Taking a new career route and am scared to death!

  • Creator
    Topic
  • #182468
    Tootsie
    Member

    So I have 6 years of experience in accounting (in higher education, public accounting, and financial services). I have experienced the good and the bad in these industries. I am really sick of sitting in a cube all day looking at a computer screen. Other people have no problem, but for me, my eyes get very dry and I tend to get up a lot and chat with people because I need interaction. I have had this feeling for a while now that I want to get into training/teaching, not necessarily in accounting, but something that I have solid knowledge in and a passion for. I applied to many adjunct accounting/business faculty positions, thinking that I may not be considered because I only have a Master’s degree and only training experience, but I actually have had 2 colleges call me back! 🙂 I have an interview with 1 of them next week. I am excited and scared at the same time. They did not send me an agenda for the interview or ask me to bring a presentation, or anything! They just said to be there at a certain time. They also know that this would be my first time teaching. I am bringing a copy of a presentation that I have given before, just in case. I will prepare for the interview and be ready for questions, but does anyone have any advice for me? Any accounting instructors out there??

    On another note, I have also been thinking about writing a business plan for having my own tutoring business. I know this will be a lot of work, but once I overcome the challenges, I think it can be successful.

    I am still pursuing the CPA license of course. I think it is beneficial for my career. And teaching financial accounting, managerial accounting, etc. can even help me with studying too!

    FAR - 76
    AUD - 88!!! DONE!!!!!!!!
    BEC - 76
    REG - 77

    never, never, never give up

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 30 total)
  • Author
    Replies
  • #495960
    MintsRGood
    Participant

    @Tootsie Congrats!!!!! I think it takes a lot of guts to do a career change, so good for you for boldly pursuing a new path!!!! I think bringing a copy of your presentation is a great idea. It will show your interviewer that you are prepared and ready to hit the ground running when (not if!!!) they hire you.

    Good luck and let us know how it goes!!!!! 🙂

    REG: 75 DONE 🙂
    AUD: 61, 71, 68, 92 DONE 🙂
    BEC: 76 DONE 🙂
    FAR: 72, 74, 79 DONE 🙂
    Licensed Michigan CPA 🙂
    -Some people dream of success...others wake up and work hard for it!!!
    -The cowards never start and the weak die along the way!
    -You better work, b***h!
    -Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.-JFK

    #496003
    MintsRGood
    Participant

    @Tootsie Congrats!!!!! I think it takes a lot of guts to do a career change, so good for you for boldly pursuing a new path!!!! I think bringing a copy of your presentation is a great idea. It will show your interviewer that you are prepared and ready to hit the ground running when (not if!!!) they hire you.

    Good luck and let us know how it goes!!!!! 🙂

    REG: 75 DONE 🙂
    AUD: 61, 71, 68, 92 DONE 🙂
    BEC: 76 DONE 🙂
    FAR: 72, 74, 79 DONE 🙂
    Licensed Michigan CPA 🙂
    -Some people dream of success...others wake up and work hard for it!!!
    -The cowards never start and the weak die along the way!
    -You better work, b***h!
    -Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.-JFK

    #495962
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I am so with you, let me know how things turn out because I am the same way. I work in a cubicle and used to be in tax for 3 years and immedietly realized I hated it. I got something in corporate now after about that requires 40 hours week cubicle work so I'm not borderline suicidal anymore in tax season and I like my new job but I still from time to time find myself wishing I had stayed in the retail store I was an assistant manager at because I thought walking around talking to people was so much more interesting then looking at spreadsheets, even if it was for less money.

    I could see myself also eventually moving to teaching or something I'd like a lot more.

    #496005
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I am so with you, let me know how things turn out because I am the same way. I work in a cubicle and used to be in tax for 3 years and immedietly realized I hated it. I got something in corporate now after about that requires 40 hours week cubicle work so I'm not borderline suicidal anymore in tax season and I like my new job but I still from time to time find myself wishing I had stayed in the retail store I was an assistant manager at because I thought walking around talking to people was so much more interesting then looking at spreadsheets, even if it was for less money.

    I could see myself also eventually moving to teaching or something I'd like a lot more.

    #495964
    Tootsie
    Member

    @MintsRGood, thanks! I'll keep you posted!

    @candlemassisawesome, yeah I will definitely miss my paycheck but being happy is more important. It's not just the cube life, but it is also the work environment that I do not fit in. I used to not be in a position to make a career change like this but now I am, which is nice. Do you have a career path set up?

    FAR - 76
    AUD - 88!!! DONE!!!!!!!!
    BEC - 76
    REG - 77

    never, never, never give up

    #496007
    Tootsie
    Member

    @MintsRGood, thanks! I'll keep you posted!

