I did 1 year in public accounting (small-firm tax) and came to the same conclusion, that it wasn't for me. Worked 100+ hours the last week of tax season, and thought “never ever again”. Turns out that in some firms, that would have been more than just 1 week of 100+ hours. (It was a gradual ramping up from the start of January to mid-April.)
I switched to private accounting and don't regret it. The only way I'd consider going back to public would be as a seasonal employee (like working Jan-Apr, then maybe Aug-Oct, and off the rest of the year). That might interest me, for the right pay, but otherwise, no interest in public. Private schedule suits me much better.
Can you make decent money in accounting and work decent hours? Yes. The positions that have this combo are more unique, but they exist. I live in a low COL area and have seen advertisements at the hospital in the next town over for $60k for a 40 hrs/wk job. Not sure if that sounds like good money to you or not, but around here, that's awesome money. Wages here are 1/2 what they are in the rest of the country, so that would allow a standard of living equivalent to around $100k in most of the country.
Decent hours seems to be more common in the government and non-profit world, and/or in hourly positions. However, none of these specifically ensure decent hours. (Maybe government does – not sure if government positions have overtime frequently or not, but hourly and non-profit can depending on the position, it's something you'll want to ensure before taking the job.) I took a non-profit job with the understanding that it was 37.5 hour weeks with occasional overtime through the year and more overtime through FYE/audit time, and instead work about 50 hour weeks on average, with longer weeks in audit season. So, my non-profit job didn't end up being short hours, but really 50 hour weeks is better than much of accounting. And…I'm officially free to leave work at 4:30 every day, so if I have something going on, I can leave work early, just have to get the work done at some point. 🙂
Decent pay isn't as common in government or non-profit, but does exist, just requires some looking around and/or specialization to find. Like the hospital job posting that I mentioned that's $60k ($100k equivalent) for 40 hrs/wk – that's a non-profit job with decent pay. It was a non-managerial position, required a degree, I think it was 3 years experience and CPA preferred, or something like that. Can't remember details for sure, but it was something along those lines. So, non-managerial should mean lower stress, decent pay, decent hours.
As for CFE…don't know much about that career path. I'd be curious to see answers about it, but don't know much about it. Fraud investigations sound like fun in some ways. 🙂
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