[pharaoh]

This is some venting and maybe would like to hear some opinions.

I worked in public accounting for 7 years, I was half way through my CPA in 2009 and then got laid off with the market crash and couldn’t afford the exams and lost the credit. I was out of accounting for couple of yrs and then went back to industry for 3 yrs.

Currently I am studying for AUD and causing me “Public Accounting Fever”, I feel that I was enjoying it more than industry even with the long hours, am I crazy that I want to go back?

Industry pros: Laid back (at least where I am), work life balance, pay is ok
Industry Cons: Laid back is double edged sword in this case as career growth might be slower, so is the pay increase. Routine can be boring after a while and challenge fades away. Very small area of concentration (Like AP or inventory)

Public pros: Continuous challenge and change (from client to client), learning about different industries, wider experience, faster career growth, people in public are smarter (at least in my experience) and more professional. I think pay gets better than industry after a while specially with CPA.
Public Cons:Hours for sure, stress, deadlines.

Generally, I feel that I am behind in my career and would like to put it on steroids 🙂

For now, what I am thinking is to stay where I am since I have the time to study.
When I am done with the CPA, I can jump back to public and by then I will have a little over 11 yrs experience which should put me in a good position (Hopefully)

Am I making sense? Am I Crazy? Thoughts…

FAR 8/2016
AUD 1/2017
REG TBD
BEC TBD

[hasy]

You're not crazy.

I did public accounting for roughly 7 months before I got laid off (truly, bc I chose a bad firm), and now I'm with a great company in industry. EVERYTHING YOU SAID is true about slow career growth and laid-back working environments. We have busy months (at most we work MAYBE past 7 and like 1-2 saturdays), but they're not work until 10 PM every night busy. Maybe for our DT auditors, whom I've seen work that late, or even LATER.

But my question to you, is whether you're willing to take a step back, you do have enough years to make me think that you should be manager. Are you willing to start as an experienced or senior?

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved - Helen Keller

-

BEC 80 (10/23/15)
FAR 72 (4/2/15); 83 (7/11/16)
REG 52 (4/28/15)
AUD (9/9/16)

Roger + NINJA MCQ + WTB

[pharaoh]

Ideally, I would like to get back as a Manager. But when I am really bored I feel that I am willing to get back as a supervisor but some firms don't have that layer, so maybe be as a highest level senior for a year. I am over all entry level type of work and ready to move up.

The other thing that bothers me in industry is the knowledge, I see them doing wrong stuff out of lack of knowledge and they just do it because the boss said so. That pisses me off big time.

FAR 8/2016
AUD 1/2017
REG TBD
BEC TBD

[.]

Public (tax) does interest me. I feel like the training you get in industry is poor and you only learn stuff the first 6 months or so on the job. Maybe I just had a crappy job.

But 40 hours a week in a cubicle with no natural sunlight is bad enough. I don't think I could handle working 60+ hours a week. I'd probably have a mental breakdown and be seething with resentment over not getting paid overtime. It really bothers me that public accountants in Europe and Australia don't have to work these sort of hours. Americans really get screwed. I've also heard that public is full of type-A/anal retentive types. Not sure if that is true or not but the only 2 CPAs at my old job lived up to that stereotype.

FAR - June 2016 - 88
REG - July 2016 - 89
AUD - Aug 2016 - review phase currently
BEC - Sep 2016 -

Wiley CPA Excel & Ninja MCQ

[Author]

Replies