[CPA is a WIP]

Hello everyone,

I hope that you are having a great day whether it be cooking out, studying, spending time with friends and family or a loved one. I am on this forum seeking guidance and opinions from this support forum Jeff created. This journey we call life has not been a pleasant one for me. I have struggled through the loss of loved ones, job loss, health issues, and now depression. I’ve been recently diagnosed with depression for various reasons.

I have been an accountant for over 5 years; I started undergraduate late as I was deciding what I wanted to do as a profession. I researched business and healthcare careers and at that moment I discovered the accounting career. I enjoy how numbers tell a story and as I progressed through the undergrad program, I enjoyed accounting and decided to pursue this career.

A few years passed and here I am; working full-time as a degreed accountant with multiple unsuccessful attempts at the CPA exam. However, my current role has made me question if accounting is something I want to do for the rest of my working life. Why? well, the person I work under has made my working life a nightmare and I loathe every minute of it. I constantly get yelled at for minor mistakes, this person nitpicks the heck out of everything I do, is very condensing when I don’t know a GAAP rule and asks me how I graduated college or if I even went to school for accounting. I make “bonehead” mistakes according to this person. Now that our year-end is here; this person is always in such a bad mood.

I don’t want to ask him questions at work anymore because I always, always, always get belittled as if this person owns my soul or I have incurred such a debt that I need to repay this person back! This is a very small organization, I cannot just quit tomorrow because I have grown folk financial obligations and I need medical insurance! Plus I am knee deep in our y/e process. I have grown to hate this job; this job has made me hate accounting! I even stopped studying for the exam because of this place! I get along with everyone else at work and vice-versa and they’re a pleasure to work with. Forget about filing a grievance; this person is politically connected to the higher-ups with the org, and they will choose his side. Damn It! I work hard, come in every day, I never complain, I come in on weekends when needed! I have only been with this employer for 1.2 years, just FYI.

All that said, I am considering a career change to financial planning and have started looking into the CFP programs near my metro area. Has anyone on this forum made the change or knows of someone that has made the career switch? If yes, how was the transition? And are they happy with being a CFP? Do they love the work they do? I enjoy helping people in a time of need and I am also looking for a sense of purpose and fulfillment. All of which accounting lacks to provide me. I am an ethical man who treats everyone with respect and I do my best to help anyone at any time!

Thank you for your time!

[ahugemistake]

I have been in your situation at a Big 4 firm with an absolutely terrible manager who made me question myself. I had passed 3 parts of the exam with REG to go. I failed on my first try, but passed on the second, but then FAR expired. I had 10 months to pass it, and I could have done it if I wasn't dealing with that manager. I was so burned out from accounting and studying for the CPA that I just quit my job and stopped studying for two years. I have a family that relies on me so I couldn't just change careers, but I did find something in industry with work-life balance and an environment takes interest in training new comers. I realized that the problem wasn't me but that job. Anyone who is ok with treating their subordinates like you're being treated should be the ones thinking of a career change, not you. If this is the only place you have worked at since graduating it wouldn't hurt to look for better jobs in your area for the time being.

That being said you're absolutely free to go into which ever direction you choose. There is no right or wrong here. CPA is a huge time/cost commitment and it can be worth the struggle but not always. There are other rewarding careers out there in the finance field. You might want to seek out forums relating to CFP specifically to learn more about the transition and the requirements. Best of luck!

FAR - 78*
AUD - 66, 79
REG - 73, 76
BEC - 79

[Author]

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