@DM
I am completely aware that the CPA is a certification and not a job title. I am also aware that it is by no means a guarantee that the holder of a CPA is good accountant, or even a good employee/manager. Likewise for public experience. Also, I do not want to knock public experience. If I could go back and do it again I would probably go that route because quite frankly, it most likely would have been easier. I have mentioned this before on here, but there have been many days at my company that I get there before our big 4 auditors get there and watch them walk out the door every night as I sit at my desk. The idea that work/life improves significantly is at the very least not always true. There are plenty of financial reporting roles that would assert this point as well.
If this was $150k in NYC, Chicago, LA, the bay area, etc, I would agree with you. But it isn't. I will always want more but this wage is more than livable and will allow me to put my kids through private school. A CPA is not and was not a requirement for the job. No indication was made that I needed to obtain the certification as one of the terms of my employment. In my current company, I can tell you that zero value is placed on public experience. It doesn't hurt, but it is not especially valued. This appears to be the case in my new company as well. True, you will not find this attitude in the fortune 500, but there are plenty of other fish in the sea.
You say that “Companies pay up for highly certified people (CPA, MBA, etc.) and great managers (because there are so few in this world)” This is true. But please realize one of these things is more valuable than the other. Being a great manager should ALWAYS be more valuable than an MBA or certification (unless it is a statutory requirement). Would you rather have a manager that has no certifications with a great track record of supporting and leading teams, or someone like Adam that has every cert in the world and knows EVERYTHING and is not afraid to tell you?
And yes, having a CPA and public experience will open more doors. That is an unequivocal fact that cannot be ignored. The system would not work the way that it does if it didn't. I will admit there are companies that would never consider me for a senior role. That's their choice and more power to them. The point is it is not the only way to be successful and there is plenty of other pathways for success if sommeone is willing to put in the effort. In fact, I think the last two sentences in your post prove this since I am 7 years in and essentially make the same as what you assert a public manager will make leaving to industry? OK, so I'm no better off than a public manager leaving to industry but am fairly well on par. I'll take that as a win. I wonder how many CPA's working in public that will never get to that level even after switching to industry? I'm sure the amount is not insignificant.
Again, I am not trying to knock the traditional path. But making people feel like there is no hope of success unless you follow it is false. I know this isn't the stated purpose of this thread, it is essentially the point it is beating around.
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