Accounting Jobs (Dallas, Fort Worth, Richardson: houses, school, universities) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

ladyjay73 · 01-03-2007, 04:43 PM

Hello All:

Happy New Year!

I wanted to know what the job atmosphere is out there in the accounting arena if anyone knew. Any ideas of average salary for a non-degreed professional with 7+ years of experience?

Thanks.

mgd323 · 01-04-2007, 06:41 AM

They can't find people fast enough. I'm sure the pay will vary depending on your area of expertise and the level you'd qualify for, but I'm guessing $40-50k would be a good possibility. If you're management level, then you could get into the $50-60k level pretty easily.

stargazer · 01-04-2007, 08:21 AM

There is lots of competition for accounting jobs here. My husband has often told me over the years about how high the stack of resumes he gets. It can take quite a process in weeding and thinning down the stack and he will not hire a person to be a staff accountant who doesn't have a degree. The competition is that strong and that is due to the many universities we have in Dallas Fort Worth.

He will hire people who don't have degrees for supporting roles in the department but not a staff accountant or jobs that details being a supervisor or manager. I have seen people move out of supporting roles in the department to become supervisors or management and that was done with lots of hard work and effort, being part of a team. I will tell you that if you really enjoy working in an office in accounting and your really good, just remember to try to get on somewhere that has promise of moving up for you. I would also try looking into a private company versus a public. Private raises are going to be more per year versus public where the standard is 3-5 %.

What area in accounting are you interested in?

He is not alone in these choices, many companies are going to look at people with degrees versus those that don't for entry level accounting jobs.

My husband is a CPA and is the market controller for a company here. All his staff accountants have degrees and usually he hires them with 1 or 2 years out of college. My husband graduated in 1988 and has been a CPA for 16 years.

mgd323 · 01-04-2007, 08:54 AM

^Your husband may work for a company that a lot of people want to work for and he therefore receives a large stack of resumes, but you are providing anecdotal evidence that is contrary to the marketplace as a whole. You only need to read the monthly fed beige book to realize the shortage of accountants in this area(http://www.federalreserve.gov/Fomc/BeigeBook/2006/20061129/11.htm); (broken link) the Labor Market section continously states a problem with accountant shortages. If I may provide anecdotal evidence of my own, the accountanting department at my company regurlarly receives emails and phone calls from outside recruiters looking for accountants.

Ladyjay, since you have 7+ years of experience already, you shouldn't have any more difficulty finding a job in DFW than you would in Seattle. Look on Monster or the classified section of dallasnews.com to see what the market looks like for your particular area of expertise.

stargazer · 01-04-2007, 09:26 AM

Head hunters are always calling no matter what. They constantly email my husband and I<-yes me to see how were doing and if he is wanting to find another job or if he knows who is hiring. That is the nature of the game.
They always want a contact. Some we have been in contact with for over a decade.

I did not say that it would be hard to land a job however I did say that the competition is going to be tough for jobs that require a degree in accounting such as staff accountant and those applying without an degree will more than likely be over looked. Most staff accountants pay too are going to start out around 40,000 on average. Sometimes less or more depending on the company. My husbands company is public so the staff accountants aren't too happy with the pay. When my husband started working for Delloite and Touche as an auditor ( then Delloite, Haskins and Sells) in 1988, he was making 22,000 dollars. The pay is more considerable now for kids getting out of school but for people just getting out of school the pay is ok compared to other jobs but what counts is down the road and building experience. Accounting is notorious for not paying huge bucks as some other professional jobs. Ladyjay, I have sacrificed my self over the years for my husbands career and his life is in essence my life. After 16 years of marriage were happy and he tells me everything and with that he has told me about resumes and just life in the office, I too visit and see first hand. It is his job with all the companies he has ever been with to look at the resumes since he would be basically managing them. You can get a job but it would more along the lines of accounts recievable maybe in collections. Sometimes yes supervisor positions can be filled. I would give it a whirl and get your resume out there and see, there is always a chance.

ladyjay73 · 01-04-2007, 09:37 AM

Thank you both for all of the information. My area of expertise is Accounts Payable. While I would have loved to get a degree, raising my children alone after my divorce was much more important. Now that they are a little older, I can finally think about going back to school & getting my degree.

Although I would love to be a staff accountant, but I have only been in suppot roles. Currently (as of the last 2 years), I have been in management. Star, I would agree that private companies do pay more, & the chance for advance is greater. Is it reasonable to assume that senior support type roles (supervisor)would pay $45-50K? i looked on monster, & there are a lot of clerk positions that are paying $35-38K. That's kind of scarey.

I am going to look on-line at the Dallas News.

mgd323 · 01-04-2007, 10:50 AM

^Scary good or scary bad?

ladyjay73 · 01-04-2007, 06:42 PM

Scarey BAD!

I am a single mother of 3 angels, & I want the best for them. I would like to live in an area that is safe & affords them the best possible opportunities, which I am sure that everyone want for their children. But I guess that it just limits me to specific areas, (that aren't always that great either), when my salary isn't all that great.

Thanks to everyone for all their advise. Hopefully it will all work out.

socketz · 01-05-2007, 06:36 AM

Avnet, an 11 Billion Dollar Fortune 20 company with great benefits houses their Accounting/Accounts Payable group right there at the location in Richardson. They also have a few of these types of positions in the Grapevine facility, which is in charge of building all their cable assemblies.

If you look on the website, you'll see about 10 jobs in both Richardson and Grapevine combined. If you call into the main number and get the receptionist, she may tell you who the hiring manager is if you butter her up just a bit.

mgd323 · 01-05-2007, 07:03 AM

Lady, I thought that's what you meant. You have to remember that the cost of living will be lower compared to Seattle. Also, the pay rates you are seeing are probably for entry level or someone with 2-3 years experience. I'm sure someone with as much as experience as you and with supervisory experience would command a much higher pay rate. Google "cost of living comparisons" and you should be able to find some calculators that will give you a comparison for DFW and Seattle. Good luck.