Accounting- Can I Still Run 100 miles A Week?

There's more to life than $$$ wrote:

Some guy the fake one wrote:

I am not discouraging him from pursuing his dream. I am discouraging him from altering the entire course of his life by staying single and choosing his major and career field so he can seriously hobby run unimpeded for a few years. THAT is unwise.

It's not unwise to pursue something other than money.

I'd much rather be poor and do what I love than to be rich and miserable.

Sub 6:00 wrote:

I don’t have any idea what you should choose for a major, but finding a career track where you have the work-life balance to sustainably run 100 miles a week can be worth it when you get to a point in life where you’re no longer chasing an OTQ. Your 30-year-old self may not care so much about running fast, but he may care about having the time for a family, a social life, getting a degree while working, and running enough to stay fit.

I 100% agree. If he gets into a job where he is able to run 100 miles a week while supporting himself comfortably, someday that 100 miles a week will turn into fitness jogging plus actual fun life. Very few people regret letting their career take a back seat. Many people regret letting their career take the front seat.

There's more to life than $$$ wrote:

Some guy the fake one wrote:

I am not discouraging him from pursuing his dream. I am discouraging him from altering the entire course of his life by staying single and choosing his major and career field so he can seriously hobby run unimpeded for a few years. THAT is unwise.

It's not unwise to pursue something other than money.

That's easy to say when you're still in school and mom and dad are paying for everything. At some point you have to start making adult choices in order to support yourself. You can't put a roof over your head and food on your table with dreams.

Ugh... wrote:

That's easy to say when you're still in school and mom and dad are paying for everything. At some point you have to start making adult choices in order to support yourself. You can't put a roof over your head and food on your table with dreams.

There is a lot of space to operate between choosing a career path solely based on how much money one will make and choosing a path that will offer the most time to run. Unless you make money while you run (and have a real job) you, too, have put running ahead of money, as have I along with a whole long list of other things. So long as you can manage to support yourself and your family financially it really doesn’t matter.

If I can manage 40-50mpw with family responsibilities, a focused single dude can easily do 100mpw with plenty of time to spare.

The OP isn't just talking about jobs, he also said he was okay with no family or social life. Basically, he's letting his hobby dictate his ENTIRE LIFE!

Say someone was really into stamp collecting. So into it that he chose a major and career that gave him lots of free time to devote to his stamps. He rejects friends and family because they'd get in the way of his stamps. Would you think that person was a little loony?

Someone who makes those choices for his hobby of running kind of fast is just as loony.

Having hobbies, and the work life balance to pursue them, is great. Purposely organizing your whole life around a hobby is sad.

Yes, corporate accounting you can. Month-end will get busy though. Public accounting maybe but around tax season not a chance.

The thing with running 100 mpw is you're prob not doing it year-round...maybe 15-20 weeks a year. So depending on the job you can plan around busy seasons.

Some guy the fake one wrote:

The OP isn't just talking about jobs, he also said he was okay with no family or social life. Basically, he's letting his hobby dictate his ENTIRE LIFE!

Say someone was really into stamp collecting. So into it that he chose a major and career that gave him lots of free time to devote to his stamps. He rejects friends and family because they'd get in the way of his stamps. Would you think that person was a little loony?

Someone who makes those choices for his hobby of running kind of fast is just as loony.

Having hobbies, and the work life balance to pursue them, is great. Purposely organizing your whole life around a hobby is sad.

People organize their whole lives around jobs which they hate (where they live, how much time they see their family every day, how much time they have for hobbies), which cause them so much stress that they have medical issues, and which take up so much of their time that they barely get to do things they really enjoy with all the money they make.

That's sad.

Of course, few choices in life are completely irreversible so anyone who puts him/herself into a bad situation (or a situation that becomes bad when their preferences change) can always change direction, get a new job, move, start a family slightly later in life, find some friends, etc.

big HONKING birds wrote:

Yes, corporate accounting you can. Month-end will get busy though. Public accounting maybe but around tax season not a chance.

The thing with running 100 mpw is you're prob not doing it year-round...maybe 15-20 weeks a year. So depending on the job you can plan around busy seasons.

Days are 24 hours long. If you can't find 1-2 hours a day to run as a single guy you are doing something wrong.

It's not selfish you are single and have nobody to answer to.

Do what you want otherwise you'll regret trying.

Can't understand any criticism it's not like he's even quiting studies. I only did 50mpw but managed a full time job plus studying accounts at night school.

You also need something to the your mind off studies... without a hangover!

To the original poster: I know you said that you wanted to stick in the accounting world, but have you considered a career as an actuary? We do very similar work to an accountant, but typically have greater upward mobility that is completely controlled by the individual through a rigorous exam process. Some folks move quickly through the exams and others take their time. I’ve spent more time on exams than my peers, it’s taken me 7 years to get through all of them, but I’ve also balanced the demands of work, running (100 mile weeks are common) and studying.

Corporate accounting can get bad during monthly close week, tax accounting in the spring. Actuaries typically have a more balanced year, and one branch of actuarial science is health based and typically coworkers will share your passion for running/healthy lifestyle.

