[Anonymous]

Hi guys. I am not trying to complain here, I just REALLY need a good advice. I am in my third year in a big 4 firm in US as a tax accountant and I have just got my CPA license. The thing is that I hate accounting (at least what I see right now) with all my guts. This job is absolutely not worth the money considering the hours you put in. But what’s worse, this job is so extremely dull and meaningless. You do not add any value to anything. You spend 12 hours a day on average in a cubicle and you cannot even see the results of your labor. You become very proficient in Excel but you do not acquire any skills otherwise useful in the real life. I am not even sure that you can call yourself a CPA doing this shit. I mean, can you really consult people about entity structure, taxes and credits, prepare reviews, compilations, and financial statements when you are stuck in one group that does just one of those roles and you have no slightest idea about anything else? When I look at the managers and partners, I see miserable human beings. They have no life and no knowledge of any subject besides their tax or audit specialty. You cannot have a conversation with any of these people that go beyond the imaginary world of accounting. They remind me of ants that sacrifice their lives for the better of the colony. I like to have some time for myself, to read the news, work out, go out, just live my life and do the things I like. I don’t want my life to become my job, especially as shitty as this one. I hate every minute of it and do not want to stay for this pathetic joke of a career.

But what scares me is what if all the accounting related jobs are just like that? Does anyone have a success exit story? Is anyone using the CPA license and having an interesting and meaningful job? Please share your thoughts on this. I would really appreciate any word of advice.

[Spur]

@Account_Ant, reading your post made me have a flashback to when I interned at a big 4 firm during busy season. I wanted to do Tax. This was during my senior year of college. I was really excited about getting in as I originally thought it would've been a long shot for me, plus in my school it was considered a bragging right. There were several key things that got me really depressed about the job and I ended up quitting the internship within a couple of weeks of being there. I didn't even give them notice. I just decided it wasn't for me, I went to HR, and I told them I was leaving. Here are a few reasons I left:

1. I was placed in a group that worked with 1 client throughout the whole season and not where I was told I would be (international tax – the group was small and secluded from the rest of the firm). I'm not sure I would've chosen to work here as I received a few other offers from smaller firms.

2. I saw a few associates/managers that fell asleep at their desk without realizing it – think about seeing someone sitting up with their head down and drool down their face. I imagined that happening to me and it freaked me out!

3. The senior in my group was a cocky bast*** and talked out of his a** all of the time. The sad part was we all knew he was moron.

4. An opportunity opened up that same day at a company where I am right now that allowed me to basically call the shots on a lot of different things, which keeps me motivated.

Looking back I sometimes consider if what I did was the right decision, but reading posts like this reaffirms my decision.

From what I'm reading in your post, it sounds like you are ready to make a change. Keep the corporate world in mind, it is more predictable with a work/life balance that doesn't exist anywhere else.

FAR - Bad Fail '11, Fail '12, Fail '13, PASS It's a miracle!
AUD - Fail, PASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BEC - PASS!!!!!!!!
REG - PASS!!!!!!!! And I'm done!

[slowreader]

Yea man, I concur with most people about industry accounting. I have never worked in public, but doesn't sound like industry at all. I have rarely worked more than 40-45 hours in a week since I have been working a year and couple of months. You should definitly try to make the switch.

[Anonymous]

I have been at it over 13 years. I worked for a big 4, then for a large corporation, then my dad, then back to a medium regional firm, and lastly in my current role in not for profit accounting/finance. I had made a career change 4 years into it and had not passed the CPA yet. I went into the restaurant business with my dad. I had to go back to school to get the additional 30 credit hours (I decided it best to get a MBA from a good school, 2007) and then the job market crashed (2008) shortly before I graduated. I make decent money, better then most, however, I have friends in my peer group that make north of $200K. Here are a couple of points to what I learned:

1) First and above all pass the CPA ASAP. It is my one regret. I changed careers and when I started back I had to start as a first year senior (I left as an accounting manager for the corporation) mainly because I did not have the CPA and recruiters would not post me as an accounting manager with out it.

2) Stick with Big 4 a couple of years, the advantages of being a senior or even a manager on your resume are beneficial. If you don't like tax try to get into audit you will move around more, and get into some more interesting topics.

