[nycgirlie]

Hello all, I would like some serious and honest advice with this topic.

I am 29 years old and have been in tax field for about 5 years now. I started out in Public Accounting (work there about 3 years) and currently work as a tax accountant in the private practice.

After 5 years, I am 100% sure that I don’t like any of the work I do. The tax laws itself are difficult and it’s constantly changing with new legislation. The job environment itself is super stressful with AT LEAST 2 busy seasons a year depending on the type of taxes you are dealing with. A 55-60 hours work week is pretty standard even when things are “not busy”.

The reason why I didn’t switch out earlier was due to the poor economy and I just stick it out and thought maybe I can learn to enjoy it. However, at this point of my career, I feel like it’s even harder to switch to other parts of accounting or operation because I am so far in already. Internal transfer wasn’t an option because they would prefer to have someone who already have the necessary experience. I haven’t seen anyone successfully transfer to accounting dept (or vice versa) at my current company and people usually just end up leaving. I also haven’t had much luck with mid size accounting firm (with referral) in the audit practice bc HR doesn’t feel that I would be a safe choice.

Long story short, I would like to leave the tax industry altogether and do something completely different. I have a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and passed two parts of the CPA exam. I would like to do something more versatile that would be useful if I decided to open my own business in the future. I am currently stuck since I am “too specialized and deep in the field” as the recruiter call it. If someone can offer their advice, as to what field I can get into with my background or what I can do to switch out, really really appreciate it!

Thanks a bunch!

[Lion_of_the_Rock]

No actual experience with this situation but from what I've read concerning similar posts it seems like you're either stuck in tax or starting at the bottom in audit or general accounting.

Depending on your life situation maybe it is a good time to really go for it and try something else. You could always go back to tax.

Good luck.

BEC - 78
AUD - 75
REG - 74, 79
FAR - 75

You have to buy a ticket to win the raffle.

[GotCPA]

How is your knowledge on U.S GAAP? Are you able to do accrual base accounting and understand the financial statements? If so, you may try to sell yourself for some sort of analyst position at a company. If not, you can always go with some sort of TAX consulting jobs. As you are aware, TAX is completely different from U.S GAAP, and unless you really have a solid understanding of U.S GAAP through education or experience, it's hard to jump ships from Tax to Accounting, as you're probably used to doing things on cash basis.

[Author]

Replies