[jagadalic]

Hey guys just wanted some input. I graduated with a degree in accounting in Dec of 2014 and was not able to get any job in accounting all of 2015 so I worked at a family gas station all year. I took the cpa exam in 2016 and got done this past April. I still wasn’t able to get a position in an accounting firm so I started sending emails to every firm I could asking for an opportunity. I was contacted back by a firm from downtown Los Angeles and after the interview they offered me a position as staff accountant at a starting salary of 40,000. Firm has about 35 employees and does both auditing and tax work. I just wanted to know if the salary seems right for someone with my background. I obviously took the offer and start in about two weeks.

[Bourne]

The salary seems quite low for a job in LA. But, if this is the only accounting opportunity you had, it was a wise move to accept the job. While the pay might not be the best, this will allow you to gain experience in the industry and then move on to a bigger firm if you so want to. Good decision.

[Missy]

Truthfully it sounds low but take it, get the experience so you can be more desirable. Its going to be hard to get a job in public if you're not either fresh out of school or experienced so take a year or two to get the experience then your career will take off.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Ana]

as a new grad and no acct experience I got 44,000 in 2012 at a audit firm in LA. 40K is low but it's better than nothing. I did well there and asked for a raise every 6 months when we had reviews. Worked for me since I was an asset, like, and ambitious.

[M123]

When you get through busy season – check out what you're really netting per hour. If they're not running you ragged and you're getting experience on both sides of the house (audit and tax) – that sounds like a possible win! At least for a while. I bet it pays better than the station.

Off topic – how's your commute in? DTLA can be either heaven or hell depending on if you use the trains or not 🙂

[HT415]

That does seem a bit low, but what really counts is having the experience on your resume. Can't put a price on that, in combination with your CPA done, I'm sure you'll be fine going forward.

On a separate note, has anyone gone from private to public? I know the usual route is to get public experience + CPA done and potentially going to private later as senior-level/manager. But, I've been struggling to get a job in public so I'm looking for staff accountant roles to get some more experience while studying and down the line trying to get back into public. (Worked at mid-tier firm for one busy season)

[M123]

I went private to public. You have to be creative with opportunities but they are out there.

[Author]

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