[failingatCPA]

I still need to pass all four sections of the CPA but am having trouble studying during busy season, and always really. Anyway, I am wanting advice on careers! I am currently an Auditor (1 year, 3 months) for a public accounting firm that is a pretty decent size. I love the actual work, but hate the hour expectations and stress that come with the job. That being said, I’m not lazy, I just want a more relaxed life. I grew up in a small town and went to a small school that didn’t have a lot of career advice. I just want to know what my options are. Advice such as what you do for a living, and how you like it, would be greatly appreciated! I know corporate is always an option, but I don’t really know what positions would be fitting for someone that is currently an auditor. I also don’t really know how much experience in public I will need in order to get a decent job somewhere else.

[Tripp11]

My last firm, a Top 10 national firm, was a very long hour firm. Extensive travel.

I made the change 15 years ago to a much smaller firm (30 professionals), and this firm just didn't speak about “work/life balance” – they actually live it. Lots of firms just talk about “work/life balance” because that seems to be the cute buzz word to lure young staff accountants into the fold. I think very few firms actually believe in it though.

Most, if not all, of our staff are 8 hours per day. Nothing more. We do have some busier months where seasonal workload picks up, and several of us will work 10-12 hours per day for a few weeks out of the year.

If you're unhappy with the long hours, but still love the public accounting work, just seek out a firm that gives you that same work but with more life balance. You'll be glad you did.

AUD - 93
BEC - 80
REG - 86
FAR - 83

[jbarwick]

I work in the corporate world in strategic analytics. I started as an auditor at a small 5 person firm, returned to school for my MBA, now work in the healthcare industry. Some people work longer hours but I feel efficiency is key. There are a lot of inefficient people around.

I love working with numbers and research which is why I got into the business environment in the first place. Second is that all of my teams projects go straight to the CFO and we are a publicly held company. I am sitting for my CPA because my boss said, “how do you feel about a certification?” I told him the CFA or CTP (Certified Treasury Professional) did not appeal to me and it was a CPA or nothing so here I am.

There are other things out there, you just have to look and create the opportunity.

Journey Started - January 2015
FAR - 4/2015 - Passed
AUD - 7/2015 - Passed
BEC - 8/2015 - Passed
REG - 11/12/2015 - Passed

[y_u_no_pass]

Yeah small is the way to go. But there are pros and cons to both. You don't always have as much stability with a smaller firm.

Florida CPA!
Took final exam 2/25/15.
Sent in Application 3/12/15.
Issued License 3/20/15.
Used CPA Excel solely for all exams.

[golfball7773]

After college, I worked at Shitibank in a call center then became a teller at a credit union. Following that, I got a job as an AR Specialist in major healthcare facility, which eventually opened a door for me to be a staff accountant in the same company. Since we are non-profit and I am hourly, I CANNOT go over 40 hours. I work 7 am to 3:30 PM everyday

FAR: 63, 55, 62
REG: 65, 77*
AUD: Fail, 64, 71
BEC: 72, 74, 81

*expired

[hakunamatata]

@golfball7773, you bring up a critical point- everyone seems to think hourly is bad- why is that? I would expect it to have some very good perks in that you have a working hours “roof” of 40hrs/ wk- after that you get paid 1.5X, and who is going to complain about that? Salaries accountants probably average 45, and up to 50hrs/wk (assuming 45 hours offseason, 60 hours busy season)- I would rather have a more predictable work week.

Would you mind sharing your hourly wage? The 40 hour work week is a goal for me, and I love the idea behind simply being efficient at work, so you have time to, you know, live life.

Wiley/CPAforfree/Yaeger

BEC: 1X PASSED 86! (Feb 2014)
AUD: 2X PASSED 69,87! (July 2014)
REG: 3X PASSED 58,66,78! (Jan 2015)
FAR: 1X FAIL 51 (Scheduled April 1st)

Illinois Candidate

[juuustin]

Being paid hourly might be okay for the first one or two years of your career, but when your job is measured by how long you physically sat in the office as opposed to the work you are responsible for, there is a pretty low earnings ceiling. For some people that may be great, but for people shooting to climb the corporate ladder, salaried positions are required.

MD Candidate: 10/1/14

FAR - 87 (11/23/14)
REG - 87 (1/30/15)
BEC - 89 (4/19/15)
AUD - 98 (5/30/15)

Ethics - 100

Experience - In Progress!

[Anonymous]

Sitting in the same conference room with the same people for the 5th straight week.

Somebody please tell me my out of public haha.

[Pandarama]

I'm “salaried”, yet my boss still pays me for hours work over the typical schedule.

y_u_no_pass mentioned, “Yeah small is the way to go. But there are pros and cons to both. You don't always have as much stability with a smaller firm”.

Completely agreed. I love my small firm for the work/life balance, but the owner of the company had a health scare this summer and made us all realize how much our firm relies on a single person.

BEC - 80
AUD - 64, 75 - credit lost, 90!!
REG - 73, 74, 83
FAR - 61, 72, 85

Feels good finishing on my best note. Time to watch the mailbox.

[Anonymous]

Ive worked in a small local CPA firm where I did taxes, audits and other projects and then I went to a publically traded company where I worked in the Financial Acctg dept. I started as a Staff and promoted up to Manager. I recently moved to a furniture manufacturing company as the Financial Accounting Manager. I did this to avoid relocating with my company.

I personally love financial accounting. It allows you to get involved with every aspect of the company, there is generally a great work/life balance unless you go through large acquisitions, large staff turnover or a relocation (we did all three in 4 years, ugh!)

I dont know what you favor, but industry may be a good route, and you can grow in the company. When you are job hunting and interviewing you can mention that you want a good work/life balance. There is nothing negative about that. Usually a job is a “long term” commitment, so you need to know if its a good fit.

[failingatCPA]

Thanks for the responses everyone!

I really like auditing because you get to see all aspects of the companies. I get to see a lot of different schedules from different clients and see their unique take on how they set up their support.

I really want to move back to my hometown which is tiny, and makes it hard to find any job. They do have a smaller firm there, but I'm afraid that the hours will be just as bad, or worse, because it is smaller. I'm assuming the pay will also be a lot lower. I am currently salary, pretty good, but if you broke it down by the amount of hours I work, I'm probably making the equivalent to minimum wage. At my firm, we have to work at least 8 hours a day, even if you have no chargeable client work to do. This includes our “off season.” It's frustrating because I was under the assumption that if you're salary then you don't always have to work 40 hours a week as long as you get done what needs to be done, and then during busy season, you work your butt off. I realize that life is not always what you think it will be, but that doesn't make it any more frustrating.

I also worry because during my undergrad I don't feel like I learned enough. I was in school to pass and get good grades, not to actually learn…if I could do it over again, I totally would change that! I feel like I should go back and get my MBA because studying for CPA feels twice as hard because I sometimes don't even know the basics. This is also why I'm hesitant to switch jobs, I feel like I need more experience, I just don't want to wait 3 years to not hate most aspects of my career!

I think industry would be great, but I'm worried about my level of experience, and lack of job opportunity in my location. My current firm has a lot of great benefits, so I don't want to change just to change, I want to make sure it is for the right opportunity.

[Author]

Replies