    @candlemassisawesome, yeah I will definitely miss my paycheck but being happy is more important. It's not just the cube life, but it is also the work environment that I do not fit in. I used to not be in a position to make a career change like this but now I am, which is nice. Do you have a career path set up?

    FAR - 76
    AUD - 88!!! DONE!!!!!!!!
    BEC - 76
    REG - 77

    never, never, never give up

    #495966
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Damn, I lost my post haha

    I was saying that you rock!! Is amazing that you hear yourself to live a life that better fits you!

    Me myself was thinking about that, I want to search a job in industry after CPA and start my own biz meantime in consulting/coaching. CPA designation will be very useful.

    I really recommend you the book “Hero” from Rhonda B, it will support you and motivate you!

    All the best!

    #496008
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Damn, I lost my post haha

    I was saying that you rock!! Is amazing that you hear yourself to live a life that better fits you!

    Me myself was thinking about that, I want to search a job in industry after CPA and start my own biz meantime in consulting/coaching. CPA designation will be very useful.

    I really recommend you the book “Hero” from Rhonda B, it will support you and motivate you!

    All the best!

    #495968
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Good luck Tootsie in your endeavors!!! I hope you find your perfect happy place!

    #496010
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Good luck Tootsie in your endeavors!!! I hope you find your perfect happy place!

    #495970
    tough_kitty
    Member

    I thought that teaching positions in colleges/universities pay pretty well?? Teaching is very challenging and also time consuming so hope you realize that…. I am only considering teaching part-time….still gotta get a job offer first… I'm sure there are way more candidates than there are open positions but best of luck!

    FAR: 81 (May 2013)
    BEC: 81 (July 2013)
    REG: 83 (August 2013)
    AUD: 82 (November 2013)
    California CPA since 1/30/14

    #496012
    tough_kitty
    Member

    I thought that teaching positions in colleges/universities pay pretty well?? Teaching is very challenging and also time consuming so hope you realize that…. I am only considering teaching part-time….still gotta get a job offer first… I'm sure there are way more candidates than there are open positions but best of luck!

    FAR: 81 (May 2013)
    BEC: 81 (July 2013)
    REG: 83 (August 2013)
    AUD: 82 (November 2013)
    California CPA since 1/30/14

    #495972
    mla1169
    Participant

    I really wanted to teach and thought I'd be great at it. Had one student complain about me 3 weeks in to my first semester of teaching and was terminated with no explanation. I fault the school for poor training and mentoring. They put me in there with no reason to believe I'd be any good and didn't use the negative feedback as a learning opportunity for me.

    I was exceptionally nervous. Be calm, be confident, you'll do great!

    FAR- 77
    AUD -49, 71, 84
    REG -56,75!
    BEC -75

    Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

    #496014
    mla1169
    Participant

    I really wanted to teach and thought I'd be great at it. Had one student complain about me 3 weeks in to my first semester of teaching and was terminated with no explanation. I fault the school for poor training and mentoring. They put me in there with no reason to believe I'd be any good and didn't use the negative feedback as a learning opportunity for me.

    I was exceptionally nervous. Be calm, be confident, you'll do great!

    FAR- 77
    AUD -49, 71, 84
    REG -56,75!
    BEC -75

    Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

    #495974
    louiseb
    Member

    I work full-time at a public college in NY and I am a “stand-by” adjunct for accounting and marketing as needed . Sometimes the school will ask me to teach literally the week before the semester starts. We have a mutual understanding that suits both parties involved. I love the interaction with students. It is a nice departure from number crunching all day. It is certainly understandable to question your teaching ability when you are a first-timer, however, there is really no need to worry because you can initially rely heavily on the course material that is provided by the textbook publisher. You are given access to everything needed in order to be successful in the classroom. The textbooks all come with powerpoint class lessons, test banks, supplementary material, etc; Additionally, most accounting books utilize online homework tools like “Connect”. The preparation and guesswork is almost eliminated. To a certain extent a trained chimpanzee can teach a college course with all the canned instructional material that is offered. Once you are experienced you will most definitely want to massage your lessons to suit your teaching strengths (so that you do not come across as a robot), but this is a great way to start out. You really need to teach a couple times to get a feel for the students and find out what works best for you. For example, I immediately regretted not imposing an attendance policy my first time teaching. I was convinced that college students shouldn't need babysitting. Unfortuntely, the repeat “no-showers” drag the rest of the class down in ways that you can't anticipate when you are an idealistic rookie.

    FAR 77
    AUD 91
    REG 82
    BEC 12/6/13 82 Done!

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 30 total)
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