[Anonymous]

Hi champs. 🙂
I’ve been in audit for 3 years, am a senior and want to quit because I am seriously unhappy. I’ve passed 3 out of 4 parts of CPA exams so far.

I had interviews with a retail company and a nonprofit company, and I think they are going well – I may get the final interview with the retail and am having a second interview with the nonprofit. The retail is a fast growing company that may go public; they work a lot of hours (a little less than public accounting); room for growth and learning; this will be a good experience and addition for my resume but at the moment I dont want to sign up for a job that works a lot. The nonprofit may offer me an accounting manager position where I will be doing some GL/closing, grant management, and ad hoc projects. Some 9-10 hour days, mostly 8. Yes, it is a title jump which is nice but I wonder how long I will stay here, and if I will get stuck in nonprofit sector if I wanted to look for another job afterwards? I believe in the mission and would feel more fulfilled at the end of the day. Does anybody have any experience with nonprofit?

Is jumping around between nonprofit and for-profit easy? Which position would you guys go for? Any pros and cons that would be helpful for me to decide? They pay similarly. I’m also trying to think long term. I’m also hugely interested in getting out of accounting and joining operations within the company I choose. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. 🙂

[bhunt815]

@chachadawg, I've done both. I didn't like the hours in retail but it was interesting and offered more diverse challenges to keep me from getting bored. It was hard to take time off around the holidays and such since the stores needed support during those busy times. Non-profit doesn't normally pay as well, but I've been in non-profit for 8 years now and would be totally okay with retiring here. We are busy and always understaffed (I manage $40 million annually in public revenue and I don't even have a controller). Nonprofits try hard to make sure money is going to non-admin functions and rarely provide enough funding for a well-staffed finance department. I get 20 paid vacation days a year and the week between Christmas and New Years off. So, if you weigh quality of life against the retail job I think the decrease in salary is well worth it, but you will have to make that call for yourself.

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