Did I make the right career choice?

[FidelCashflow]

It's really nice to read all the responses and hear stories of people who went down the same path as me and came out the other side with something to show for it.

 

[Duveen]

Just one more comment - several people have said 'easier to hire a CA than to be one' - definitely true. But you have put in the time already, so that is a sunk cost. I don't think that you'll regret having done it, and there are a LOT of cases where it is nice to be able to cut through the financial statements quickly.

On that note, however, I have noticed in b-school that a lot of accountants don't necessarily get financial modeling right away, which I thought was funny until I realized that the skills are complementary but not identical.

This motivates me to again echo the advice to get out of accounting once you have that certification (unless you really love the work, but it doesn't sound like you do).

Think about opportunities that will give you a chance to get some leadership/strategy experience to complement the technical know-how. You can look for corporate rotation programs at big firms, which will expose you to lots of different areas of a company, or you can try to go right back to school.

But realize that if what you find satisfying is planning/running an operation to make something happen, that is a skill that will ALSO take a few years to build and while you can draw on your work in audit teams, etc, the leadership/ management is a lifetime of work and an area where most people never feel that they have it mastered (and they're usually right!).

As you think about what to do, realize that you have the flexibility to pick an industry to move into once you leave. Absolutely everyone needs accountants and operations people. So combine a bit of macroeconomic thinking (what industries won't they outsource in the next 20 years) and personal passion thinking (what do I think is really cool) to skill thinking (do I want to know how a multinational moves money and hedges currency risk and plays tax games or would I rather know how to do internal controls in a retail operation). You could try to move into anything from Electronic Arts' finance group to that of the Four Seasons or Boeing or NASCAR.

That flexibility is what makes accounting such a cool skill - you are always needed, you are the last one fired even when the ship is going down, your pay is generally decent and (with a little effort) you can get in to an industry that you feel interested in (or, as in hotels, where perks might include free stays at luxury resorts).

Good luck!

 

[bluemagic]

A lot of people would give a lot to be in your position right now. The worst feeling is joblessness, or fear of finding a job.

 

[Mr T]

Although I am not an accountant I sympathize with your situation. I have never found a career that really felt like a "calling." And this entire follow your bliss crap just doesn't work when your bliss is finding a gently used Harris Tweed at the thrift shop.

What I did instead was find a job that offered incidental benefits that make me happy. For instance, I don't like to travel on business but I love to relocate every few years to a different location. So I found a job where that is a fact of life.

 

[white_diamond]

me too.i graduated from small business school.and now i work for a bank.you now, at this time, getting a new job is not easy. i don't like my current job because it's so boring (declined economy) and low salary

 

[Steve Smith]

Originally Posted by FidelCashflow

How can I tell if I've made the right career choice?

I just graduated from university a few years ago and have been working at a Big4 accounting firm since then. I really don't know what I want to do with my career beyond getting my designation. When I talk to co-workers at my level, they all say they're not sure what they want to do with their careers either.............Sometimes I wonder if once it's all over and done with, and I finally get where I'm going, I'll think "this is what I worked so hard for???"

Any advice?

Welcome to adulthood. You have to make decisions, and the downside is that each decision eliminates many other possibilities in this finite amount of time which we have.

Embrace this and enjoy the ride.