[Study Monk]

I know these posts have been done before, but I would like the new another71 generation to comment.

I am considering going back to public accounting at the end of the year. I used to be an auditor 6 years ago at 2 firms and have just over a year of experience(flaky I know/retail since then). I am a social person, but found the auditors that I worked with kind of dull back then and one boss was crazy abusive. So I sometimes think tax would be better, because I can hide away somewhere from all those crazy accountants:p

I have romanticized tax a little bit due to the entrepreneurship potential. I picture myself down the line working 6 months of the year and spending time going on vacations. However can tax be an exciting career? Or would I leave in three years out of boredom and have trouble getting into private accounting?

Then again I am 31 and will likely be having kids in the next two years. I am thinking about potentially doing the audit thing right this time around, which is two or three years at a good firm. After that off to private accounting. I can see the private thing being the more interesting option assuming upwards mobility, but I would give up the independence and likely the long vacations that I always saw in my future.

I would appreciate comments either about my situation or the pros and cons of working in tax and audit. Who knows I might do either long term, so it would also be nice to get long term perspective.

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[Study Monk]

So I spent the last 3 hours researching the differences between audit and tax career opportunities and I am having a mild panic attack. I am now enrolled in a MST program and I have been enjoying the tax component of REG. I am excited about becoming a tax professional and maybe moving into financial planning. That being said I am one of those work-life balance people.

I am not opposed to working 60 to 65 hour weeks during tax season, but I won't last more than a few years working more than 70 hours a week even if its only 4 months. I could see myself being happy if i can arrange a flex-time schedule with my future employer or getting a job at a small tax firm with more reasonable hours. Or I can tough it out for a few years, get a CFP, and become a financial planner.

My “panic attack” is stemming from not being employed and not being able to choose my best path to becoming an accountant again. On one hand I can pursue a tax career by committing to the MST and hopefully starting this upcoming tax season making a reasonably good annual wage. On the other hand I can try to bank on my CPA, turn down the MST, and try to pick up an entry-level job despite having no recent accounting experience.

At the moment working as a CFP sounds the most interesting to me, but you need 3 years of experience working with clients. So I was thinking I cut get 3 years in tax and change careers if it is not working out. Then again eventually climbing to Controller or high paid Senior Accountant sounds good as well.

I need some new perspectives, because I am totally lost right now 🙁

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[Gatorbates]

I had no clue what I wanted to do … ended up in tax. Stayed in tax for about 3 years. Don't regret a day of it. I loved it (except for the tax season hours). Like you, I knew I couldn't spend 70-80 hour weeks during tax season for more than a few years. Three years after I started in tax, I ended up getting married. I knew if I wanted to stay married, I'd have to get out of tax because of the tax season hours. So I moved over to industry, and became a Controller for the last 10 years. I was lucky enough that one of the tax clients asked me to jump ship and move over to his company … perfect timing.

All that being said, it's well worth (almost a must) to go into public acctg for a few years, just to get your feet wet. I'm glad I did it. With that experience, and your CPA license, you should be extremely marketable, and unemployment shouldn't be an issue.

I hit 3 periods of unemployment in the last 14 years … each one I said to myself, “If I had my CPA license, I wouldn't be unemployed now … I'd have found a new job in a week”. I firmly believe that … which is why I finally decided to bust a$$ and get this thing behind me. Now working at a Fortune 15 company and loving it.

Good luck. Hope some of this helped.

Licensed Florida CPA:
B: 71, 73, 79
A: 83
R: 78 (expired), 77
F: 74, 74, 80

It's finally freaking over.

[Gatorbates]

I had no clue what I wanted to do … ended up in tax. Stayed in tax for about 3 years. Don't regret a day of it. I loved it (except for the tax season hours). Like you, I knew I couldn't spend 70-80 hour weeks during tax season for more than a few years. Three years after I started in tax, I ended up getting married. I knew if I wanted to stay married, I'd have to get out of tax because of the tax season hours. So I moved over to industry, and became a Controller for the last 10 years. I was lucky enough that one of the tax clients asked me to jump ship and move over to his company … perfect timing.

All that being said, it's well worth (almost a must) to go into public acctg for a few years, just to get your feet wet. I'm glad I did it. With that experience, and your CPA license, you should be extremely marketable, and unemployment shouldn't be an issue.

I hit 3 periods of unemployment in the last 14 years … each one I said to myself, “If I had my CPA license, I wouldn't be unemployed now … I'd have found a new job in a week”. I firmly believe that … which is why I finally decided to bust a$$ and get this thing behind me. Now working at a Fortune 15 company and loving it.

Good luck. Hope some of this helped.

Licensed Florida CPA:
B: 71, 73, 79
A: 83
R: 78 (expired), 77
F: 74, 74, 80

It's finally freaking over.

[Author]

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