Some posters are hating on your decision to choose a career based on running, but I would argue that you would be more unhappy working without being able to run and train at a high level. Truthfully, the 100 mile weeks make me so tired I’m happy to go and sit at my desk 8 hours a day.

Let me know if you have any questions. Mike

You have no idea what you’re getting into. Wait until you really have to start studying and you’ll see. I breezed through high school as well, having taken mostly IB classes. Things changed when I got to college though. It’s easy to lose focus when you have so much freedom. You may not be the same after two years. Do something you enjoy at least, otherwise you’ll make yourself miserable.

There are tons of career paths in accounting and you literally could work at any company in the country.

Many entry level jobs that are not demanding, leaving time for hard training.

And you can move up and make money later.

CPA here. I have been able to run 100 mpw occasionally having wife and 3 kids in my 40s. Should be easy for you if you want to.

Slight difference in perspective here as I'm based in the UK rather than US.

I've worked in tax advisory at 2 of the big 4 and whilst I've had the odd late night generally I have always had plenty of flexibility to get training in usually with time to run before, at lunch and after work. Whilst at the same time moving upwards relatively quickly.

Go for something office-based. If you go into audit or consultancy/advisory, then your time is not your own until you hit a senior level. To run big mileage whilst working full time your number 1 enabler is routine and consistency. Your shirts and suits stay at the office and get dry cleaned. You get a decent running backpack (I recommend Salomon 12l adv skin run vest).

In audit and consultancy you will constantly be at different offices with no guarantee of decent showers/lockers as you're at a client site and you will likely be working under the direct management of some snotty nosed kid who you've got no guarantee is even barely competent.

I would go big rather than small. There's a huge push for flexible working at the big 4 at the moment. As one of many juniors you will have plenty of flexibility in your day in areas like actuarial work (per the above) or tax advisory. You'll also have decent facilities in most offices. By contrast, small firms you may be working for one specific individual who will be carefully watching you clock-in / clock-out.

In short - totally doable but you need to be smart about which area you move into. Get paid for your knowledge not your time.

Outside of America, literally every top "pro" basically works full time. Australia, for example, has 3 women running 2:25. They all work in proper jobs (Lisa Weightman, Sinead Diver, Jess Trengove if you want to be inspired). Sinead and Lisa are both also mothers.

Every other country's top athletes are the same. They juggle work with running.

Posters on this site seem obsessed with how hard it is to run well if you're not full time. It's not that hard. 100 miles of running per week is maybe 15 hours of running in a week. That's just over 2 hours per day. No matter what your job is, you can fit it in.

OP - yes you can run 100 MPW with most accounting jobs, especially if you're single.

No, I would not change your major or career choice based solely on your desire to run 100 MPW.

Most college runners who desire to continue running seriously after graduation have to negotiate how to manage running around a full time job, something they've likely never done before. You will have to make compromises, as in any professional job, you can't just blow off a deadline or client meeting just because you have a workout scheduled. That's life. Remember, your job will be paying you; your running won't be. Therefore, your job will need to take priority, at least if you have any integrity.

My best advice is to become a morning person and get most of your running done before work. Then if something comes up at work during the day, your main run is already done. As a working professional, no one wants my time at 5 am. People often want my time at 5 pm.

Lost College Student wrote:

I’m a Business major and was planning on switching my major from Supply Chain to Accounting. With that said, I want to continue high level running as I have a chance at qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Trials Marathon based on my current pbs (and I also want to continue high level running after that). I’m fine with having 0 social life and no family- with that being said, is it physically possible to run 100 miles a week as an Accountant and still be able to get a good amount( 7-8 hours) a night of sleep? Should I continue in Supply Chain? Try something else? What are the options here?

Thanks

I work 50+ hrs every week and have qualified for the OT trials twice. If you can survive on 7-8 hrs sleep with the running load it's very doable granted you are willing to accept the limitations to your social life.

And please dont listen to these morons saying you shouldn't do it because it's a silly hobby or some other reason. Do what makes you happy and dont care what others think or your decision. As long as you are able to support yourself and want to give it a go, go for it. A lot of people are CPA's and corporate execs, a lot less are OT qualifiers. I've done well in my career but the pleasure of career accomplishments dont mean anything to me compared to my running accomplishments.

Tony Sadoval and Bob Kempainen.

I work 40-50 hours a week. I can fit in 100 mile weeks fine. A lot comes down to the commute travel time you have. I live in a fairly big city and spend close to 90 minutes commuting both ways. It's definitely doable.

Also, to the people saying that he is wasting his time? What kind of delusional world do you live in where your career is the most important thing in your life? Do you realize that no one will likely remember one in 100-200 years? I understand the whole part of being financial sound and preparing for the future but if OP is 23-25 then he has OVER 40 YEARS of his working career left if he wants to go to 65. You wanna know why there's so many miserable people in nursing homes? Cause they lived their lives for money and the "American Dream" No passions. Just clocking in and clocking out everyday and going to a family that might not pan out in the long run. Everything in life is a risk.