters will definitely shoe-horn you into positions. They're a great tool, but you really have to balance them. You can't be too unrealistic or you'll scare them away, but you also have to be firm about what you want.

BEC - 83 7/25
REG - 76 5/2/15
AUD - Hopefully before MY Audit...7/5?
FAR - 83 5/2/16

[Lion_of_the_Rock]

I think recruiters are a waste of time, but, that being said, that salary offer isn't too far off the mark from what I've personally experienced in the OH market.

BEC - 78
AUD - 75
REG - 74, 79
FAR - 75

You have to buy a ticket to win the raffle.

[Anonymous]

Not sure where in Ohio your at but I'm located in Michigan. Got an offer from a regional firm as an audit associate for 53k starting in September 2015.

[GotCPA]

@cpa8488 there is a big difference between public accounting entry level and private accounting entry level. He/she is asking about a public company which is still private accounting. Regardless OP 35k is way too low for 1.5 years of experience. You should be at minimum mid 40's at that exp level and the size of that firm.

[ScarletKnightCPA]

@ 12tang

Yeah I agree. They had any army of temps too… but it was weird, it was like they were trying to fill the quota of open positions. I didn't actually have to interview for it, it seemed more like they were trying to sell me into it.

It was good from experience stand point, researching public company debt and cross referencing with their database,… I was actually surprised that they were letting us do it.

It did effect my salary for years and still does. After that job I took another temp job at $14 (non-accounting operations) then got permanent position but they used that temp salary as a base for my salary so they only offered me $17 (this is at a very large international bank and investing firm), then I was able to get an corporate accounting position in a large financial services firm… they offered me $$18 an hour but it turned out they were paying fresh college graduates who came into the group $24-$27. I was able to leverage that into another position and am now closer to where I should be but am still under market value compared to others but not stupidly huge amount like before.

Far: 76 (Wiley Test Bank)
Aud: 77 (Wiley Test Bank)
Reg: 61, 76 (Wiley book, Wiley Test Bank)
Bec: 86 (Wiley Test Bank)

MBA in progress

[12tang]

@ScarletKnight – I would have told any other employer my temp compensation is irrelevant! You couldn't do this when you took on the second temp position but what about the third job? Was the corporate accounting position hiring you full-time but using your temp compensation to base your compensation?

BEC - PASS

FAR - PASS

AUD - PASS

REG - PASS

BOOM!  JUST LIKE THAT, I GOT MY LIFE BACK!  =D

Using Becker self-study
FAR: (82) 175 hours - 1st attempt
BEC: (XX)
AUD: (69) 45hrs of study - 1st attempt
REG: (XX)

[greg2015]

Sounds too low…that is lower than my staff accountant job (industry) right out of college 11 years ago in Missouri.

AUD: 99
FAR: 95
BEC: 89
REG: 87

AICPA Ethics: 91

Licensed Illinois CPA

[ocarina]

I wouldn't bat an eye at that unless you need experience & income…

I'm at the lowest I would EVER expect any degreed person to except which is a bit over 40,000K and I'm in a low cost of area government job. I'm building a career with my employer and they are giving me some great stuff to learn while I wait for people to retire. Plus my husband brings a second income in so it's not anything I notice anyway! I would look around if you can or just use it as a means to an end.

FAR - 78
AUD - 82
REG - 79
BEC - 78

Study Materials: Becker Self Study, NINJA Notes, NINJA MCQ for review
Started March 2015 and finished December 2015 all on first attempt. Licensed CPA Jan 2016.

IT Auditor/CyberSec Consultant in Public Accounting
Future goals: Learn IT Network infrastructure, obtain CISA & CISSP

[Zyx]

Thanks you guys for clearing it up. The reason I want a new job is my current job pays less than 35k, sucks! I just want a higher pay to cover for CPA exam. It is expensive! I think I'm a lot under paid, but my job is very flexible. When it's slow, I have lots of free time to study. I can bear with it since I'm debt free. My GPA is 3.67. I think I can get a better chance to find a good and fair paid job after I pass CPA. How can I negotiate with my current boss to bump up my salary?

Hey Skynet, your imagination world was almost realistic… I'm from Asian and lots of my friends are smart, hot and cute, but they are lady boy. Opp! lol

AUD - 77
BEC - 81
FAR - 80
REG - 77

zyx

REG: 77 x2
BEC: 81 x3
FAR: 68 retake 10/1
AUD: 8/27

[12tang]

I doubt your current job will bump your salary where you should be. ZYX11, with your experience and GPA, you should be well beyond 40k.. I'd say high side 40 to low 50. I cannot say for certain for your area but if you were in Minneapolis, you'd easily get close to 50k with no experience!

My advice, stick with the current job until you find something better. And to find something better, stay away from recruiters… Market yourself, you can do it! You're worth so much more than what you earn now and you're worth too much to go through a smelly recruiter.. Leave recruiters for those with AA degrees and High School diplomas (yet industry experience).

BEC - PASS

FAR - PASS

AUD - PASS

REG - PASS

BOOM!  JUST LIKE THAT, I GOT MY LIFE BACK!  =D

Using Becker self-study
FAR: (82) 175 hours - 1st attempt
BEC: (XX)
AUD: (69) 45hrs of study - 1st attempt
REG: (XX)

[Zyx]

12tang, I should consider to move to MN! lol I don't really understand the market in my city. One of my classmates graduated the same with me. Her GPA is 4.0 and has no experience. She was looking for a job for almost a year. She would not take compensations roughly under 40k. She gave up and pursued something else 🙁 It must have been a problem for sure, but not sure if her personal issues or the market. Oh well, thanks for all advises!

AUD - 77
BEC - 81
FAR - 80
REG - 77

zyx

REG: 77 x2
BEC: 81 x3
FAR: 68 retake 10/1
AUD: 8/27

[Tuffy11111]

If you can move, you absolutely should. Making a huge generalization, I've seen and heard that Michigan and Ohio aren't great for accountants right now. People seem to be enamored with Texas on here. Good cost of living, and they say demand for accountants is white hot.

BEC - 83 7/25
REG - 76 5/2/15
AUD - Hopefully before MY Audit...7/5?
FAR - 83 5/2/16

[Ganondorf]

@Tuffy11111

How do you know there is low demand for accountants in Michigan and Ohio? Where do you find stuff like that out? Is Indiana low demand too since they are neighboring states? I live in Indiana, and I am not having much luck finding a good job either. I am not willing to move out of state because I am not willing to move far away from my family.

[ScarletKnightCPA]

@ 12tang

Well I was able to negotiate it up to $20 per hour but their offer was so low and me so desperate that I accepted. I had interviewed with them months before so was surprised to hear from them.

I later questioned why was i so below my peers and response I got was that he I was his first hire, he didn't know what to pay but hr didn't want to give me to much a higher number than my previous position. He also said he couldn't give me a raise because it would lower everyone else's raise. From later conversions with hr it appears that hr never told him that but instead gave him the range for the position.

Far: 76 (Wiley Test Bank)
Aud: 77 (Wiley Test Bank)
Reg: 61, 76 (Wiley book, Wiley Test Bank)
Bec: 86 (Wiley Test Bank)

MBA in progress

[Author]

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