3) Find an industry you really like and go for it. Pick real estate, not for profit, manufacturing, ect. Make sure it is a relatively large industry and find a decent size corporation. If you have senior on your resume (Big 4) and get to a decent size corporation ($500 million +) there will be plenty of growth opportunities and the quality of life is pretty decent depending on the company. When at the large corporation I was promoted with in a year and when I left the CFO offered me 70K with bonus in 2004. If I had stayed at the corp, instead of going to work for my dad, I probably would be making at least north of 150K with bonus.

4) If you do get senior on your resume, your CPA and you find that you still don't like accounting then consider a career change. I know alot of people that went into business operations, sales, consulting, finance and not for profit, ect. Have very productive and profitable careers. You will have the ability to get back to accounting if you find you made the wrong decision.

If I had the CPA my career path would have changed drastically when I came back in. I may have gotten a job as an accounting manager at a local major corp. When I was at the regional firm, there was discussion of making partner but I did not have my CPA. I could not find the balance between hours an study so I left to do my current job. I am almost there and now sort of pigeon holed with salary and opportunities.

Just a little from a person who has been there and done it. I don't have any regrets (except not passing the CPA) but I would have liked to seen where my career path would have taken me if I had it.

[nashville79]

Hit the Road, Ant. Life is too short. You've put in your time anyway and have a CPA. You have plenty of options. Go do something more rewarding/enjoyable, but don't expect to skip into work every day whistling a tune. It's all “work”.

I find it interesting that the Big 4 still has so much street cred. In my opinion, Big 4 folks are less risky hires than the average accountant given that 1) they've proven they're willing to put their life on the shelf for their career, 2) they have been exposed to the basics at some level 3) they've been trained by “the best”. On another note, at NO point (again, my opinion) do I think that Big 4 staff nerds have more exposure/understanding of the way things “really work” or simply even adding VALUE. They can follow instructions and are willing to play the game. It would be one thing if we were talking about big $ here, but c'mon folks – 60K, 70K maybe. I've got buds at Initech that blow that out of the water without “busy seasons”. If you want to make money, there's more than one way to skin that cat.

[ParanoidAndroid]

wah wah wah!! =]

CPA for life...

[Anonymous]

Here you go guys. A little update.

I finally got my CPA license. No feelings about it. Just additional line on my resume. I was able to make it through the busy season. It was crazy. When I think about the fact that about 6 month out of the year my life doesn't belong to me I feel sorry for myself. The people in the office feel like shit and look like shit during these times. Many of us got 5 hrs sleep per day on average for months. Many don't have time to shave and take showers for days. My health went down drastically because I had no time to work out and was eating candies all the time supplied by the office with no limit for 14-16 hour work days. After three or four months of living like this, I feel like my cholesterol is off the roof, I picked up some pounds, and my blood sugar is close to diabetes level. Now I will need to work hard on getting my health together. I have only a couple months before another busy season starts.

It is horrifying to think how boring this job is. There is no people interaction, no creativity involved. Just Excel spreadsheets and forms.Things that no one cares about. I am almost embarrassed to tell people that I am an accountant these days. Certainly not a good idea if you want to pick up some pretty chicks.

Today I am sitting in the office working on the returns promised to be delivered to the client next week. It is a sunny Saturday day outside. I look in the window and see people having fun, living and enjoying their life…

[jeff]

My advice – and this is serious – go download some Zig Ziglar “How to Stay Motivated” from audible.com

If you listen to it and regret it – I'll send you the $$ to cover it. He covers how to love a job you hate.

Go and download it now Account Ant.

Jeff Elliott, CPA (KS) | Another71 | NINJA CPA | NINJA CMA | NINJA CPE

[smp73]

I am not sure if this has been mentioned. I worked in public accounting at a small regional firm and hated it with everything in me, I was not happy, I felt stifled, there was no room for creativity or interaction with other people. I moved to internal audit at a big research university. I can not say enough about that field. It still uses your accounting knowledge, values the CPA, and it allows you flexibility, creativity and interaction with people. I am given a very broad area to audit and I get to decide what we will audit, how we will audit it and I get to work with a lot of people outside the office. I have felt like I add value especially when I follow up on an audit issue and see their process working better or more efficiently. It is especially nice when a VP emails you to tell you you did a great job and helped their process. I have “clients” from audits that are closed that still call for advice. It is a great career field and you can really make a difference. Check out ACUA (association of college and university auditors).

