Did I make the right career choice?

[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. It seems everyone moves into private industry after a few years because it's supposed to be more money and less hours.

Accounting was never my calling or anything in life, I ended up in it because I didn't want to try for law school or med school, and it seemed to be the most structured and stable career available to students in business school. I like the work that I do, but the hours and stress that come with working in a big4 firm are pretty harsh. 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?

 

[Jrslm_Stylin]

While it's not an answer, I know MANY attorneys & MDs (the other career paths you mention) who feel similarly, and they had to invest much more time and money into their professions. Myself I'm an attorney who tired of large firm business practice and moved to non-legal project management at a large non-profit. While the non-profit and govt sectors have their own unique issues, I'm much happier and doing more meaningful work. Also, though the salary is a bit less, when I compare the hours spent at the office, I actually make nearly the same when calculated on an hourly basis--and free from the large-firm billable hours grind, I actually have time to spend what I make!

I wouldn't tell anyone to leave their career until at least 3-4 years in (unless they were truly suicidal), but after that, life's too short to return home unhappy everyday for years on end, when there are plenty of better things to do with your life that will pay the bills and then some.

 

[Jrslm_Stylin]

While it's not an answer, I know MANY attorneys & MDs (the other career paths you mention) who feel similarly, and they had to invest much more time and money into their professions. Myself I'm an attorney who tired of large firm business practice and moved to non-legal project management at a large non-profit. While the non-profit and govt sectors have their own unique issues, I'm much happier and doing more meaningful work. Also, though the salary is a bit less, when I compare the hours spent at the office, I actually make nearly the same when calculated on an hourly basis--and free from the large-firm billable hours grind, I actually have time to spend what I make!

I wouldn't tell anyone to leave their career until at least 3-4 years in (unless they were truly suicidal), but after that, life's too short to return home unhappy everyday for years on end, when there are plenty of better things to do with your life that will pay the bills and then some.

 

[radicaldog]

Why am I not surprised that accounting isn't a meaningful and satisfying career? But then again, I'm an academic, so perhaps I've lost touch with the real world.

 

[JR_Rider]

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. It seems everyone moves into private industry after a few years because it's supposed to be more money and less hours.

Accounting was never my calling or anything in life, I ended up in it because I didn't want to try for law school or med school, and it seemed to be the most structured and stable career available to students in business school. I like the work that I do, but the hours and stress that come with working in a big4 firm are pretty harsh. 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?

Wow, your story seems pretty simillar to mine although I decided against Public before starting full time. I studied accounting in college and continued my education and also received my Masters of Accounting. I actually had two internships w/ Deloitte and one internship w/ EY, which firm do you work for? Anyway, after my last internship I came to the decision that public accounting was not what I was looking for and that I wanted to work in the private or governmental sector. After several unsuccessfully attempts at receiving an offer to work at Credit Suisse (which turned out to be a GOOD thing) I was offered a position at UNC Chapel Hill, which is where I am now. As far as starting in Public and switching over to private, that's pretty much what everybody I know plans on doing.....

 

[Milhouse]

If you have to ask this question, then it probably isn't the right career choice.

But, that said, I've rarely met anyone that is truly satisfied with their career choice. Usually academics are the happiest it seems, followed by various physicians/health-care providers, in my completely non-statistically significant sample of people I know.

 

[FidelCashflow]

Originally Posted by Milhouse

If you have to ask this question, then it probably isn't the right career choice.

I can see why you'd say that, but for any career isn't there a period of really grinding it out and "paying your dues" at the beginning before you get to reap the rewards? Or is this just a myth?

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by FidelCashflow

I can see why you'd say that, but for any career isn't there a period of really grinding it out and "paying your dues" at the beginning before you get to reap the rewards? Or is this just a myth?

Depends what you idea of reaping the rewards is. My uncle is an oil and gas ceo. He makes lots of money, but he still gets up at 5am every morning and usually leaves work quite late at night. That McGoldrick (sp?) guy at goldman made 75mil a couple years ago. If you believed the article he was working like 18 hrs/day...

 

[Duveen]

To GQGeek's point, job markets are such that you generally don't get paid a lot unless you are working a lot. The reverse is not necessarily true (e.g. you can work a lot and get paid next to nothing).

NB: I am not an accountant, but have worked with a lot of folks with that background.
I would say that your accounting background is going to be an incredible asset as you move forward in business - get the CPA (as you intend to do) and then get off to b-school to retool yourself for a more strategic role. Accounting is the underpinning of so much of what happens in business and too few people have a good understanding of it.

