Career advice for senior accounting student

Is there a reason you are opposed to working a lot of hours? In most jobs, initially you will be putting in quite a few hours if you want to advance in your career. My suggestion would be to go the public accounting route, yes it will involve a lot of hours. However, if you are good your clients will see your value and try to hire you away from your firm. Just be prepared to spend many hours working in the first few years of employment.

At the end of the day you need to decide what your long-term goals are going to be. If you are bright and work hard you can move up quickly in the public arena and then jump ship to a private company.

Best of luck.

I work in accounts receivable as an accounting specialist. I do not have an accounting degree, but instead a B.S. in Mathematics. I started in March of this year and I really enjoy my job. I work 8:30-5:00 Monday-Friday and have never had to bring my work home with me. The pay is alright, the benefits are pretty awesome.

Are you me? I'm an accounting senior as well. I did an audit internship (not big 4, medium sized) and will never do that sh!t again. I talked to a few senior managers and they were some of the saddest people I've ever met. You can look in their eyes and see how dead they are inside. I have an aunt that used to be a partner at Arthur Andersen. I mentioned that I value free time in my life and she laughed at me. That's the kind of person public accounting turns you into.

It all depends on your goals and values in life. You should really consider working for the government. Ok pay, amazing benefits, and amazing work life balance. It's looked down on by elitest a$$holes, but it sounds like a good match for you.

I too hated public accounting BUT I made it 6 years!! I'll never go back but I also wouldn't be where I am today without the experience (I'm currently the Controller of a large organization).

And there are some benefits (beyond just pay) to the jobs you can get with the public accounting experience.

With that said. The only way I survived public account was by working in audit and at a regional firm. The smaller firms (compared to the big 4) can offer you the work life balance as well as the experience you need.

The Big 4 is not a good representation of public accounting as a whole. Yes, tax season involves more hours at all firms but it's only a few months and then the rest of the year is fairly easy.

My suggestion is to at least put in a year at a regional firm. You'll have it on your resume and with that short of a stay you won't need to have your CPA license.

I started out in the corporate world in Finance/Accounting, but transitioned to marketing mid-way through my career, and haven't regretted that at all. I wouldn't worry about the fact that you were an 'accounting' major as opposed to a finance major, which opens a lot more doors for you. Does the world of investments interest you at all? Instead of a CPA, I'd look at a CFA. Really interesting, and difficult, credential, but it opens a world of opportunities to you. You could work on either the buy side or sell side on Wall Street, or go to work in the treasury department of a big company. Corporations in Americas are sitting on boadloads of cash, and there isn't a CEO around that doesn't value a treasury department that can deliver more than the paltry returns than you can get on government bonds. I have an MBA - but if I were starting out today I'd do a CFA before an MBA., If you like working 1:1 with individuals, helping them plan their financial lives, I'd look at becoming a Certified Financial Planner. Perhaps pick a specialty in that area - retirement income planning for older people is going to be a huge area of opportunity in the coming years (and what I'm planning to do in my 'encore' career). ;-)

If none of that sounds appealing, hook on with a corporation as an Internal Auditor, and get a CIA certificate. Sarbanes Oxley has scared the hell out of every senior exective in America, so auditors are really in demand. You get exposed to all aspects of the company that you work for - a big help when you are figuring out what do do in life, and there is only a one-year experience requirement to get certified - which can help you get hired at any company you want to work for. I wouldn't make a career of internal audit - but every company needs them, and the turnover his huge - so you'll always be able to find a job. And remember, whatever you do - have fun!

There is some good advice here. Personally, I would not go public and head to corporate accounting.

I love it. I have been working for 5 years in corporate finance. I left a Fortune 500 company and just began working with a Fortune 50 company. Here are my reasons:

A. Work/Life Balance - I have my stressful days. Trust me. However, M-F, 4 weeks vacation, and flexibility is all common in a company. Not to mention, there are even more companies allowing some work from home options with today's technology. Public Accounting doesn't usually provide these benefits.

B. The Work - Personally, I love working for a company that allows you to contribute towards growing the business. There are so many aspects you can be involved in that allow you to enjoy what you do. You could work for a manufacturing company focusing on capital management, supporting large budgets, and following big projects. It's much different than public accounting. You get to report on the results of the company, provide new ideas, analysis, etc. In all seriousness, I find it pretty fun. With saying that, there are negatives dealing with the tedious month end, quarter end, and year end duties.

C. Salary and Advancement - Maybe start as an Accounting Specialist or low level Finance Analyst. The ability to move up is always there. You could go from Finance Analyst to Senior Analyst to Finance Manager to Controller, etc. I've been lucky to earn a good salary and I haven't even been in my career that long. If you can make your way to a big company, you'll make good money even as a lower level Specialist or Analyst.

D. Job Market - It's huge. Do an Indeed.com search on Finance Analysts , Accountants, or Corporate Accounting. I've had friends recruited off LinkedIn while they were happy at good companies.