NYS CPA License # 113563
CIA: Done as of 2/15/14

Training for a half marathon post studying!

[Tncincy]

Wow, Jeff….I love Zig Ziglar….His CD on “Goals” is great. I also like Rick Pitino's “Success is a Choice”. There are so many good reads and audio's out there.

It begins with a 75
Been here too long as a cheerleader....ready to pass

[Keely]

I just want to add, money is not the be all, end all, to life. There was a study recently that said happiness caps out at about $80K. If you're making that much, you're just as happy as someone making millions. (I know there's always exceptions, but it was just a neat article). I use that to say, there is something to be said for selling your soul and slaving away in Big 4 or some multi-multi-million dollar company for a few years, then going off and being CFO anywhere you like, but you have to decide whether or not it's worth the sacrifice, or if that's even what you want out of life. $200K a year sounds nice and all, but I'm single, with no kids, making $50K (got a nice raise after busy season, yay!) and I have money for everything I really need and want. But more importantly, I have the time to enjoy my life, because I'm not a number where I work. My boss told me pointblank, “We don't run a sweatshop.” I hope you're lucky enough to find somewhere that pays decently, and where you feel you aren't wasting your life away, where you're valued.

All I'm saying is if you don't know why you're doing what you're doing, you should reevaluate what you want out of your career, and how to get there. It doesn't *have* to be torture.

BEC: (4/2012) 88
AUD: (5/2012) 91
REG: (8/2012) 82
FAR: (1/2013) 78 🙂

VA CPA #42010

[Anonymous]

Hi guys. Jeff and Keely, thanks for your advices. I am afraid at this point that I just don't belong in the accounting field period. I went into accounting only for one reason, because it was quick to get masters (only one year). And for me being a foreigner it was the decisive factor as I was able to finish it and find a job quickly. I worked in the legal field before (no JD) and I really liked it because the work I was doing was meaningful, I got to meet interesting people all the time, learn stuff that is actually important in real life. and the job was very dynamic – different people, issues, situations etc. The boredom of this is just killing me now. I don't feel that I am doing anything meaningful. All these excel spreadsheets and forms can go to hell, I simply don't care about it. I don't provide any solutions just fill out forms with numbers. How stupid can it be? I want to meet new people and use my intelligence to provide solutions, not fill out forms and do SALY. And I cannot stand 99% of people that I work with because they are boring geeks who cannot talk about anything but accounting and college football. The best part of the year for many of them is some recruiting event somewhere.

[Anonymous]

I am sorry guys. I am not trying to be so negative. I just really need some changes in my life. 🙂

[Anonymous]

Hey Account_Ant. I am where you are at 100%. I actually put significant energy into pursuing law school I got accepted to decent schools with scholarships. Then I looked into law more and spoke to people I know in law and I realized law is a really bad field to be getting into right now. Most schools have employment placement under 50%. Unless you have a job lined up, have a full scholarship to a school ranked 20-50 or acceptance to a top 15 school you could find yourself 100k-200k in debt and jobless. It's a real thing and happening more everyday. I am looking into consulting now along with enrollment in a top15 MBA program. Would like to hear more from you as we seem to be on the same page.

[laserglare]

^ awkward, are u in accounting now? did you do the pre reqs for law school during your undergrad? i'm just curious

and Jeff, is this the guy your talking about https://dc435.4shared.com/img/1447701949/ada33151/dlink__2Fdownload_2Fo41Mhgvm_3Ftsid_3D20130422-22929-26eaab30/preview.mp3

want to make sure i'm listening to the right one

[Anonymous]

No I'm not in law school I declined all offers. It was a hard choice but after doing some research it was probably for the best. There are no prerequisite for law school. Any 4 yr degree will get you in. People who say they are “pre law” are just trying to sound impressive.

[Author]

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