If you play your cards right, you can have a lot of options. A b-school alum that I spoke to went in to a big pharma company in a finance role after b-school (and accounting prior to that), bounced around and ended up in investor relations, where he didn't work crazy hours and interfaced with Wall Street analysts. He then got recruited in to another large firm and eventually went to work as the CFO of a start-up that had a technology that he really believed in.

His story highlights the real value of a core technical background like accounting/finance. Your role is functional, which means that you can move around a firm and across industries pretty freely and still add value quickly. When you are ready you can definitely choose to try to locate within earlier-stage companies/smaller firms where your role can be a lot more strategic, etc.

Good luck with this - I always say that if I could give a joint of my pinky to magically acquire one skill in depth, it would be accounting. I wouldn't have wanted to go through the grueling four years that you have done, but that is behind you already. So take advantage of what you've got and start thinking about how to leverage it in the next two to three years.

 

[Spatlese]

Fidel - I believe you're Canadian so presumably obtaining your CA? (or CPA if I've got you mixed up with someone else). I agree with what Duveen wrote. The designation is as solid as it gets, and will open up doors in industry, some possibly with more 'balance' than others.

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by Duveen

To GQGeek's point, job markets are such that you generally don't get paid a lot unless you are working a lot. The reverse is not necessarily true (e.g. you can work a lot and get paid next to nothing).

NB: I am not an accountant, but have worked with a lot of folks with that background.
I would say that your accounting background is going to be an incredible asset as you move forward in business - get the CPA (as you intend to do) and then get off to b-school to retool yourself for a more strategic role. Accounting is the underpinning of so much of what happens in business and too few people have a good understanding of it.

If you play your cards right, you can have a lot of options. A b-school alum that I spoke to went in to a big pharma company in a finance role after b-school (and accounting prior to that), bounced around and ended up in investor relations, where he didn't work crazy hours and interfaced with Wall Street analysts. He then got recruited in to another large firm and eventually went to work as the CFO of a start-up that had a technology that he really believed in.

His story highlights the real value of a core technical background like accounting/finance. Your role is functional, which means that you can move around a firm and across industries pretty freely and still add value quickly. When you are ready you can definitely choose to try to locate within earlier-stage companies/smaller firms where your role can be a lot more strategic, etc.

Good luck with this - I always say that if I could give a joint of my pinky to magically acquire one skill in depth, it would be accounting. I wouldn't have wanted to go through the grueling four years that you have done, but that is behind you already. So take advantage of what you've got and start thinking about how to leverage it in the next two to three years.

To add to this, my uncle started his career as a CA working for EY.

 

[Milhouse]

Originally Posted by FidelCashflow

I can see why you'd say that, but for any career isn't there a period of really grinding it out and "paying your dues" at the beginning before you get to reap the rewards? Or is this just a myth?

No. Yes.

When I did science, I woke up every day happy to go to work. There was no question in my mind that I would be happy doing science for the rest of my life and that it is the right career choice for me.

Unfortunately society forced me out of science by not valuing it highly enough to allow me to pay my student loans and live day to day.

 

[bawlin]

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. It seems everyone moves into private industry after a few years because it's supposed to be more money and less hours.

Accounting was never my calling or anything in life, I ended up in it because I didn't want to try for law school or med school, and it seemed to be the most structured and stable career available to students in business school. I like the work that I do, but the hours and stress that come with working in a big4 firm are pretty harsh. 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?


If you're already with a firm, just grind it out until you get your CA, and then get as far away from the Big 4 as humanly possible.

My brother is approaching 40. He's a senior manager at one of the firms and they treat him like crap. He hates his job, but he's about a year away from partner (he's in the pipeline) and that's the only thing keeping him going. I know for a fact that he could make double or triple what he's making right now if he went to another company and worked as a CFO or something, but he's worked so hard to get where he is right now that he just wants to make partner.

Having a CA is such a huge asset in business. I originally went to school to become an accountant, but I quickly realized it's much easier to hire a CA than to become one myself. Different strokes...

Best of luck and keep grinding it out!

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by Milhouse

No. Yes.

When I did science, I woke up every day happy to go to work. There was no question in my mind that I would be happy doing science for the rest of my life and that it is the right career choice for me.

Unfortunately society forced me out of science by not valuing it highly enough to allow me to pay my student loans and live day to day.

My friend works in clinical research. She's got an undergrad degree + some kind of 2 year industry-specific program that she did post-grad (not a masters). She is finding that the trials are being outsourced to india on an increasing basis, and is starting to wonder whether she needs to find a new career.

Anyway, you are right, people with science degrees get paid ****. They get less than engineers even if they have a masters degree.

 

[longskate88]

I don't have much to add, except I'll be graduating in 1.5 years (or 2.5 if I go for the CPA required classes) and I'll probably be posting the same question you are around that time. What to do, what to do...