[Anonymous]

Hello, I’m seeking a little bit of career advice. I’m not yet a CPA, but very close to being one. So for the purpose of this, let’s assume I have my license. I’m basically trying to figure out how much I’m worth and if I were to interview around what positions I could reach out for.

I’m currently in my mid 20s and I am a assistant controller. I’m not really paid like one, according to salary data on many websites. I’m more paid like the high end of what a staff accountant would get paid, maybe just a bit more. Where I live entry level staff accountant salaries range from 40-50K. Assistant Controller positions average for the area is 69K. So my resume as it stands is: 2 years experience (6ish mo as current pos.), bachelors degree with a GPA on the high end, and I will have the CPA license. Also I’m very well versed in Excel and have experience with manufacturing business systems.

So Ninjas, my questions are:

What levels could I apply for based off my experience/qualifications? Could I possibly slip into a controller position somewhere?

What should my salary expectations be at my level?

[Trele6]

At my company, two years of experience and a CPA you would hire on somewhere between $51-71K a year. I will note that we pay lower than most competitors but to make up for that we have amazing benefits.

3 weeks vacation a year (for two years of experience)
10 holidays
26 “flex” days off (any 2 days a month you want off plus 2 floating days to use anytime during the year)
Weeks of sick pay ( I get 26 weeks of sick pay, not sure what a two year person gets, but probably 3-4 weeks)
7% 401k match
7% pension contribution
10% Stock Grants
10-20% bonus
Fully paid Becker, CPE and CPA license costs
Education reimbursement of $515 per credit hour if you want to go for an MBA
$5,000 towards adoption assistance
Maternity and paternity leave

First go at the CPA! Only using Becker
Reg / Nov 2015 - 87
Far / Apr 2016 - 79
Bec / May 2016 - 80
Aud / Aug 2016

[ragepsn29]

@trele6, Wow that seems like a really good place to work at! Are you working in public or private?

AUD - 65, 72, 70, 74, 81
FAR - 66, 71, 76
REG - 69
BEC - 80

[NebCPA]

To be blunt, with 2-years of experience, you are an entry-level accountant and as such are being paid accordingly.

The payroll data/salary information you are looking at is including larger companies which pay more and does not take any experience into account. I can't imagine that if you are an assistant controller after a year and a half, you’re working for a larger company. To be a controller, especially at a larger company, you will need minimum 5-10 years of experience. No offence, but GPA only matters when you're in school. Now, experience is the major driver.

You’re perfectly positioned for your experience and knowledge level. Pass the CPA, ask your current company for a pay bump so you’re getting paid closer to a senior accountant and gain experience. Feel free to try and move up now, but I don’t know that you’ll be too successful.

Best of luck.

[Missy]

We are not worth anything regardless of our credentials. Certain positions have worth to a company and whether or not you are the best candidate for a position determines whether you get that position and salary. I loathe the title assistant controller because what a person in that position does can be barely more than a bookkeeper or can be highly technical and responsible more like a controller or even CFO. Titles and credentials mean less than skill sets.

What are your job responsibilities right now? That's the best determination of what positions you should be looking at.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Anonymous]

@trele Wow! That sounds like a nice place to work.

@NebCPA I definitely understand that I have 2 years under my belt. However I want to advance my career as fast as possible. If I sit here and do the same thing for another 3 years, how much is that experience really worth? I'm smart and I pick things up pretty quickly. I'm bored with the stuff I'm doing already. I think I should branch out and make myself more marketable instead of staying in a niche industry for multiple years where in most places that business knowledge is useless.

@MLA The Controller relies on me somewhat for accounting knowledge. I would say my responsibilities aren't that of a book keeper. I distribute work flow during month end. I also get brought in on some analysis and other things. I do process month end journal entries and do reconciliations as well. I also get involved in some operations/budget a little bit here and there.

[Anonymous]

Get your CPA. Land a Big 4 position for 2-3 years. Transition to large private company as a controller or manager @ $100,000+ a year.

[Pete]

Landing a gig at a BIGBIG 4 firm isn't always feasible once you graduate; in fact, it's rare and near-damn downright impossible. Hell, landing a gig at a large regional firm is near impossible. Even mid-sized firms are not easy to break into (although, much more doable).

BTW, in this economy, unless you earn the company 1+ mil dollars a year, you ain't worth shit. If you went to my networking groups, you'd see former CEO's, who once made 200-$300, taking jobs which probably paid below the six-figure mark because they were out of work so long. This might just be my state though.

B=84 This exam was such a b**** that I thought I failed-don't know how these things work
A=76 Slacker I am, I'll happily take it
R=81 I LOVE taxes
F=80 I don't wanna get banned for an expletive I'm thinking with "yea" proceeding it

[Trele6]

I work in the oil industry in Houston. It is a very competitive market so salary or benefits are pretty good. Times have been better than they are right now, we did have about 30-40 accountants laid off about two years ago when my company downsized due to low oil. When oil prices are good I regularly got bonuses in the 20-22% range. Other oil companies will pay more base pay but their benefits will be lacking compared to ours, most don't even offer pensions anymore.

To second what mla said about titles, if you were assistant controller at my company your base pay would probably be in the range of $200-250k/year. While you may share the same title as our controller your skill sets and experience are WAY different.

First go at the CPA! Only using Becker
Reg / Nov 2015 - 87
Far / Apr 2016 - 79
Bec / May 2016 - 80
Aud / Aug 2016

[Anonymous]

Yours sounds more like a senior accountant position. Once you get your CPA, you can either ask for a raise with more responsibilities or move onto bigger and better things elsewhere..

[ForgottenOne]

@CrushEverything Job title does not really mean much nowadays, its all about how hard the job is. Most employers don't see why they should pay you more because you are smart or the skills you have, they only focus pay on job difficulty. If your company has no room to grow, you basically will be stuck in that position until someone higher up die off, retire, quit/fire. Also, if you are working for a medium size private company, it would take about 8-16 years to climb up to management position. Because every industry is different, every company is unique, your 2 years of experience at the current company would be counted next to nothing when you switch job working for different industry.

I totally agree with BrickellCPA, get your CPA license and get experience at Big4 (however, Big4 is not for everyone). However, more doors will be opened for you with a CPA license.

[Missy]

You're probably looking at senior accountant or assistant controller at a company with similar revenue, staff accountant *possibly* senior accountant at a larger company. I'll tell you I was an accounting manager at a 12m company obviously privately held, and applied as a senior accountant at a public company 500m/year and was told I wasn't qualified.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Author]

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