E. Bonus and Incentives - I have not seen anything less than a 10% year bonus. Companies will pay for your CPA or CMA study material and exam fees. Not to mention, you can obtain an MBA or advanced degree and have most of it paid for.

Don't just take my advice though. I have NOT worked in public accounting. The benefits of having that knowledge is always great. Not to mention, some people might enjoy that more.

I would work in government since you seem to want to work 8-4 with little stress. Look into becoming a school treasurer. You have to be licensed by your state, but no CPA required. This is probably what I will do in a few years. Hours are 8-4 and you basically have your assistants do invoicing, ap and payroll.

Don't know if this would interest you at all, but I've seen people with accounting backgrounds do very well in areas of real estate development that involve tax credit financing (primarily low-income housing tax credits). The details of figuring out what costs are basis eligible, and then tracking and reporting expenditures correctly are tricky. Accountants are better than the average developer at dealing with this. A lot of non-profits do this kind of work, so the hours don't have to be too bad.

I did 5 years in public accounting and then switched to private and got a promotion on the private side a year and a half later.

I am 29 and interviewing people who went straight to private and have 7-8 years experience, are a year or two older than me, and are begging for a job making half of what I make.

If having easy hours and less stress is worth that to you, then you should go straight to private.

Go Govt !! Low hours, time to train and retire early with a nice pension. I retired at 48 and now just run, golf and travel :)

Surprised I am first in to say it......

PLASTICS

guessing game wrote:

I did 5 years in public accounting and then switched to private and got a promotion on the private side a year and a half later.

I am 29 and interviewing people who went straight to private and have 7-8 years experience, are a year or two older than me, and are begging for a job making half of what I make.

If having easy hours and less stress is worth that to you, then you should go straight to private.

I was thinking something similar, I have only managed 3 years at a big 4, but have just quit to take a 70% pay rise in industry. It really is worth doing the time in big four.

SP wrote:

Go Govt !! Low hours, time to train and retire early with a nice pension. I retired at 48 and now just run, golf and travel :)

Your annuity would be negligible working in the government and retiring at that age.

If he was in the military, with all the wars, he could retire at 48 and collect a lot.

There are also some people who start at 18 in a lower level job, say gardener, tour guide or grunt in the military. Then they get their college degree, nights. They get a low level job at say the patent office. They then go to law school nights. Then they put in 20 years as a patent attorney. They make nothing compared to other patent attorneys but they have not stress. Their high 3 is at the GS 15 level, maybe they started before FERS and are on the old system.

You can't do most of that now because government jobs are very competitive to get but in the 80s, especially at the lower levels, not so much.

I never got my CPA but went straight into the private sector and got my MBA (paid for by my work's benefit package). After 8 years in the private sector I went into government. At first it meant a cut in pay which I made up in 2 years; after that it was smooth sailing. I retired at age 58 with 30 years of gov work under my belt - made for a decent pension. I didn't make as much as I would have being in the public sector but I also kept my sanity and spent time with my family. I also lived in the Midwest where the cost of living is lower. Now I work part-time preparing taxes to bring in some extra cash. I do NOT regret my career path - I have a couple friends who were high-stressed partners at a CPA firm and they are having health issues now due to stress, lack of exercise, etc. Not saying that happens to everyone who takes on that type of work but it can't help it. You've already decided what's important to you.

You should become a LION TAMER!

OP here (long time later). Thanks to all who responded. Just wanted to give an update. Recently received an offer in public at a regional firm and am actually considering accepting it. They offered me a strong starting salary and good vacation time (20 days). Most importantly to me, this firm in particular stressed that they TRY to achieve a reasonable work-life balance. I swore I'd never do public, but they honestly have me convinced. Haven't accepted yet - still looking at other options in the private sector.

Any more input from those at regional firms? Is it worth it? Thoughts in general?

Thanks!

GOOD INFO HERE:

My dad's a CPA, taught acct in college. I also had 2 college roommates who majored in accounting.

One roommate viewed things exactly as you- Hated his public accounting internships & dreaded doing it for his career.

Solution? He got his CPA & went the Finance route instead. Now he did work 3 years in public acct for the quick job & experience- but then left & worked financial for a couple companies- 1 being Walt Disney Corp. he got his MBA in finance & is now a CFO. He told me acct knowledge helped/helps in his career, but finance much more fascinating.

To reinforce- A long time reputable professor from University of Chicago said Finance "marries" very well with accounting.

Here here wrote:

GOOD INFO HERE:

My dad's a CPA, taught acct in college. I also had 2 college roommates who majored in accounting.

One roommate viewed things exactly as you- Hated his public accounting internships & dreaded doing it for his career.

Solution? He got his CPA & went the Finance route instead. Now he did work 3 years in public acct for the quick job & experience- but then left & worked financial for a couple companies- 1 being Walt Disney Corp. he got his MBA in finance & is now a CFO. He told me acct knowledge helped/helps in his career, but finance much more fascinating.

To reinforce- A long time reputable professor from University of Chicago said Finance "marries" very well with accounting.

I didn't directly answer your question for the short term. I would try contacting people/companies in a position you eventually want to be & ask them directly.