Considering Bozeman, Question on Jobs

[historyfan]

Check here at the Montana Society of CPAs for posted job openings and internships.

As an accounting or finance major consider getting an MBA in addition to becoming a CPA to become very marketable to an accounting firm or banking institution.

[Geo Roam]

Having money before coming to Bozeman is a very big plus.

[NDak15]

Originally Posted by a bag of it

I just got back from visiting my brother who is a sophomore at MSU. I currently live in the Boston area and will be graduating with a degree in accounting in august. I've been looking for a place to move close to world class skiing that isn't overrun with tourists like the Denver/Summit County areas (where I lived for 3 years). Up until this trip I was pretty set on checking out SLC, but I've had this lingering feeling that I won't like it there. I also lived in Boulder for a year, and didn't exactly love it. My impression of Bozeman before visiting was that it's just like Boulder but with less amenities, jobs, cultural opportunities, etc. One aspect I hated about Boulder was how far away it was from great (but not unbelievable skiing). I hated the i-70 traffic and the hoards of people I had to compete for powder with. I also hated the urban sprawl for miles and miles of plains as far as the eye can see.

Long story short, Bozeman seriously exceeded my expectations to the point where I think it jumped up to #1 on my list. Despite all the posts on this forum about sprawl, I found Bozeman to feel much more like a large mountain town than sprawling plains. The (big) mountains being on all sides really add to this feeling. I also fell in love with Big Sky. The drive up the canyon is beautiful and much less stressful (and way shorter) than i-70. The skiing was unreal and the amount of terrain was mind boggling. I could not get over the lack of crowds during what I imagine is one of the busiest times of the year (christmas break). I was able to find powder stashes all day long and the whole mountain isn't even open yet. In summit county those same runs would be fully tracked out by 10am.

I'm probably going to get some hate for this, but I actually like the fact that Bozeman and MSU is growing rapidly because this brings in great restaurants, music, art, and other cultural opportunities. It also leads me to believe that job market will improve. Despite the high COL compared to surrounding areas, it is much lower than many other places with access to world class skiing and I speculate that we are close to the mid point of a boom rather than the top of a bubble. I guess what I'm saying is that I don't see housing costs lowering for any reason, and continued growth is attractive to me because I am interested in investing in a multifamily rental property in the future.

I am starting to ramble here and still have not addressed my main question. What is the job market like for those with an accounting degree? It seems as though other professionals (doctors, lawyers, etc) are able to do just fine, but I don't hear much about accountants. Everyone needs them, so I assume jobs must exist, but I'm having trouble gauging what kind of salary they pay. In major markets, most accountants are going to start around 50-60k. Now I know I will take a pay cut in Bozeman, but are we talking like 45k or more like 35k? The only accounting job I have found that actually posted the salary is MSU @ $14.50 an hour which has to be a joke right? My brother's roommate makes $13/hr stocking shelves at safeway for christ's sake.

I appreciate any and all suggestions and advice.

Just remember you can't eat scenery. Job competition is fierce for the good jobs but there are plenty with sucky pay to go around. $45k would be pretty sucky pay and $14.50 is a pretty common wage, although I would double check for the accounting posting. If you're set on Montana check out some of the smaller towns.

[historyfan]

Originally Posted by NDak15

Just remember you can't eat scenery. Job competition is fierce for the good jobs but there are plenty with sucky pay to go around. $45k would be pretty sucky pay and $14.50 is a pretty common wage, although I would double check for the accounting posting. If you're set on Montana check out some of the smaller towns.

Exactly.
A CPA firm only offering 45k to a new accountant prospective CPA is either not vital or considers that position to be low skilled such as inputting data from a report into a database--basically a clerk/admin asst position. Just as some law firms use juniors as paralegals, some accounting firms use juniors as clerk typists.